Opinion

They say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, but that has to be one of the worst ways to lubricate public process in a civil society.

Smoke is in the air and that means there’s a fire burning somewhere. So when you live in a location like the Bow Valley, surrounded by pine and spruce forests, you can’t help but be a bit nervous as the air takes on a dusty tinge and smell.

What a long, strange trip it’s been for three black bear cubs orphaned in Banff National Park.

It came as no surprise that bus company Greyhound threw in the towel in Western Canada this week.

The Canmore Eagles are flying into a tough 2018-19 hockey season. Their organization was given marching orders by town council to get their financial nest in order.

No doubt at times in the last week or so, June rains had area residents recalling those dark days of 2013, when precipitation seemed immeasurable and mountain creek floodwaters full of debris blasted their way to the Bow River.

The time has come for provincial wildlife managers to take a critical look at their policies and change them to reflect a more current and multi-jurisdictional approach to managing species like grizzly bears in places like the Bow Valley.

The way things are going, our towns are going to look and work much differently than they have for the past few decades.

Maybe now we’re getting somewhere . . . For many people, the notion that ‘problems’ with wildlife in the Bow Valley stem from problems with people in the Bow Valley won’t come as a surprise.

Every year as we transition from spring to summer the Bow Valley braces for the unexpected, from rising water levels to increased fire danger.