Concerns over funding for infrastructure, and over agricultural issues and rural school closures, were three of the main topics raised by delegates to the annual convention of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM), held from March 10-13 in Regina.

There were about 1,600 delegates and guests at the convention as of Tuesday morning, representing 273 RMs from around the province, with Lieut-Gov. Gordon Barnhart officially opening the convention, followed that morning by Premier Brad Wall in his first appearance as the premier before the SARM delegates.

Coun. Ron Lutz attended from the RM of Weyburn, while Reeve Don Watson and Coun. Gary Christopherson attended for the RM of Brokenshell, and each came away with different impressions from the speakers they heard during the convention.

Lutz noted that SARM president David Marit addressed the convention, commenting on the issues of infrastructure and agriculture. One of the lobby efforts that SARM is carrying out is pressing the federal government to carry on with the Prairie Grain Roads Program, and to change the out-dated Navigable Waters Act.

Some of the speakers he took note of included Darci Lang, a motivational speaker, Municipal Affairs minister Bill Hutchinson, and Agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud.

Hutchinson noted that Saskatchewan relies on property taxes for education more than any other province, and said he is working on infrastructure agreements with highways, the province and RMs wherever possible.

For agriculture, Bjornerud said his department is reviewing crop insurance coverage, and would like input from the RMs about it; he said there is gopher coverage this year as well as individual alfalfa coverage.

For Brokenshell Reeve Don Watson, this convention was very "low-key" in many ways without the confrontations with government ministers that has occurred in the past. He particularly noticed this at the bearpit session.

"I thought it was particularly mild; usually it's hotly contested. People are willing to sit back and let the Sask Party have a chance at running things," said Watson.

The perennial issue of education tax on farmland was hardly mentioned at the convention, said the reeve, but predicted "it'll be a factor again sooner or later." The address by minister Bjornerud was well-received, he thought, and it seems agriculture will have a more important role with this government than in the past.

The issue of gopher control came up as RMs press to be able to use strychnine, and the Ag minister announced that an additional 60 RMs will have access to two-per-cent liquid strychnine this spring. In addition, SARM raised some $380,000 which is to help research alternative ways to control gophers than by using strychnine.

One of the most humourous moments of the convention, said Reeve Watson, was in the aftermath of Premier Wall getting in trouble for allowing his 14-year-old daughter to practice driving on gravel roads before she had her licence. About 1,800 delegates and guests were asked how of them had done the same thing, and every hand in the room went up; when the question was changed to how many didn't do this, no one put their hand up.

Coun. Gary Christopherson said he enjoyed the convention, and found it valuable more for the networking and meeting of ministers that takes place than for the speakers.

"It's grassroots politicians being able to discuss problems like infrastructure, like roads and bridges, when we can talk to provincial politicians face-to-face. To me, that's really the highlight of the convention," he said.

There were about 14 cabinet ministers present for the bearpit session, noted Christopherson, so a wide variety of issues were able to be raised.

"One of the main issues we're dealing with, and it's the same in the RM of Weyburn, we're dealing with the movement of grain through our corridors. It's the old problem where local taxpayers are paying for traffic coming through the RM. The government is loosening up on the gas tax and they're paying us to maintain the roads," said Christopherson.

Of the speeches he listened to, the councillor felt Premier Wall's speech was "definitely a highlight. He seems to be a very sincere person as well as someone who's in touch with the problems we're seeing in rural Saskatchewan, as well as the good points of what's going in rural Saskatchewan."

One resolution he was glad to see come up was asking for tougher fines for those people who knock down traffic signs on RM roads.

Christopherson explained how this may sound like a minor problem, but pointed out it adds up to thousands of dollars in cost and manpower, as staff have to be taken off of jobs they're supposed to be doing to reinstall traffic signs, which have to be up by law.

This problem is seen in several RMs, so the resolution had a lot of support.

Overall, the convention "is a very busy time. Anybody who's ever attended knows, it doesn't leave time for much else than what you're there for," he said, with all the networking and meeting with fellow RM delegates as well as government officials.