If we could look ahead into the coming year, would most of us have the courage?
Fear of the future should never fix itself in our thoughts, but this time of year more so prompts a look at the year past – along with the resolve to build on positives and try to recognize potential pitfalls.
In Pictou County – the same as any place that can count many blessings – there were high points. Only recently, community leaders, campaigners and residents celebrated the opening of the Wellness Centre. The mammoth project was not without its detractors, most of whom tended to say the money could have been better spent on something else – health, education, or roads.
But champions of the cause pointed out the funding was offered from the higher levels of government for this kind of project alone. And its presence does bode well for the future health of the area. Beyond providing a modern centre for sports activities it will have social ramifications – for meetings or conventions, community health events and entertainment such as concerts or indoor festivals.
It also proved to be a catalyst in drawing together people, businesses, organizations and various interests in raising the local funding necessary to make it a reality. There’s plenty to celebrate, into 2013 and well beyond.
In local business and industry, we have a mixed bag of stories.
Maritime Steel, an issue that’s been much debated over the past two years, has seen owner Abbas Jafarnia persist in trying to make a go of it. At a time when our provincial government seemed to be finding money for so many other ventures, Jafarnia was not able to get the modest loan he was seeking to get established. More recent word is, however, that the province is reconsidering.
Those are only a couple of examples of the ups and downs any region might see. There are countless more, and we’ll add to the list next year – those issues, challenges and projects that make our community much more than the sum of its parts.
