Affordable Housing Concept as developed by Perry McDonald of Sunflower Villa Housing Development has generated a lot of discussion, especially in the “coffee shops”. I appreciate the initiative taken by our Chamber of Commerce and the developer, Perry McDonald to hold a joint information meeting on Monday, April 14th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Rhineland Pioneer Centre to clarify the concept. If you had questions, I’m hoping that you take advantage of this information meeting so that you can be the next “expert” at the “coffee shop” session. Hopefully, this housing concept will be a great benefit to the residents of Altona.

A Chinese delegation visited Altona on Friday, March 28th and toured Friesens Corporation and Loewen Mfg. They were interested in visiting rural Manitoba towns with the objective of potentially establishing some new businesses. They were very impressed with the businesses that they toured and the Town as a whole. They heard about Altona at the “Discover Manitoba Tourism Expo” which was held in Winnipeg in February. The delegation felt that Altona was in a good position for future development because of a well planned infrastructure program, its location with close proximity to the American border and flourishing businesses.

There has been some discussion among some municipalities in the Pembina Valley to consider establishing a Regional Development Committee. The focus of this committee would be to determine needs for this area and then go out and encourage these kinds of industries to establish in the region. The groups represented realized that as the situation exists presently, most of the municipalities are not capable of financing or pursing leads on their own. However, if there would be some cooperation in the region we could determine certain needs for the region and invite them to set up in our region. There have also been discussions in some circles that municipalities need to look at sharing services such as: policing, fire protection and government agencies. This has also lead to discussions of tax sharing and this committee could be very helpful in mediating such discussions.

Mayor Mel Klassen 

Have a great summer!

Councillor David Wiebe

2003 Grant Requests

The Town of Altona is in the process of establishing its 2003 Budget Estimates. In previous years the Town has assisted various community groups and organizations via giving them grants. The Town is requesting groups or organizations who are anticipating receiving grants from the Town in 2003 to please submit your written request (with accompanying financial documentation) to the Town of Altona on or before 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 17th, 2003. As limited funds are available we reserve the right to deny any or all requests. Please forward request to:

2003 Grant Requests
Town of Altona
Box 1630
Altona, Manitoba
R0G 0B0

Spring Clean-up

The annual spring clean-up will be held on

• Monday– April 28th—North West
• Tuesday– April 29th—North East
• Wednesday—April 30—South West
• Thursday– May 1—South East

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO PLACE YOUR WASTES AT THE CURB ON THE ASSIGNED DAY FOR YOUR AREA.

ITEMS THAT CAN BE PLACED OUT ARE:

• Old furniture Boxes, etc.
• Scrap lumber, etc. Branches

Exclude any items which cannot be handled by one person. For more information contact the Public Works at 324-6439.

New Drop Off Box

The Town of Altona has installed a drop-off box for your convenience at the front entrance of the Civic Centre for your water meter cards, water bill payments (no cash please). The new box is located at the front entrance beside the doors.

Attention All Property Owners

The Town of Altona is requesting that all property owners (both vacant and developed lots) control the growth of weeds and grass on their properties on a regular basis. We wish to advise all property owners that they need to keep their properties in good order or the Town will hire a contractor to maintain the property at the owners expense.

Compost Information

Please be advised that compost pick-up will begin April 9th. Please note that compost will now be picked up every Wednesday throughout the growing season.

Your local Library is pleased to announce an author visit. Rollin Penner is a regular contributor to CBC Radio with his musings “The View from Greenfield.” Mr. Penner, grew up in the areas of Steinbach and Kleefeld and bases his characters loosely on the people he knew. Mr. Penner will be signing his new book “The Greenfield Chronicles,” on a special night, April 25th at 7 p.m. at the Altona Library. Coffee and cookies and a lot of fun will be served! Please stop in at the library for more details.

Hope to see you there!

The Off Road Vehicle Act.

The Altona Police have noticed an increased use of Off Road Vehicles (ORV) in and around our community. We would like to take this opportunity to highlight a few of the restrictions for the use of these ORVs in accordance with the Off Road Vehicles Act.

Q1. What is an Off Road Vehicle?

A1. The Off Road Vehicle Act defines an ORV as: Any vehicle wheeled or tracked motorized vehicle designed or adapted for cross-country travel on land, water, ice, snow, marsh, swampland or other natural terrain, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing includes.

a) four wheel drive motor vehicle, a motorcycle or a snow vehicle registered under the Highway Traffic Act
b) An all-terrain vehicle
c) A mini-bike dirt-bike or trail-bike
d) A miniature such as a dune buggy
d1) An off road maintenance machine
e) An amphibious vehicle
f) A snowmobile

But does not include:

g) An implement of husbandry (cultivators, etc.)
h) A farm tractor;
i) A special mobile machine;
j) A garden or lawn tractor
k) A golf cart.

Q2. Do I have to register my ORV?

A2. Yes, unless you are only operating on private property or on a competition circuit.

Q3. Do I have to have headlights and taillights on my ORV?

A3. Yes, if you are going to be operating the ORV one half hour before sunset until one half hour after sunrise, or at times when visibility is reduced to 60 meters or less.

Q4. Do I need to wear a helmet when operating an ORV?

A4. Yes, there are some exceptions however they are limited to specific uses, such as when using the ORV in the course of farming, commercial fishing, hunting or trapping. For the most part helmets are required.

Q5. Are there age restrictions regarding the operation of ORV’s and if so what are they?

A5 Yes, firstly you must hold a valid drivers licence of any other class but 7 in order to operate across any roadway and shoulder, no person under the age of 14 years shall operate an ORV unless supervised and accompanied by and at all times within clear view of the person's parent or a person who has attained the age of 18 years and authorized by the parent.

Q6. What size of a fine can a person expect to pay if he contravenes the Off Road Vehicle Act?

A6. Fines range from $45.00 up to $360.00.

These are only the highlights out of the OFF ROAD VEHICLE ACT, if you have any unanswered questions please call the Altona Police Service at 324 5373 or 324 5353.

2003 Spring Programs

For more information or to register contact the Altona Recreation Office by telephone at 324-9005 or email rone@townofaltona.com

COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM

Winter seems to be on the way out – Finally! Altona is once again participating in the Communities in Bloom Competition in 2003. The Communities in Bloom Committee which is made up of five members has been busy planning new things for the present and future of Altona.

Kick off day for planting corners and intersections and hanging of our baskets down Centre Avenue will be an announced shortly. There are several things that Altona will be judged on as part of Communities in Bloom. These are:

*Community involvement
*Tidiness
*Urban Forestry – eg. Boulevard planting, Park etc.
*Landscaped areas - Trails
*Floral displays
*Turf areas – school playgrounds, open spaces.
*Environmental effort – programs such as recycling, waste reduction & composting.
*Heritage Conservation – Cenotaph, Schwartz House

We encourage any individuals, church groups, schools and families who would like to participate in Communities in Bloom to contact Grace Braun at 324-9005 or stop by the Altona Civic Centre. After all Communities in Bloom is “People, Plants and Pride Growing Together”.