Penner running for second term in Hanover; boasts 24 years in politics

RM of Hanover Coun. Ed Penner is looking to secure his second term on council and said he still has the same passion for Ward 4 as he did when he first ran.

“The reason why I want to continue being a councillor is because I have the passion for working for the municipality and I get the further developments done in the areas that I’ve been working with, and local drainage and road improvement,” he said.

The ward covers the areas of Sarto, Friedensfeld, and Pansy.

He finds the people in Ward 4 to be friendly and multicultural. “I have some Ukrainian, Mennonites, French – a multicultural ward, which is fine. To me, it doesn’t matter what culture they are. I’m here to represent everyone,” he said.

“What I like best about my ward is that it is grassroots to the ground, where people are concerned about the municipality and also concerned about their neighbours to work together and contribute to the economy.”

Penner said that service to another person and making their lives better makes him feel as though he has accomplished something, which is why he is so passionate about being a councillor. He said his experience as a farmer benefits him as a councillor for Ward 4.

“I see the passion that the producers have, and I had the same passion when I was a producer. So, I feel right along with them when they bring concerns to me,” he said.

Penner used to live in Vita in the RM of Stuartburn where he operated a dairy farm and cow and calf operation. He also had his own trucking business, Custom Hauling, for 36 years transporting livestock. He was on the RM of Stuartburn council for 20 years.

He moved to Hanover with his wife when he semi-retired as they wanted to be closer to larger centres such as Steinbach and Winnipeg. Four years ago, he was encouraged by his constituents to run for Hanover council.

“I see there’s a lot more work to be done, so I want to continue doing it,” he said, noting there are a lot of similarities between his ward in Hanover and his ward in Stuartburn.

Penner said the main issues affecting people in his ward are roads and cellular service. He said cellular service is a big concern and that the RM was working with cellular company SLI Towers to erect a tower in Sarto, but after it set up a tower near Steinbach the RM never heard from SLI again.

“They’ve abandoned us and left crickets,” said Penner, noting he is working with La Verendrye MLA Konrad Narth to get the service promised by SLI and if that doesn’t happen then the RM will look to other providers.

As a producer, Penner knows the issues facing farmers at the moment. He said drainage is top of mind for them.

“We have done some cleaning, but there’s a lot more to do. And also from our local drainage going to our provincial drains, to keep them maintained and in working order so that when we get these major rainfalls that the water can run out,” he said, noting Ward 4 drainage work will begin this summer. He said the province has yet to start clearing out its drains, but it is repairing culverts and ends with traps.

Penner currently sits on the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District as chair and there have been a number of drainage projects the watershed has done in his ward for farmers, such as small water retention areas and better infrastructure to prevent and slow down overland flooding and nitrogen runoffs.

“We’ve subsidized them through the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed with buffer strips to keep the nutrients out of the water system so it stays on the land,” he said.

Currently, the RM is waiting for approval from Stuartburn for a water retention project near Pansy that will be co-built with the watershed district.

“That project is ready to go for licensing as soon as we get the release, because the RM of Stuartburn has to sign off on it because it’s bordering against the (them). We definitely want to do it this year. That’s our top priority for this year because we have the funding all in place for it.”

The Ducks Unlimited Canada cells south of Pansy create overflow from the Rat River, which eventually flows north into the Joubert Creek, but before it flows into the creek it floods the Pansy Community Pasture and the privately owned farmland beside it.

The solution is to build a 1,100 metre long and half-a-metre high berm in the northwest corner with a culvert. The entire retention site is 50 acres.

The RM projects Penner is most proud of are road reconstruction projects, particularly the reconstruction of Centre Street going south to Road 29 and reconstruction of two-and-a-half miles of renewal for Roads 34 and 35.