LAMPMAN - Lampman wanted to have a friendly beautification competition, so they contacted Bienfait and Midale.
The rules were to clean up their towns and call it the MLB (Midale Lampman Bienfait) Beautification Competition. This was the first time they had done anything like this, and all three communities were eager to be involved.
Originally the judging was to be on June 27, but due to a major storm, Midale and Bienfait asked for a delay as they had a multitude of branches to clean up.
In Midale, residents piled branches on the edge of their properties so the town's public works crew could easily pick them up and dispose of them. It was also to give the town more time to clean up leaves and other debris that was blown around.
The town encouraged its residents to help those who may have struggles and to offer help to others to get the jobs done. Midale residents were busy making their yards ready for the chance to be first on the plaque.
Bienfait also had a great deal of branches to clean up. With two full-time public works people, they were busy. The two students were in charge of mowing and trimming.
The town's residents placed their bulky items by the road and the public works crew hauled it away.
Assistant administrator Shelby Tylandsvik said this was extremely helpful in getting the back alleys cleaned and really boosted the town's appearance. It was also a wonderful time to hold this competition, as it was after the annual Canada Day celebration that draws a large crowd.
The delay also gave Lampman more time to spend cleaning up the town. Lampman was the host town and it had already been preparing for weeks. They sent out letters to residents that had fallen behind on grass cutting and to remove unwanted items.
For a week Lampman offered free drops at the landfill site. The town's public works kept going right up until the arrival of the judges: Elias Jackson and Charlotte Hookenson from Kisbey and Sandra Wright from Arcola. They drove to each town and went down each street to check out the communities thoroughly.
They looked at the town signs and the tidiness of public properties, and checked if the empty and abandoned lots were kept clean and the removal of abandoned vehicles.
The main street needed to look clean and welcoming, and so did the back alleys.
The three judges returned to Lampman. They were joined by representatives from each town for lunch at the Harvest Café.
With the wind storm, the judges felt Midale and Bienfait had done a wonderful job on cleaning up and there was no evidence of the storm.
They noted that the Therapeutic Park in Lampman was certainly inviting, and they planned to return to visit it.
Suggestions to the towns were to clean up around power poles and have a council member greet them upon arrival at the town office.
It was not an easy decision for the judges, as they felt all three towns looked amazing, but in the end, they awarded the MLB Beautification Award to Bienfait.
Lampman Mayor Jay Jones presented the plaque to Bienfait Mayor Ken Bonokoski.
Lampman administrator Glenda Johnston said nobody loses in an event like this, as three communities are clean and the citizens were in good spirit. It is a very friendly competition and it can be a lot of fun.
Bienfait will host next year's MLB competition.
