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It’s been remarked lately that increases in fees/bills/taxes etc. are not matched by increases in pay. This is generally true, the two things having not much to do with each other. Occasionally the cost of something will go down, reflecting…
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The coffee shop talk lately is about brazen thefts from industrial properties. It appears to be a thriving industry. That, and smash-and-grab ATM heists seem to be going on at a professional level, which suggests organized criminals are involved. Local…
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The forests hereabouts provide a good living for a lot of people and have for many decades. Some of them get together every so often to celebrate and reminisce. When it comes to Slave Lake history, forestry goes back much…
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It’s looking as if we might have overreached ourselves when it comes to recycling ambitions. According to news reports, a lot of recycling simply doesn’t pay. Worse than that, it’s putting companies in the hole and they are getting out…
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Somebody the other day likened social media to an open sewer. ‘Sometimes something interesting floats by,’ he said, or words to that effect. ‘But the bad smell is still there.’ That’s being a bit harsh. If you look at all…
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Conservative types are happy these days with the election of the Kenney government in Alberta. Fair enough. They are also quite giddy with the prospects of Andrew Scheer’s federal Conservative Party forming the next government in Ottawa. But there’s this…
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You get a few people grumbling about so-called ‘social’ housing. Well, about social anything. They don’t like the word ‘social,’ perhaps because if you put ‘ism’ on the end of it, it turns into the bogeyman and it’s only a…
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Our new Member of the Legislative Assembly gets sworn in soon and starts a job and lifestyle that are completely new. Taking on a role as a full-time public servant is quite the role change after a career in business.…
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The bigger story lurking behind the UCP election victory last week is in the numbers. Going by the list of registered voters, Lesser Slave Lake saw a drastic loss in population between 2015 and 2019. According to Elections Alberta, LSL…
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Somebody (a newcomer) was commenting the other day about how many service organizations there seem to be in Slave Lake. Are there really more than elsewhere? Maybe there are and maybe it’s because there’s more need. There is a lot…
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Alberta Party candidate Vincent Rain put it right out there at the candidates’ forum a couple of weeks ago. The only way to move forward with projects, he said (meaning big industrial stuff), is to do it via proper consultation…
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What a relief. The recent election campaign was a grueling one – and that was just for the people watching from the sidelines. Only those campaigning know how much effort it took, and how much unpleasantness they had to endure.…
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Times don’t change, much. Case in point: western attitudes toward a Trudeau in Ottawa. Or Trudeau attitudes toward Alberta, for that matter. This came up recently when somebody showed up at The Leader with a collection of old political cartoons.…
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Those who attended the final game of the Pee Wee Provincials the other day gained an unforgettable experience and a pretty rare one – a community coming together to support a team of local kids striving for excellence in a…
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Last week an oil and gas company huddled in camera with M.D. of Lesser Slave River council for a couple of hours. What they talked about isn’t therefore officially acknowledged, but it’s safe to say it wasn’t to announce a…
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It appears there are at least three political parties running candidates in the April 16 provincial election who favour autonomy for Alberta. Checking out the party websites last week, that ‘autonomy’ thing was high on the list of the principles…
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