It was pretty tempting to fill this space with a rant, much like last week’s editorial, on how priorities seem out of whack when it comes to the spending of provincial bucks.
Last week, we pointed out how ridiculous it was that $600,000 of a provincial grant was to be poured, literally, into filling a sinkhole in Canmore’s Three Sisters area. Meanwhile, Banff’s Mineral Springs Hospital is facing a $600,000 cut from Covenant Health, which will mean the St. Martha’s Place continuing care facility, and the seniors who live there, will feel the pinch.
Last week, we asked if you’d rather $600,000 was poured into a hole in the ground, or to keep St. Martha’s Place functioning for the sake of the senior citizens who call it home?
This week, we’ll ask, would you rather spend $600,000 to fill a sinkhole, or to spare the Canadian Rockies Public Schools (CRPS) board (front page) the task of running a $250,000 deficit budget – the result of cutbacks in provincial funding?
These examples of questionable priorities will be happening around the province, of course, so we’re only commenting on local examples, but again, where are the priorities?
Yes, we realize there’s more to sinkhole remediation than just filling one in, but seriously – $600,000?
With issues like these taking place locally, one wonders if, when dollars were handed out for Canmore’s $39 million Elevation Place, for example, maybe $36 million would have sufficed. It wouldn’t have been as grand an edifice, no doubt, but maybe a few million could have been banked for rainy days.
People we hear from still consider education and health care a priority in their lives; maybe they should be more of a priority when it comes to provincial budgeting. Everything can’t be blamed on a provincial deficit caused by the now-popular Bitumen Bubble.
Is there any point in giving with one hand (Elevation Place) and taking away with the other (Mineral Springs, CRPS)?
It’s a (mountainous) jungle out there
Bears are barely out of their winter dens, the days have just begun warming up and we’re already seeing all kinds of instances of people not getting with the program here in our Rocky Mountains.
Unbeknownst to many, this Valley and these Rockies are unlike what many tourists and visitors are used to.
This is a tourist area and everybody’s welcome, but around here, you can’t just chuck garbage into the woods for bears to get into (page 16). That could result in them being dead if they become accustomed to humans and start approaching too closely.
As well, keep in mind that bears can be found anywhere in this Valley. Arm yourself with bear spray and know how to use it.
And please, these mountains are no place to be stumbling around in flipflops and other summer apparel. The weather can turn from nice to nasty in moments and you need to be prepared. And keep in mind, vast expanses of these beautiful mountains have no cellphone coverage, so getting lost or injured can result in hours, or an overnight, spent cold and miserable in the backcountry.
The Bow River, beautiful and inviting as it is, is not a backyard pool that can be plied in a vinyl “toy” boat; serious watercraft are necessary to explore its cold waters. Strong currents, sweepers, shallows, rapids and rocks can all play havoc with a craft not designed for bigger water.
Take a page out of the guide’s handbook and “Be Prepared.” It’s much better to be prepared than to be hauled out of the mountains by safety specialists in a stretcher, or at the end of a helicopter sling line.
