Halloween, where did all the kids go?

Interesting I read an editorial the other day about the lack of kids looking for candy on Halloween and how the numbers are way down over the last ten years.
I agree I had sixteen kids this time ten years ago I would have had fifty or more.
The suggestion was made that maybe kids get too much money now days, they don't have to go out for free candy.
Other people have suggested that you can't get kids out from in front of their computers, or off there psp's.
I'm going to throw out a crazy suggestion, maybe just maybe we don' t have as many kids as we used to.
Now I know some people will argue with me, that's fine I'm a numbers kind of guy.

So lets take a look at the enrollment numbers for the last 15 years.

Year-------------MDM-------HA-------ISS-------CCHS-------Total
1995-1996------- 221-------- 163------ 399------- 389-------- 1172
1996-1997------- 225-------- 142------ 379------- 407---------1153
1997-1998------- 227-------- 141-------353------- 382-------- 1103
1998-1999------- 218-------- 149------ 338------- 385-------- 1090
1999-2000------ 205-------- 146------ 309------- 376-------- 1036
2000-2001------ 193-------- 155------ 299------- 357-------- 1004
2001-2002------ 180-------- 145------ 292------- 350--------- 967
2002-2003------------------ 246------ 436------- 257--------- 939
2003-2004------------------ 241-------190------- 442--------- 873
2004-2005------------------ 238------ 165-------- 427--------- 830
2005-2006------------------ 210------ 164-------- 381--------- 755
2006-2007------------------ 205------ 150-------- 357--------- 712
2007-2008------------------ 168------ 170---------325--------- 663
2008-2009------------------ 154------ 171-------- 319---------- 644
2009-2010------------------ 156------ 167-------- 317---------- 640

Just looking at 2000 to 2010 we have dropped 364 kids, now some would argue that's not a big number but take a 36% drop and apply it to Lethbridge, Calgary etc.
On the bright side the numbers have levelled off the last two years thank goodness the mines have been hiring like crazy.
Anyway there will be a Census taken next year with the results in the spring of 2012, hopefully we will not maintain our status as the oldest community in Alberta.

Demographics in the Crowsnest Pass

Information on the changing demographics in the Crowsnest Pass.

According to the 2001 and 2006 census for Canada.

Our population in 2001 was 6262 in 2001 it was 5749 a drop of 8.2% which appears to be the largest drop of any community I can find in Alberta on a percentage basis.

Our population of 0-19 years old was 1450 in 2001 which represented 23.2% of our population, in 2006 that same age group had dropped to 1130 and 19.7% of our population

Our population of 55 years old and older was 1980 in 2001 which represented 31.6% of our population, in 2006 55 and older was 2115 or 36.8% of our over all population.

How do these demographics compare to the province as a whole:

Alberta 0-19 years old 26.4% of the population Crowsnest Pass 19.7%
Alberta 55+ 20.6% of the population Crowsnest Pass 36.8%

Anybody get a sense of what direction we are heading in? interested in more of this type of information check the 2006 census link on the left hand side of my blog.