It’s been quite a year.
There has been all kinds of excitement in the Westlock area in 2013, and the changes we’ve seen will certainly set the stage for more excitement in 2014.
Most notably there has been some significant change in the local political scene.
First and foremost, we have new chief elected officials in all three of our local municipalities — two of which weren’t even incumbent councillors. There are many new faces in the councillor seats, as well.
The people of Westlock clearly voted for change, so it will be interesting to see how things progress in the New Year — especially with discussions about dissolution in Clyde and amalgamation in Westlock and Westlock County.
With some new faces on the two local school boards as well, we may see some change on the education front. Most notably on the horizon for 2014 is the impending closure of the public schools in Jarvie and Fawcett, with some a big expansion expected in Dapp.
We’ve seen some big changes at the provincial level, as well, most notably with the centralization of lab services and all that it means for Westlock — the loss of some full-time positions and the possibility of longer wait times for test results.
Then at the federal level, we know Brian Storseth won’t represent us after the next federal election, so we can expect to see some announcements about candidates’ intentions for the new Peace River-Westlock riding in anticipation of the 2015 general election.
It’s been a big year in sports, as well. Westlock once again has a senior hockey team, which so far has showed it has the potential win a league championship in its inaugural year.
And, of course, the senior Red Lions and the 30 plus Red Lions will be looking to repeat their very successful baseball seasons, which saw them earn silver and gold medals respectively.
It can’t be denied that 2013 was a very good year for the entire Westlock area, and we can look forward to 2014 being filled with much of the same.
