This might have been the most exciting year from a news perspective than any others in recent memory, starting with a rocky nomination race to find a PC candidate for the local provincial riding, followed by two elections that both saw huge upsets of governing conservative parties.
The shock from these changes continues to reverberate in Alberta, as does the impact of oil prices that have dropped by as much as $80 a barrel, a drop that has seen many people have to move or find other work outside of the oil and gas industry.
Also in 2015, debate over the chosen location for the Two Hills Mennonite School continued to crop up, as the project continues to slog on at the site, while the announcement of a new Ashmont School was welcomed by that school community earlier this year.
The Town of St. Paul had a few major issues of debate, like whether or not to add fluoride to drinking water supplies and regarding its decision to sever its land lease with the golf club.
Small-town boy Brett Kissel continued to make waves in 2015, winning awards such as a CCMA, and he, along with local fiddle sensation Calvin Vollrath were chosen to have their names added to the welcome signs that greet people as they enter St. Paul. Meanwhile, two-time world long drive champion Jamie Sadlowski again made it to the worlds, and once again showed his hometown crowd his best effort with a 402-yard drive in the quarter finals, before getting knocked out in the semis.
While we are always excited by conventional “big” news stories, we at the Journal realize that the heart of community news is not about politicians or celebrities. Instead, the focus of our paper is on everyday people like you, on your stories – on regular people who have pushed themselves to run the Iron Horse Ultra, teams that have fought their way to provincial competitions, of Valentine’s Day couples who have loved each other through sickness and health, and, particularly over this past couple of weeks, of people who have gone out of their way to give presents or food to make sure that everyone has a bright Christmas and happy new year, especially in the midst of the current economic downturn.
These are the stories that make us proud, proud to be part of your community and proud to be your community newspaper. Here’s wishing for a bright 2016 to all our readers and businesses, and to another year of covering your stories.
