It was a busy Thursday for the Rural Municipality of Victoria council as they held their regular meeting. Many delegations were heard, including presentations from emergency services and agricultural groups.

Deputy Reeve for the RM Reg Marginet says they first heard from Neil Young, the Fire Chief for the Cypress River department. He says there are 14 active members with the group and they will now have a new fire truck to use when they head out to a scene. They also decided to replace the hoses for the department. Marginet says they also heard from the Holland group.

"The other report we got was from Brent Baete. He's the Fire Chief in Holland," says Marginet. "They've got 17 active members. They had 23 calls last year, but they weren't, of course, all fires. They could have been traffic accidents, or something. Brent's going to step down as the Fire Chief, even though he's always going to stay on the crew."

On the agricultural side, the RM of Victoria heard from Neil Zalluski of the Central Assiniboine Watershed District. 

"He reported that there are grants available from the Prairie Watershed Climate program and these grants could cover up to a certain amount of money if you wanted upgrades to some of your fertilizer equipment," says Marginet. "There's money for soil mapping available, mapping for soil testing, upgrading to manure injection and incorporation equipment."

Marginet noted there are many programs available for producers in the area, as they look to retain more wetlands and more.

The RM council also heard reports from CleanFarms regarding pesticide collection, and Dugald Lamont, who is the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party. You can read more on the various committee reports on their website here.

Council meets in the RM of Victoria on the second Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8th.