We have been marking the season of awards and recognitions in the community: Over the past two weeks, there were ceremonies and gatherings at our schools, at the Legion and at the Kinsmen Community Center.
We celebrated the successes of our students, our business people, our dedicated community volunteers and workers who have done a lot to contribute to strengthening and maintaining the sense of belonging to Ponoka, a sum which represents more than the individuals, families and institutions in it combined. Yet, all this was in keeping with the tradition, maintaining a ritual of congratulating ourselves for being us.
It looks like, however, that this community has been thirsty for some time for a real reason to celebrate something new: In most of the discussions, there is much talk of “an end to negative” and “a positive beginning”, which is indicative of high expectations and quick results, something that may not be coming as fast as one would like to see.
Given that we have an overwhelming majority of new members in both the town and county councils, it is only natural for them to take their time to warm up to their seats and get a feeling of the responsibility they will have in order to deliver on their promises made during the campaign.
But one should never ignore the fact that the onus is on those new councilors and their collective bodies to prove themselves worthy of the support they received from the electorate last week. The best way to do that for the councils is to respond to the community by bringing in the long awaited success story, be it in the form of a successful fundraising drive for a new recreation centre or persuading either the provincial or federal government for a major project that will bring in employment and more population or attracting a major business that will enhance the business profile of the area.
Once they start to work on it, they may find much more support that they might expect.