January – The Year In Review

Fiesta time2
It’s fiesta time
Morinville Public Elementary School Preschool Enrichment Program student Eric Woode gets into the part Jan. 26 during a special fiesta afternoon. Students took part in a number of fiesta-themed crafts and activities, including making real tortillas. – Stephen Dafoe Photo

Morinville mayor enters PC constituency race

Mayor Lloyd Bertschi announced Jan. 3 he was throwing his hat into the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock PC Association race. The four-term mayor was hoping to receive the nod from the PC association when they voted Jan. 28 to replace long-serving MLA Ken Kowalski. The latter announced Dec. 9, 2012 he would not seek re-election.

Chamber logo2

New logo unveiled

The Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce started the New Year off by unveiling the business organization’s new logo. A softer script and softer look replaced the bold shadowed font that had identified the Chamber in the region for many years. But while the softer logo would adorn Chamber business cards, stationery and other branding and marketing pieces, the new design represents but one component of a new image for the Chamber in the community, one that is anything but softer like their new logo. “It’s a process of evolution,” said then Chamber Vice President Sheldon Fingler of the new logo and work being done by the organization. “We’re not who we once were. We’re changing. We’re going bigger, better, constantly striving to be different and new.”

It was a sentiment Chamber President Heather Folkins agreed with. “We’re going further in the direction of what the Chamber is supposed to be – a voice for business,” she said, noting there has been some misconception in the community as to just what the Chamber of Commerce is and does. “Many people think the Chamber is a service club. They’ll compare it to Rotary or Lions, something like that. The Chamber is not that. It is an advocate for business and a voice for business.”

MCHS students to set off to New Orleans on a mission

Twenty-one Morinville Community High School students were getting ready to head to New Orleans in March to learn a bit about the history and culture of the region and to offer a lot of help to those affected by Hurricane Katrina which devastated the area in 2005. During the school’s mission trip students worked hands-on in the humanitarian work still being conducted more than half a decade after the initial devastation. Students spent several days of the trip working in a soup kitchen and food bank as well as helping to repair damaged residences, assisting the work of the Catholic parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Organizers of the trip say 70 per cent of families in that area lost their homes.

MPES new location open to students

Morinville Public Elementary School Grades 1-4 students made their third move of the school season Jan. 23, crossing town to take classes in their two new modular classrooms located on the École Georges P. Vanier School grounds.

Maureen Kubinec, PCs
Maureen Kubinec, PCs
Kubinec ready to run for PCs

Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock PC members gathered in voting booths throughout the region Jan. 28 to elect their candidate to replace long-serving MLA Ken Kowalski. That victor was Westlock County Deputy Reeve Maureen Kubinec. The politician said heading into the vote she was cautiously optimistic about her chances, but delighted and somewhat surprised when her win was announced. “When the field is that big you really don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” she said. Kubinec was in competition with Tim Schultz, Bert Seatter, David Truckey, and Morinville Mayor Lloyd Bertschi.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email