When a community comes together
Published November 6, 2009
I consider it a privilege and honour to represent the residents of Strathcona County. One of the great pleasures of being a councillor is the opportunity to interact with the residents and to see first hand the way the community comes together to make this municipality and our world a better place. There are projects that require the contribution of thousands of dollars to build facilities that in turn provide much needed services for residents of this province. CASA House, a treatment facility to assist families in dealing with mental health issues is one such benefactor of partnerships from government, volunteer and private sectors. Opened in October, 2009 the state of the art facility located in Sherwood Park is the first facility specifically built for the delivery of mental health recovery services for children and adolescents.
Another exciting relationship that I have had the opportunity to witness is that with the students from Holy Redeemer Catholic School and Heron Printing. Students from Mrs. Beliveau's grade one class were recognized nationally by Scholastic Books as the recipients of the Kids Are Authors Award. Scholastic Books opted not to provide a hard copy version of the students' work for this the last year of the award. To me a book needs to be able to be held and leafed through and I am not alone. What a delight to see the children's faces when Derek Brown of Heron Printing accompanied me to the school and presented copies of the book Absolutely Not! A Book of Canadian Animals to the students and Mrs, Beliveau. This special event marked not the end but rather the beginning of the relationship as the school has applied for the ISBN number and will be working with Heron Printing to produce what I am sure will become a Canadian Best Seller. Proceeds from the sale of the books will then go to purchase additional library books for the school. If you haven't read the book it is a must! You can order copies from Holy Redeemer Catholic School in Ardrossan at 780-922-4522. If you would like to read the story before hand the Strathcona County Library and the Bookmobile have copies.
The Library provides yet another opportunity for all to join together to make something special happen in our community. Their fund raising campaign "Creating the Next Chapter . . . together" is well underway and everyone can contribute. Every penny counts and I encourage you to be a part of the next chapter that creates the community's living room and also supports its extension through the new bookmobile.
Jacquie Fenske
Councillor Ward 5
780-464-8147
fenske@strathcona.ab.ca
Last updated: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Page ID: 2008