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Bigger fish to fry
Commentary by Jeff Burgar
for South Peace News
The bad news is, it took the Town of High Prairie four months to get a welcoming letter posted off to Costco.
Say what you will whether it's a good idea inviting the giant warehouse store to High Prairie. The idea for the letter came from economic development pursuit committee member Barry Sharkawi in December 2009. That's what the committee does - come up with ideas. The committee didn't shoot this particular idea down.
But, four months later, Sharkawi was still asking when the letter would be written.
In fairness, Sharkawi could have written the letter himself. But, that's not the protocol of how government is supposed to work. People make motions. Motions get debated. If a motion is passed, then paid staff follow through with the work. Why the paid staff decided this particular motion wasn't worth a stamp and 10 minute's worth of time is still an unanswered question. The good news is, the letter is now written.
Moving on, should chasing big box stores and their ilk be the only game in town?
Of course not.
One should not measure a community only by the number of fast food joints, the existence of a Timmie's, a McDonald's or a Canadian Tire. Searching for such stores has its place. There are still much bigger fish to fry.
Isn't it much better to brag up quality of education? How about recreation opportunities? How about jobs and business opportunities? How about lack of crime? How about medical services?
These are the things that attract people to live and work in a community. These are the things that keep people in a community. Shopping and dining amenities are nice. End all be all? We don't think so.
Our region is very big on recreation. Hockey rinks. An indoor swimming pool. Ball diamonds. Tennis courts. Even with that, there is always more to do. More soccer. Longer ball season. Bigger skateboard park. Bigger golf course. More hiking and walking trails.
Same for quads and trail bikes. Think about recreation and the list keeps on growing.
What about the rest? Quality education. The crime rate. Medical services. And of course, jobs for everybody who wants to work. Quality jobs and opportunity to open and grow business and industry. These things are just as easy, or just as hard, as growing recreation. Too often, they don't get the attention they deserve by the entire community. Too often, too few dedicated people carry the ball.
Sure, a new Tim Hortons is exciting. Does it leave the same legacy in a community as expanding medical services, a 50 per cent reduction in street drugs, or a year-after-year-after year improvements in Grade 12 final marks?
Not a chance!
Granted, doing a “little picture” thing like writing a letter seems to be difficult. Community leadership should honestly ask themselves, what kind of job are we doing dealing with big picture issues?
- Jeff Burgar
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