聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Two judges from the provincial Communities in Bloom competition were in Kamsack last week, touring the community, inspecting its public areas and looking over private properties with the objective of providing a report to the competition鈥檚 organizers.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At Kamsack July 10 and 11 were Arlene Janzen of White City and Bonita Lundberg of Saskatoon, who have been judges for Communities in Bloom for more than a dozen years each.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The bulk of their tour of the community was held in the rain on July 11. They were accompanied by Kev Sumner, the recreation director, who organized their visit, and Councillor Karen Koreluik.
The weather had halted the plan to have the judges fly over the community with a plane that had been offered by the Hudye Group and Prairie Soil Services, Sumner said. Redline Chrysler donated the use of a courtesy car for the tour.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The two women completed their task at a potluck event held at the Kamsack seniors鈥� centre on July 11 when they dined with members of the Kamsack and District Horticulture Society and Trackside Garden volunteers, as well as members of town staff, including Sumner, Koreluik and Laura Lomenda, town administrator, and their spouses.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Kamsack is one of three communities of similar size, with populations of between 1,001 and 2,000, that the two judges will be visiting this year. The other two are Wynyard and Eston.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A provincial horticulture judge since 1993, Lundberg, who will be judging the Prince Albert horticulture show in August, said she spent a number of years growing and showing flowers and a taken a number of courses.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Holding 鈥渕aster gardener鈥� certification, Lundberg is a graduate of the Prairies Horticulture Certification program and teaches floral design basics continuing education course at the University of Saskatchewan.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Janzen, on the other hand, had been selected as a judge after having developed expertise in the governance side of horticulture. She served on the White City town council and on a parks and recreation board.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Asked for a preliminary impression of the community, Lundberg immediately said that the town鈥檚 tidiness 鈥渋s up there with the others.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Trackside Garden is phenomenal, she said, commending the volunteers who tend the garden.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Jeannine Sonnenberg, the town gardener is a very good and knowledgeable worker, she said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Riverview Cemetery is awesome, Lundberg said, adding that its directory needs updating.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t is so well kept,鈥� she said of the cemetery. 鈥淎nd the view is georgeous.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The walking path trails are a huge asset, Janzen said, adding that she was impressed with the appearance of the sportsgrounds.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There are a few diseased trees, both on municipal and town property, the judges said.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Communities in Boom competition is not only a provincial initiative, it is also national and international, Lundberg explained.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The judges will be making their reports following their visits, and then the organizers will be awarding a number of 鈥渂looms鈥� to each of the participating communities; the number of blooms reflecting the score a community receives.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Communities in Bloom (CiB) program is a wonderful way to shine a positive light on Kamsack, Sumner said. 鈥淚t is a way of saying that we鈥檙e proud of what we have, that we can identify with our community and that we encourage volunteerism.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A total of 43 communities participated in the Communities in Bloom program last year, he said, adding that 小蓝视频 recognized by the program is significant at the SUMA (Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association) and SPRA (Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association) levels.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For the competition, communities are judged in six sections: tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape and floral displays. Last year Kamsack received 744 points out of 1,000, or a mark of 75 per cent, which garnered four blooms.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In the evaluation report, the judges said that the landscape and environmental actions carried out by the community were particularly well done.
