All Stories

Jeff Burgar Falher businessperson Jean Nicolet once said, “Give me $10 million and I will show you economic development!” Well, he might have said a million! Or maybe it was two or three million. No matter the amount, he was…
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Richard Froese “O Canada!” “The True North, strong and free.” “God keep our land glorious and free.” Those are some lines in our national anthem. Canada Day on July 1 traditionally kicks off the summer to celebrate our great nation…
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Editorial – We love the north

Jeff Burgar Many people from Alberta love to spend summer weeks taking holidays in the northern regions, in the Shuswap or Okanagan. There is also a clutch of southerners that love Saskatchewan’s Last Mountain Lake region. Or northern Saskatchewan with…
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Jeff Burgar I was being “Karened.” Oh no! Of course, I didn’t know it was that at the time. Whatever! Something was happening. And I was the target, just as if I had a bull’s-eye drawn on my forehead. It…
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Jeff Burgar A Joussard property owner asked a question last week: “Is Joussard a destination recreational area?” It’s an excellent question. The answer, looking at the planning map, is a wiggly “It depends.” It changes from one plot of land…
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Pearl Lorentzen The book Cheaper by the Dozen is about a husband and wife who were efficiency experts in the early 1900s and had 12 kids. The narrator is one of the kids remembering their childhood. In the book, the…
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Jeff Burgar Feel sorry for Jasper? The town! Not Jasper the Bear! Both Jasper and Banff are tourist towns. Both are hard hit by our provincial lockdowns. Hotels and restaurants are closed. Souvenir shops have no customers. Streets and local…
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Chris Clegg Golden years, schmolden years! Phooey! OK, I’m not there yet, but this getting old is not all the glory it’s cracked up to be. If 65 is the cutoff to be a Golden Ager, I’m less than seven…
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Jeff Burgar “This time it’s different.” Those dabbling in stock markets have probably heard those prophetic words. As in, as markets go up and up and up, naysayers keep saying, “Look out. Everything points to coming collapse.” But optimists keep…
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Joe McWilliams “June is the best month,” I wrote in this space several years ago. I’m not sure what I was thinking. It’s certainly the best if you don’t like sleeping. Because with the sun coming up at 4 a.m.,…
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Jeff Burgar “I’m entitled to my entitlements.” So famously said David Dingwall when questioned by a parliamentary committee investigating a severance package he got for quitting his government job. The incident came to mind when Big Lakes County councillors voted…
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Richard Froese Another school year will soon come to an end as high school graduates pursue a new stage in their life. Graduates are usually in the spotlight in May and June when schools, families and communities celebrate the young…
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Jeff Burgar Money, money, money. That’s all it takes to make the world sit right. Following in the footsteps of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with his mostly welcomed wheelbarrows of cash is popular. Our own Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is…
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Jeff Burgar We don’t usually say “oldtimers,” “geezers” or “geezettes” or other titles that indicate, in a sort of condescending tone, their advanced years. These days, it’s something like “seniors” or “elders.” But a polite name doesn’t mean they automatically…
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Alberta is going through real hardship right now. Unfortunately, many of the problems Albertans are facing today have been made worse by political decisions made by the Government of Alberta. Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced dramatic changes on our communities,…
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