Dear Editor:
Ponoka’s director of operations, Mike Lewis, has faced some negative publicity these last two weeks regarding his decision to contract a Lacombe company to plant trees along 50th Street, but I think he deserves praise.
He got a time-sensitive job done, he did make some effort to contract locally without success and he’s succeeded in improving the appearance of one of our main retail areas. Our downtown shopping district, as well as other areas, can only benefit from projects like this. Tidy and beautifully planted neighbourhoods offer a draw for new people and business looking to move to Ponoka.
Furthermore, a business based in Lacombe could be considered local. It’s certainly within reasonable distance to our town and many Lacombe residents do business in Ponoka. Why do we always focus on the negative? Perhaps this is part of why Ponoka’s business community is struggling.
Let’s commend Mr. Lewis for doing something positive for our town and perhaps local businesses can work to accommodate more similar projects in the future.
Alexandra West