Many people might look back on 2016 with distraught dismay.
Who could blame them?
From a continued economic lull that has left tens of thousands of Albertans looking for work to the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East, a person would not be at fault for struggling to find a silver lining to celebrate this past year.
Economy and politics aside, the last 12 months have also seen numerous talented artists die, including musical legends such as David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Prince and Frank Sinatra Jr., as well as actors like Gene Wilder and Alan Rickman — there's a lengthy list.
Locally speaking, the Town of Sundre has not been immune to the struggling economy, with municipal officials crunching a tight two-year budget in a daunting effort to maintain services without placing too much financial burden on taxpayers.
From those points of view, a person certainly would have reason to rue the past year.
But despite all that, there are equally reasons to fondly remember — arguably even celebrate — 2016.
Perhaps belonging at the top of this list was the community's collaborative effort to save long-term care beds at the Sundre hospital following Alberta Health Services' original intent to close all 15 beds. After a well-coordinated pushback, the decision was rescinded. Although three beds were closed to make room for upgrades to lab services, five were retained as long-term care while the rest will remain to offer new levels of care.
The inaugural Sundre Hospital Futures Gala was also a spectacular success. Organizers plan to make the event annual, and if this year was any indication, the town will have a new hospital sooner rather than later, even if the finish line is yet years away.
Additionally, Mountain View Seniors' Housing's nearly $30-million state-of- the-art campus of care opened this year. This was the culmination of several years of hard work, but many other communities have also engaged in similar efforts without yielding results.
And although Sundre has felt the sting of the low price of oil, the local economy's diversity has seen this municipality weather the storm far better than others have. On that note, with the price of oil set to finally start a slow march upwards, we might be through the worst of this bust cycle.
Some other reasons to celebrate the past year include a new record number of visitors logged coming through the Visitor Information Centre, an estimated increase in Sundre's population to about 3,000 from the last count of roughly 2,700 done several years ago, and council's approval in the 2017-18 budget to rebuild Centre Street North.
So although it's not always easy, as we look forward to the new year, instead of thinking about what we don't have, we should focus on what we do have.
— Simon Ducatel, editor
