With this week’s edition of the St. Paul Journal, we say goodbye to the year 2016 and prepare to welcome 2017.
It’s been a difficult year in many respects – the May forest fire season forced the evacuation of Fort McMurray and surrounding areas in a huge crisis situation, the Town of St. Paul faced backlash over political decisions and hiring and firing practices; agricultural producers faced terrible weather conditions in fall, with cattle producers facing a drop in beef prices and additional fears of bovine TB. Worst of all, the economy continued its free fall, with hundreds of Albertans out of work and the unemployment rate hitting nine per cent, its highest in 22 years, this past November.
It’s a long enough list that you’d be tempted to look at it and say, ‘Good riddance 2016!’
But amidst the bleak news, there were reasons to feel hopeful and glad too. Despite the destruction wrought by the fire, Fort McMurray residents found themselves surrounded by a province of supporters – and an overflowing of support and empathy the world over that was truly heart-warming to see. Charitable causes from the Elks Radio Auction to the MS Society’s annual walk saw hundreds of thousands of dollars raised, in fact, exceeding the success of past years in some cases, much to organizers’ surprise. And there was country star Brett Kissel, who came back to St. Paul in June to put a rollicking hometown homecoming concert that was a highlight of the year for many.
As we look to 2017, we see oil prices on a modest upswing, with ATB Financial predicting a resulting 2.1 per cent growth for Alberta in 2017, on the heels of what is forecasted to be a 2.6 per cent contraction this year. While investment and job growth is predicted to be slow, and Albertans may continue to struggle to find work, hopefully, the predicted growth is the start of better things.
And there will be another reason to celebrate as well, with the Town of St. Paul celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday and the 50th anniversary of St. Paul’s UFO landing pad and being named Canada’s Centennial Star. St. Paul residents truly made 1967 a year for today’s history books; with a little creativity, cooperation and of course, a bit of the goofy whimsy that made us the home of the UFO landing pad, we can make some magic again in 2017, no matter what other circumstances the year throws our way.
