WESTLOCK – Lifelong Westlock County resident Brian Schryver is aiming to address long-term planning on rural roads by running for Division 6 in the Oct. 18 municipal election.
With a background in farming and heavy equipment, Schryver says that wider roads would benefit producers who need to move large equipment while avoiding highways.
“I want to put some points and policies in place for the long term. They’re rebuilding roads in a few places, but they’re all narrow roads, which doesn’t make a lot of sense because agricultural machines just keep getting bigger and wider. It makes it hard to move combines and swathers when the roads are so narrow,” said Schryver.
While applauding the past council’s improvements on grading, Schryver notes the need for further maintenance, which he plans to address if elected.
“There’s also a lot of places where the county hasn’t kept up with keeping the trees down in the ditches, so if you’re travelling with farm equipment down back roads you’ll hit branches and trees, even with larger trucks you’ll hit trees.”
Schryver says that he has long planned to run for council, but never put his name forward until now, feeling that he is prepared to be a voice for Division 6 and farmers across the county.
“I thought about it for a while, and I actually was considering it a couple of terms ago, but I wasn’t really ready to commit to something like that. But now I decided to get into it because I thought I could throw a few ideas around and I have a good idea of what is going on in the county.”
Hoping to take Division 6, which has been vacant since Fred Slobodian resigned last November, Schryver will be running against Stuart Fox-Robinson.
