For those who have not heard here is the story from the BBC regarding the UK beach used to promote Alberta
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/8016246.stm
Word has it that they will be sending a team of photographers over to Switzerland shortly to get some great Mountain shots for their winter campaign.
11 comments:
I went them all one further and invented a town.. why not? If yuo're gonna spin it, spin it!
http://northumberlandalberta.blogspot.com/
Instead of making fun of inept ministers like Cindy Ady and Lindsey Blackett that are not even from, or care about the Province of Alberta (Ady is from Texas and Blackett from Ont.).
Perhaps you should be doing something positive and proactive to promote this suffering area instead of your lame attempt to misdirect the public who have a genuine interest in it.
You have this as a public blog and not a private one, so maybe your words should be on the favorable side instead of the negative.
If you have some kind of point to prove, hidden agenda (not all are evil...) or mission to accomplish, you would be best advised to further this areas needs using positive influences instead of using poorly thought out parlor tricks or word prestidigitation skills to lead attention away from the huge troubles that have leveled this area.
Wow, Wow, Wow
Thanks for the comments, yes this is a public blog and I look forward to comments even as wonderful as yours.
Yes there are a lot of issues that should be taken seriously.
The point about the huge troubles that have hit this area, do not for a second think that I am not aware. Declining population I have raised for four years after the last census we had a member of council that did not believe the census numbers because he knew of a family in Blairmore that was missed.
Declining school population I have produced numbers for five years that have shown a continuing drop since 1995, some members of council have told me that we are in a cycle, it will turn around.
We has a council have tried to attract development here, we made some good choices and some very bad choices.
Some of us are attempting to put together a group that seriously takes a look at the future of this community and doing something to attract people here, that was first suggested at council over three years ago, its been dragged out and stalled, now finally its being taken seriously.
Will it solve all the problems of the Pass I doubt it. But it is better to try and fail than it is to doing nothing.
Do you have any ideas about turning around this community I would love to hear them so don't be shy.
And Yes once in a while I will have a little fun on this blog.
From an outsiders perspective (a dreaded week-ender) All I see is a bunch of peed-off people that would sooner scowl at you than anything else, which prompts letters like the one above.
And if there is something that is an absolute negative, it's the fact that your area refuses to admit that it needs change to occure now and not dwell on 30 year old issues.
If you are the one (self chosen or otherwise) that believes that the entire weight of the issue is upon your back and your back alone, than levity should be the furthest thing from your mind.
When I wrote that note above, it was after another week-end that made myself and many others question our decisions to own homes with future plans of living there full time. And since you seem to be the person asides from Mr.Prince that has an answer for practically everything, it will be you that will have to answer for all of the faults to us who do not have any say locally.
Our only say is to volunteer for all your local events (which bring in money for full time residents, I might add) and pay insane taxes that you seem to take pride in the fact that they have risen year after year. The word is speading like a wildfire, lets try to control the flames by doing something positive instead of fighting with the lady from the newspaper.
Just a few comments:
First of all I have no problem with weekenders, I recognize that very are a valuable part of our community both now and in the future.
Are this some peed-off people in this community absolutly, some because they feel change is happening and others because they feel change is not happening fast enough.
Should change happen? of course
Do 30 year old issues need to be dealt with? of course
Do I have the answers to everything? of course not that's why I look for input from others, and yes you would be amazed how much input I get.
I certainly appreciate the time that weekenders volunteer, I sit on a volunteer board and see the effort that weekenders put in.
Do I feel our tax rates are insane, you bet I have done the research I know what other communities charge. I personally feel taxes should not go up more than the cost of living. (I take no pride in our tax rates)
Postive we should be and move in new directions. I want nothing more than to see this community thrive.
As far as fighting with anybody I think we are all smart enough to recognize that the minute you are in a position to make decisions somebody is not going to be happy and will resist and fight (Democracy) the only difference with this community is some people have the resources to fight more than others and some people make it personal. (Which should never happen)
Anyways thanks for your comments, and I would love to have you share any suggestions you may have to improve the Crowsnest Pass.
If you wish email them to me or post them here. Thanks
Again..., not living there full time has gotten many a person in trouble with the locals before, so in fact, decisions have to and must be made by those of you who live there full time.
I would only hope that someone who gets paid my tax money for that very reason would be able to do just that with the help of his fellow councillors.
So while it is easy to hope that someone else can solve these problems, that from what I understand started 30 + years ago, ultamately it is up to your group to do this. Signed, someone that will be representing the CNP for you this summer.
holy cow, I sure hope that we can solve all our little problems for you, let me guess... Calgary?
I understan that youare looking for ideas to fix up this place. Get rid of unions.they cause almost all problems
I clicked on the comments section for a post that looked like there could have been a little humor about the whole British Beach used in Alberta Advertising.
There must be a pile of frustration out there for the comments section to have gone where it went.
I keep hearing frustration on the different blogs from people and general comments - no specifics. What specific incident made the one commenter question their decision to own property in the Pass?
What would people do if they were in charge?
My 2 cents. make it possible for council members to make some proper money by doing a good job. The fact that people complain about the job these guys do (and newspaper implications that they make too much) is laughable. Perhaps some serious business people would consider taking on running the municipality and doing it right if the pay didn't suck so bad. You get what you pay for.
That being said, I also think people need to quit complaining and put their money/actions where their mouths are. If you want Crowsnest to have better curb appeal, throw some well-thought-out paint colours on your place. Tell people about the area. Learn the history and pass it on. Tell any business people that will listen that this place is very rare because it can be both an amazing place to live while still being a very affordable place to buy commercial property and operate many different types of business. Become friends with your neighbours - find common ground. Volunteer. Support local business - why does everyone go to Pincher or Lethbridge to shop - spend money locally so that business owners can afford to fix up their home or business. If a business or person has an eyesore of a house or ugly signage, put the pressure on or volunteer your time to help fix the problem.
I have to go earn some money now so I can continue to pour it into making my little corner of Crowsnest more beautiful.
Thank you for some positive ideas.You are right on.
Hi Dean, caught your blog and it made for some pretty entertaining reading. Lots of anons there with lots of opinions, but thats all they are, entertaining and no action.
We came here because it was not getting enough promotion and decided to try it out for a few years to see where it would go. The fact of it is that there is interest in the area for film and we keep the word out there.
The trouble with it is that you have to spend your own cash to get the word delivered to the targets that need to be told.
This takes a huge degree of risk and you have to be prepared to suffer loss. Thats just the way it is, and unless you can secure some kind of funding to cover costs, you may take it on the chin.
Long answer short is that these folks that seem to have a lot of ideas about improving this place and bringing new business here are simply going to have to start doing it themselves and stop relying on handouts and make believe out-of-towners coming here with big plans and magic wands.
It is easy to see why many folks,(myself included) shop elsewhere as any household will tell you, it just plainly costs too much to buy things locally and we are forced to go to Walmart.
Ironically enough, I have seen almost everyone of the folks that work locally at our supermarkets pushing shopping carts loaded with food because even with thier discounts, it's still cheaper.
Lots of work ahead for this area and I hope it all works out, but heres the thing, You have to spend money to make money.
Are the people of this area prepared to make that sacrifice? By the looks of it, no.
Is the area full of visionaries that take chances with thier livelyhood to see it improve?
A few, but not many.
I hear speak of people being stuck in a time-warp, are they prepared to sacrifice everything to enhance thier existance?
Possibly, if they are shown the distinct advantages of what a modern affordable society has to offer.
From my point of view, retailers have to stop mining the miners for all that they are worth and concentrate on bringing down the cost of living here to promote new families coming to the area. Simple solutions don't come easy, and it's just my opinion. But it's a start.
Dan Stoddart
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