21 May 2004 Station Committee Proceeds with Study The drive to preserve the city's historic railway station has rounded another bend. Officials with Portage la Prairie Heritage Inc. and its Save the CPR Station committee have decided to proceed with a $22,600 study of the plans to restore the Third Street N.E. Canadian Pacific Railway station. "We're now in a position to launch our feasibility study," announced Vic Edwards, co-chairman of the Save the CPR Station committee.   The decision was made during the organization's annual general meeting at Ecole Prince Charles School on Wednesday evening. The analysis could begin right away and is expected to take about two months. It will include a cost estimate for the project and a plan for the 111-year-old building's conversion into a museum and interpretive centre.   The study will be done under the direction of a communications firm and will include input from a museum consultant and architectural firm. About $15,000 is already available to put toward the cost, and foundations have been approached to help with the remainder. There's also a new round of fundraisers which could supply the cash needed to do the analysis. Those efforts include a dance demonstration at Centennial Arena on 5 Jun 2004, a garage sale on 29 May 2004 and the second Canada's Train Day on 1 Jul 2004.   The $15,000 includes $5,000 Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance Co. recently donated to the cause, which Edwards said came at a good time. He hopes Portage Mutual's contribution will encourage other corporations to step forward. "I would hope that this is a good start to other people acknowledging this is a worthwhile project," he said.   Besides deciding to approve the study, Portage Heritage Inc. turned a page of its own history at Wednesday's meeting as Edwards was declared the organization's new president. After 10 years at the helm, outgoing president Tom McCartney said it's time for a change and believes he can step down now the organization has a major project in the CPR station. "I'm glad to see it carry on, there seems to be more interest in heritage and history," said McCartney, who will remain on the board as past-president. "This group, its sole purpose is to collect and preserve and to sponsor and that's still alive and well."   Among the achievements McCartney is proud of is the establishment of self-guided car tours and walking tours which feature local landmarks and heritage sites. The car tours raised money for repair projects at Fort la Reine Museum.   The group also captured the oral history of Portage through interviews with prominent citizens. Those interviews are now on paper, available as reference material at Portage la Prairie City Library.   McCartney said Edwards was the right choice for president. "Vic is a natural because he's leading the way on the CPR station," McCartney said.   Edwards said he would like to see the organization's profile raised in the community, and another attempt to collect the personal histories of senior residents so they won't be forgotten. "I think it's time we captured their stories," Edwards said. "They've contributed a lot to where we are now and where we are going." Edwards said the group is open to ideas on how to preserve the history of local forefathers.