Opinion

During an Athabasca County council meeting last week, Cpl. Dale Bereza spoke about the difference it can make in the crime level of a community when certain criminals are behind bars.

Last week, someone told me that we came across as “very self serving” after we asked for some advertising dollars, that we were “really just after money.” Well, I thought about that for a while. Yes, we are after money.

Is it time for Barrhead to have its own municipally run or funded animal shelter? We believe the answer is yes. Last week one of our staff members came upon a small kitten that had been abandoned along the road.

It is surprising how fast time can fly. One minute you’re in school learning a valuable skill, the next minute you’re focusing your efforts on getting a business up and running.

By the sounds of the last Village of Clyde council meeting and the response from Alberta Municipal Affairs, the municipality is in way over its head.

The Christmas countdown is on. When this edition hits the streets, there’ll be 41 days to go before Santa comes a-calling. Where does the time fly? Maybe it’s because we had a somewhat abbreviated fall, what with snow on the ground for Halloween.

Mental health issues are not something that can be ignored.

Life is hard. It is something I say often. Why? Because it is true. And that is for people like me — white, middle aged, heterosexual and above the poverty line.

The lack of mental health resources in Athabasca and beyond are taking a tangible toll on our communities. For decades, the issues of mental health have gone unheeded as either unimportant or nonexistent.

Young lives literally are hanging in the balance – and you may not even know it.