Editorial

So long, George

George Brown lived in Slave Lake for the last 18 years of his life, which ended recently at the age of 66. It seems too young for a fellow who was so full of life, but he had packed plenty into it and left a big mark on many lives.
That was obvious at George’s memorial service last week at the Slave Lake Legion hall. It was standing room only and there were not many dry eyes in the place as longtime friends told stories about George.
One of the anecdotes concerned how George and his wife Mary met. He was a teen-aged cook in the army, posted in Churchill Manitoba. She was a dishwasher in the same kitchen. They were married at age 19 and moved around a lot following George’s 20-year career in the military. Two children came along in the 1960s.
A career in government service as a manager followed military service, and brought the Browns to Slave Lake in 1989. George ran the Canada Manpower office and got heavily into in volunteering. His commitment to making the community a better place, as well as making everyone he came in contact with feel better about themselves, was noted again and again at his memorial service.
In recognition of his role in the community, The Lakeside Leader (along with the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre) was pleased to be able to award its Citizen of the Year Award to George Brown in the spring of 2005. The many nominations he received for the award that year made one thing quite clear: nobody put in as many hours as George when a project had to get done.
George Brown was one of a kind. He has left some very big shoes to fill.

Another new party
Alberta has seen many new political parties come and go. Most of them seem to be right wing outfits disenchanted with the ruling Tories for being too soft on one thing or another.
The latest is the Wildrose Party of Alberta. It seems to be the brainchild of Link Byfield and his colleagues at the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy. At least it’s Byfield who has been sending us e-mails, inviting participation. Here’s a tidbit from the latest:
“Given the speed with which the Stelmach government is losing favour with Albertans, and the apparent reluctance of the disenchanted to support the Liberals and other alternatives, the new party could form a provincial government. Strange but true.”
Anyone who pays attention to the Byfield columns that appear regularly on Page 5 of this paper will know what the chief plank in the Wildrose platform will be: namely, taking provincial powers back from the federal government.
“We have always said Albertans have more power to reform federalism provincially than Stephen Harper does nationally,” says Byfield in his July 21 e-mail update.
Why such an agenda couldn’t fit within the Alberta Alliance Party is not clear. The Alliance, with its single MLA, is the refuge of former Reformers who decided prior to the last provincial election that they weren’t comfortable under the provincial Tory tent. Now there’ll be even more company on the right, looking for elbow room and splitting the conservative vote.
The Liberals are probably quite happy with the development.