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Serving the Business Community in Grenville County ~ November 1998 Edition |
Merrickville News |
Merrickville The Prettiest Village in Canada
"But we already knew that," said Rhoda Drake, member of the committee that organized Merrickville's entry into the national Communities in Bloom competition this year. "Yes, but now we have licence to say it," added fellow committee member Gary Clarke when the pair met recently with The Grenville County Business News to discuss the win. This fall, Merrickville was awarded a five-bloom rating in the competition in which numerous communities across Canada took part. The village qualified to go on to national competition three years ago with a win at the provincial level. Last year, it placed second in the national competition with a 78 per cent grade. This year, the judges gave Merrickville a 91 per cent grade and noted there was not much room left for improvement. "The only negative comment, so to speak, was that they asked us not to enter next year because we would win hands down," said Clarke. The judges were notably impressed by Merrickville's efforts to rebuild after the ice storm in January decimated the community's maple trees. They were so impressed, in fact, that they made a special mention of the village's environmental efforts on the certificate it received during the award ceremonies in Winnipeg. They also made note of that effort in their comments, stating "The whole core of the community is brilliant with flowers and their response to the 'Great Ice Storm of 1998' has turned a natural disaster into an opportunity to learn and improve Merrick-ville displays, all the very best objectives of the Communities in Bloom competition. "The positive response has included an inventory of trees damaged, learning correct remedies and carefully planning for the future is an example to the whole country." Clarke said 80 per cent of the village's major maple tree population will be lost over the next five to 10 years to a disease that would not have been discovered if the weakened trees hadn't been damaged in the ice storm. "So we're doing a detailed inventory of all the trees in the village and will decide what to replace the dying maples with," explained Clarke. "Maybe there is some reason they just don't grow well in this area." Clarke said he doesn't think people realize the competition was not just a visual look at the number of flowers blooming in the community, but something that went a lot deeper than that. The village was also judged on general tidiness and preservation of heritage as well as community involvement and environmental effort. Drake noted the judges even went to the municipal landfill site, the sewage treatment plant, the bird sanctuary and the ruins. "That's what won it for us," said Clarke. "There was participation by every organization, household and business in Merrickville as well as support by municipal council." He estimates that more than $15,000 was raised in the community over the past year for planting and landscaping. Hours of volunteer time and the individual efforts of villagers brought it all together into one beautiful package that impressed judges and put Merrickville on the map, nationally. "The economic benefits from this are very real," said Clarke. "People do come to visit the winning sites." Residents will celebrate being the Best Bloomin' Village in Canada on November 21 when they come together for a reception and for the official presentation of the award to the community. The event will also serve as a fundraiser for the purchase of trees. The committee, which also included Joan Spencer and council member Douglas Struthers, have not decided whether they will go on to organize the entry of the village in international competition next year. |
SERVING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY OF GRENVILLE COUNTY |