By the end of this week, or by Monday, July 4 at the latest, the residents of Weyburn will have about half a dozen new interim recycling bins available around the city, council was told on Monday evening.

Coun. Rob Stephanson of the Environmental Resources Committee said they had hoped to have the agreement in place by Tuesday morning, and bins set up by the end of the week; the city will publicize the locations of those bins once the details are finalized.

"They will be open-topped bins. We are asking that the only things to go into those bins are paper and cardboard. It's very important that only those things go into these bins. If we get any other types of waste, it will defeat the return we stand to get, and also it's just not right," said Stephanson. These bins would be to provide interim recycling for city residents while a more permanent solution is sought.

He and members of the committee travelled to Yorkton to see their recycling plant recently, and noted it is set up in a similar fashion as the Wor-Kin Shop, as it's a part of the SARCAN bottle depot there.

The main difference, said Coun. Stephanson, "they have a very large baler and conveyor belt system. Their baler does in an hour what Weyburn's does in a week."

He added they still sort paper by hand, but the conveyor system makes it much more efficient.

Weyburn's Wor-Kin Shop gave up paper and cardboard recycling as of June 15, mainly due to the growing volume that their clients were just not able to handle.

In Yorkton, they have 17 bins around the city picked up by a contractor, and also provide a household dropoff service. They also recycle plastics and computer parts, neither of which is available in Weyburn currently.

"The whole operation is funded by the City of Yorkton. We'll be doing some research on what kind of dollars are being provided by the city," said Stephanson.

In the meantime, as the research goes on for a long-term solution to Weyburn's recycling needs, Stephanson said people holding on to their paper and cardboard need to patient until the interim collection bins have been arranged for and are in place.

He noted Yorkton has had very little incidence of contamination of their recycling materials, and hoped the same situation could happen here in Weyburn.

There was a slight decrease in the number of crimes investigated by the Weyburn Police Service in 2004, and in the number of complaints received by the department, but an increase in the charges going to court, according to the Annual Report released Monday.

Police Chief Rod Horsman said Weyburn police received 5,157 calls for service in 2004, which is down slightly from the year before from 5,307.

"2004 appeared to be a stable year, however I firmly believe this was due to the commitment and quick response by our members. A lot of incidents could become volatile if not responded to in a timely manner," the chief told council.

Chief Horsman also noted that a 31-year veteran of the force, Sgt. Mike Rogal, is retiring as of the end of June, and Const. Trevor Hughes will be promoted to the rank of sergeant as of July 1, with the chevrons to be presented to him on Thursday morning.

Of the calls, there were 1,159 reports of crime, of which 116 were unfounded, leaving 1,043 actual crime reports, down from 1,134 from last year. A total of 501 files, or 48 per cent, were cleared by the police in 2004, which means these cases were solved with those responsible charged.

The clearance rate the year before was 49 per cent.

For offences dealt with in court, there were a total of 2,160 charges, which is up by 15 per cent from the year before. The increases came in bylaw infractions (1,140, up from 856), alcohol and gaming infractions (92, up from 85) and general provincial infractions (124, up from 108).

There were also nine charges under federal acts, mainly dealing with illegal drug, compared to five the year before.

There were 20 impaired drivers charged, up from 15 in 2003 but down from 35 in 2002.

Traffic accidents were down slightly, with 179 major accidents and 105 minor ones, down from 183 and 94 respectively the year before. There were 21 people injured compared to 29 the year before.

The numbers from the Humane Society's animal control program were also provided, with a total of 556 animals dealt with, down from 578 the year before. Of those, 322 were cats, up from 308, and 242 were dogs, down from 257. There were 146 animals euthanized in 2004, up from 98 the year before, and 258 were adopted, down from 278.

All programming at the Signal Hill Arts Centre will continue on as planned, as the elevator at the aging facility is still workable for those who absolutely need it for access.

There have been some problems with the elevator malfunctioning, but the elevator apparently can still work.

Use of the elevator will be restricted only to those patrons who are unable to use the stairs, and they must be accompanied by a staff member of Signal Hill until the elevator can be reinspected, said Coun. Bill Rudachyk of the Leisure Services Commission.

The commission also received a letter from the RM of Lomond, who have agreed to provide a grant to the city equal to the support they give to the regional parks in their area.

The RM has also suggested holding a meeting with the other area RMs on the issue of helping the city pay for recreational services and facilities

City council endorsed a request from the Southeast REDA (Regional Economic Development Authority), which is compiling interest from area municipalities in having Highway 39 and 6 twinned from Regina to North Portal.

SEREDA manager Dylan Clarke noted in his letter to the city that this highway is part of the national highway system, and with the Yellowhead and Trans-Canada Highways twinning nearing completion, work should begin to promote the twinning of this highway as well.

Mayor Don Schlosser noted this sort of venture won't be happening overnight, but the lobbying needs to start now if it is going to happen. He noted some feel the highway from Saskatoon to Prince Albert should be the next highway twinned, but "we're saying this highway has a lot more traffic than that one does."

The benefits of having the highway twinned would include increased trade and tourism to the area, better highway conditions and increased safety.

"I think this is more than just a wish. We spelled out to the Department of Highways at that time there's enough traffic to warrant twinning the highway," said Coun. Ray Hamm.

"We should pursue it with the greatest amount of vigour that we can," added Coun. Rudachyk.

The city's fire department will double its hourly rate to respond to calls from the five surrounding RMs or the village of McTaggart.

The fire department reviewed its five-year agreements with the RMs and village, going over the costs of fire-fighting over the last few years.

The per capita fee for providing fire protection will be increased from $5 to $7 per capita, and the per-hour fee will be doubled from $600 to $1,200 to deal with the high cost of fire-fighting.

Chief Denis Pilon told council this is a large increase, but said farm land owners can buy insurance to cover the costs of fire-fighting.

A suggestion had been made to cap the cost of fire-fighting at a rural residential property at $6,000, but Mayor Don Schlosser objected, saying it should be left wide open, with the costs to be picked up by insurance coverage that can be provided by the home owners.