As the Fitzhugh celebrates its 11th anniversary this week, it offers us an opportunity to reflect about where we’ve come from and where we’re going.
Over the past 12 months a lot has changed both in the newsroom and further afield.
As a news organization we said goodbye to our long-time editor in May and four-and-half months later said goodbye to the paper’s publisher, both of whom spent the better part of the past five years working for the newspaper.
With no time to waste, a new editor was quickly slotted into the position and a new reporter from Cape Breton, N.S., was hired in May. With one more spot to fill, a new publisher was brought on board in early October to bring the team back to even strength.
While the past five months has ushered in a new chapter in the Fitzhugh’s history, at the political level a lot has also changed.
Just over a year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party swept to power ending a decade of conservative rule.
Two weeks later, Catherine McKenna was appointed the minister of environment and climate change and by mid-November Alan Fehr was publically named Jasper National Park’s new superintendent.
Politics aside, on the local front a lot has also happened over the past 12 months.
In February, after months of fundraising, Jasper welcomed the first of two Syrian refugee families.
The community also opened up its doors and wallets to support fellow Albertans from Fort McMurray who were forced to flee their homes when a massive wild fire threaten to overrun their town.
Fast-forward to the summer, and residents and visitors got to see first hand what $211 million dollars (over five years) in federal infrastructure funding looks like. With new bridges, road signs and pavement, the park has never looked so good, and it’s only going to get better as more and more projects come online.
Of course looking forward to 2017 there is a lot to be excited about, but there are also ominous clouds on the horizon.
One of the biggest concerns is how Jasper will handle the tsunami of tourists that are expected to visit Jasper National Park in 2017 when entrance to the park is free.
With more tourists there will also be more pressure on the municipality to find additional sources of revenue to help pay for the associated costs.
How it will play out remains to be seen, but residents should expect both of these issues to remain front and centre as the province approaches municipal elections on Oct. 16, 2017.
With so much at stake in the year ahead, the Fitzhugh’s twelfth year in publishing promises to be just as exciting as the 11 years that preceded.
