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100 Mile blooming beautiful for judges

Judges for Communities in Bloom returned to 100 Mile House last week
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South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce president Donna Barnett (left) helped show Communities in Bloom Judges Dustin de Jongh and Floortje Molenaar around town with Coun. Maureen Pinkney and summer student Emily Tinney. (Patrick Davies photo - 100 Mile Free Press)

Judges for Communities in Bloom returned to 100 Mile House last week.

First-time judge Dustin de Jongh, the City of Coquitlam’s landscape coordinator, and veteran judge Floortje Molenaar, of Peachland, were shown around the community last Thursday by District of 100 Mile House Coun. Maureen Pinkney.

The pair judged 100 Mile House on six main factors, including environmental action, heritage preservation, landscape, floral, forestry management and overall tidiness. Both were impressed by what 100 Mile has to offer.

“It’s fantastic. I’m guilty of just travelling through and never really stopping so it’s really nice to have a day of complete focus in getting off that main corridor everybody travels on,” de Jongh said. “Seeing the residential areas, you see how much pride the residents take in their community.”

Pinkney said she enjoyed welcoming Communities in Bloom judges back to 100 Mile House.

“I try to tell people to be a visitor in your own town and go over to the visitor’s centre and pick up some paperwork,” Pinkney said. “You’d be amazed by how much stuff there is to see and you really start thinking about that when you’re trying to tell other people what is here.”

de Jongh said he really enjoyed learning about the history of the area throughout the tour from Pinkney and South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce president Donna Barnett. In addition to 100 Mile House and Centennial Park, the tour included a visit to the 99 Mile cemetery and the 108 Heritage Site.

Communities in Bloom is a non-profit that holds annual competitions to promote civic pride and environmental responsibility across Canada. Molenaar said taking part in the event, on the provincial level, is less about winning and more about receiving feedback on what could be improved in a community.

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“Communities kind of compete against themselves rather than others,” Molenaar said.

The results will be announced at the provincial awards ceremony in Victoria in October.

“It’s a community booster and we have a beautiful town, so why not show it off?” Pinkney said. “You look up Birch Avenue with all our flowers right now and it’s just gorgeous.”



patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net

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Communities in Bloom judges Dustin de Jongh and Floortje Molenaar laugh as they discuss one of Birch Avenue’s flower beds last week. (Patrick Davies photo - 100 Mile Free Press)
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Communities in Bloom judges Dustin de Jongh and Floortje Molenaar laugh as they discuss one of Birch Avenue’s flower beds last week. (Patrick Davies photo - 100 Mile Free Press)


Patrick Davies

About the Author: Patrick Davies

An avid lover of theatre, media, and the arts in all its forms, I've enjoyed building my professional reputation in 100 Mile House.
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