Editorial

Looking forward to fall

Just when we were getting prepared to deal with the annual shortage of news and non-fictional fodder that is a chronic condition when summer rolls around, the blessed whispers began. First there were a couple of bold declarations, followed closely by the nudges and winks, the quiet nuances and off-the-record suggestions and admissions that this fall’s municipal election was going to be no snoozer.
Rumours about possible candidates were in the wind, but suddenly, the newsroom, it appeared, had become ‘the’ place to be, to drop in to chat about this and that.
No silly season here, this is the real McCoy.
Of course there are the ‘possible’ candidates that openly admit they’re seriously considering a run at a seat around the municipal council table. Both rural and urban candidates are in the ‘thinking about it’ mode. But for most it’s off the record, of course.
Still others say they’re definitely running – but aren’t quite ready to file their papers yet.
Maybe it’s the carry-over from the federal election that drew all sorts of attention from the scribes – and Canadians in general – but fizzled at the finish line. Or maybe it’s all the non-obvious hints and give-aways that the province has been handing out while Premier Ralph plays peek-a-boo with the electorate.
But reporters are getting the feeling that they’d better get a stack of notebooks ready for what promises to be a fun September and October. At this point we’re hearing mostly about Town and Municipal District(s) – Lesser Slave River and Opportunity) wanna-bes and contenders. School board trustee candidates are quite often slow coming out of the chute, but we are hearing some comments from others that say they’d love a shot at a seat on the regional health authority, even though Premier Ralph Klein snuffed chances for that three years ago.
But after chronically being the loneliest kids on the block (for the most part) and the last to know about everything, we’re suddenly becoming real people – sometimes even sought-after in a non-obvious sort of way.
But there’s definitely something in the wind that seems so real we can almost taste it. Just like a former ambulance director used to tell us he could smell ‘blood’ after a dry spell at the ambulance barn, our spidey senses are twitching.
And it’s definitely not silly season, but a countdown to municipal elections that promises to be like none we’ve seen for many years.
At least here’s hoping.

Thanks for the support
To each and every person who played a role, no matter how minuscule or minute, in the decision to open a renal dialysis satellite unit at Slave Lake’s health complex, congratulations -- and thank you.
Many individuals in our region and their families have been waiting and praying for this good news for years. And we join their choir of praise and gratitude to anyone who played a role in this decision.
The health of our community has been enhanced immeasurable and on behalf of all those who made it happen, we thank everyone for this very great day.
A special thank you to Northern Alberta satellite program co-ordinator Debbie Gordon whom we know has been watching out for us and making all the right moves to ensure the dialysis unit opened as soon as possible.