It's easy to read about the two 17-year-olds who allegedly stole a truck and rammed a police cruiser or two trying to get away from the police and assume that kids in this area are rotten.
While there is certainly always going to be a number of bad kids (and adults) that break the law and end up in and out of jail, there are also plenty of really good kids.
Not being a parent, I can't really tell you what that's like exactly. I do posit that a busy child is a child less likely to get into trouble.
All those young people in the school band, participating in school and community sports and/or youth groups/organizations, working jobs and so on are generally not getting into trouble with the law. They're the smart kids who know that actions have consequences. Having a criminal record will not help your job prospects, which makes it hard to rent or buy a place, and so on.
Speaking of "good kids," kudos to all the local hockey players who have done so well this year. Carstairs had all three atom teams win their league titles, Cremona won an atom league title, the Didsbury Atom A team won a provincial title and the Olds Grizzlys female team with several local players won a provincial title as well.
That shows you that hockey is doing very well in Mountain View County. Of course, while the players are important, thanks must also go out to all the coaches who put so much time in and parents who, no doubt, got up very early on their weekends to take their kids to games and practices.
It is well known that youth who play organized sports develop important life skills such as punctuality, time management, decision-making and working as part of a team. All of which are skills that are invaluable for most every job not to mention schooling.
- Craig Lindsay is the reporter for the Mountain View Gazette
