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Eggs, bacon and politics

Platters of pancakes, eggs and bacon sweetened the stage for the candidacy announcements of Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill and Athabasca County Deputy-Reeve Warren Griffin as well as the retirement of the Village of Boyle’s Mayor Bob Clark.
Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill speaks to local business owners and dignitaries at the Mayor’s Breakfast Sept. 13
Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill speaks to local business owners and dignitaries at the Mayor’s Breakfast Sept. 13

Platters of pancakes, eggs and bacon sweetened the stage for the candidacy announcements of Town of Athabasca Mayor Roger Morrill and Athabasca County Deputy-Reeve Warren Griffin as well as the retirement of the Village of Boyle’s Mayor Bob Clark.

The Athabasca District Chamber of Commerce’s annual Mayor’s Breakfast Sept. 13 gave the public a chance to question and rub shoulders with their elected officials at the Athabasca Golf and Country Club’s Fox Den Restaurant.

“Yes, my intention is to run again,” Morrill said with a chuckle before Griffin also announced he will run.

Chamber president Laurie Bonell said she was impressed with the public’s attendance and questions. The chamber sold about 70 breakfast tickets.

“It went great. It was a success,” she said. “This gives people the opportunity to hear of what is coming.”

Clark and Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater MLA Colin Piquette also came to the breakfast, among other local dignitaries.

The morning served as Clark’s final official public appearance, after two decades of municipal politics.

“I know a lot of you folks that I’ve been associated with and worked with over the last twenty years,” he told the room of business owners and elected officials in a speech. “And I wish everybody after the next election a lot of success and get back on the road to recovery for the whole area and the province.”

He went on to give an update on Boyle’s economic status, focusing on its recovery since the Millar Western lumber mill shut down last year, costing the village 91 jobs. He said the scrap metal recycling company NRI Global will move into the old building and employ 200 people.

“It looks like things are not as in dire straits as we thought,” he said. “It’s just a slow process to get back on our feet and going like we were before.”

Morrill drew attention to infrastructure development in the town including sewer realignment.

“Infrastructure is not glorious and it’s not fabulous,” he said. “It’s not a new pool and a fitness centre, but as business people you know we need good, solid infrastructure.”

He also commended the county for working with town council on the pool project.

“It was the right thing to do for this community and I appreciate it,” he said. “(The bridge) is going to provide the potential for new businesses to relocate.”

Griffin spoke about county initiatives like the construction of a new fire hall in Rochester, the new pool and the Boyle Municipal Centre.

“The work and investment into these projects and services not only makes life better for local residents, they are amenities and incentives that can attract businesses, as well as retain workers and our families as part of our regional communities,” he said.

“One of the main ways to gauge the health of a region is to look at the population numbers from Statistics Canada,” he added. “Earlier this year, the federal census informed us that Athabasca County experienced a 2.9 per cent growth in population. Although that amount of growth isn’t staggering, it is positive – and when you consider the fact that we are still making our way out a multi-year recession.”

Piquette also spoke at the breakfast. Piggy-backing on these statistics, he noted that the region sees the light at the end of the tunnel of “one of the sharpest recessions that we’ve had to experience.”

“We see communities that are growing rather than contracting. We see businesses that are investing rather than disinvesting, and we see more people settling down,” he said. “Considering other rural municipalities have been facing challenges of active depopulation, (2.9 per cent growth) is actually very significant and it bodes well for the future.”

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