Duane Hicks
Think twice before the next time you put an empty pop can in your “blue box.”
Instead, you could save it and help out a local service club.
The Fort Frances Voyageur Lions Club, with some help from community partners, put out two bins over the weekend–one at the corner of Portage Avenue and First Street East and the other at A&W on King’s Highway.
The purpose of the bins is for the public to drop off aluminum cans, which the Lions then can turn in to raise a few bucks and help out local causes.
“It’s an environmentally-friendly way to get money from people without banging on doors or windows,” said club member Bill Michl, who put the bins out Sunday with his two sons, Tyler and Travis.
“It’s kind of nice that way,” he added. “It takes the legwork out of a lot of fundraising.
“Whatever they bring in, it’s money ahead for the community,” he reasoned.
Michl stressed the project was a group effort involving quite a few people.
John Gavel Custom Manufacturing Inc., for instance, gave the Lions a good deal on the steel.
John and Gary Esselink helped Michl build the bins while Busch’s Machine & Welding Shop helped them bend some of the metal.
CJ Contracting let Michl borrow its shop space to paint the bins this past winter.
Michl also thanked A&W owner Barb Flinders and Steve Both, who owns the property at Portage Avenue and First Street East, for letting the Voyageur Lions put the bins on their property.
Looking forward, the Lions will empty the bins once they get full and turn the cans over to Greg’s Recycling in Devlin in return for money.
Michl said because they’re doing this for charity, owner Greg Stahn has agreed to give the club an extra nickel per pound.
At the current rate, that means the Lions will get about 30 cents per pound.
“All we have to do now is figure out how to get them out there,” Michl chuckled.
“None of us in the club have a half-ton [truck].”
Michl said the inspiration for the bins came from Dan Loney of Cloverleaf Family Foods in Emo, who some time ago had set up bins in Emo and Devlin.
He lets various charity groups take turns benefitting from the proceeds.
“It had been in the works for almost two years,” Michl said.
“We saw the ones out in Emo and Devlin and were going to get some made, and then found out the cost to make the darn things was astronomical, like over $3,000 a bin,” he noted.
“Our club didn’t have that kind of money so I thought, ‘If we can get the metal a decent price, I know enough to put them together,” he added.
“I have a few friends who used to work at the mill. So that’s what we did.”
Michl hopes the bins are well-used but asked that people only use them for aluminum cans.
“We don’t want to be separating garbage,” he stressed.
Michl said the Lions will see how well the bins are used.
“We might have to build a third and a fourth one, and put one in the north end and one in the east end eventually,” he noted.
“But right now, we’ll see how it works.”
‘Jail or Bail’
Meanwhile, the Voyageur Lions Club continues to look for “criminals” for its annual “Jail or Bail” fundraiser.
It is set for Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Fort Frances Curling Club, in conjunction with the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Community Expo.
“It’s looking good,” said Michl. “Just a little more legwork here and hopefully it will go over pretty good.
“Everything’s falling into place.”
Michl said the Lions have 10 confirmed human participants–and possibly one dog–but it’s not too late to nominate a criminal.
To do so, call or text Michl at 276-1334 or e-mail him at bmichl226@gmail.com
The “convict” will be asked to appear before a judge at the “Jail or Bail” event April 22 and be put behind bars.
The accused then are asked to raise a minimum of $200 to make bail, although the Lions are hoping participants bring in as much as they can.
