In our last paper there is something I would like to remark on and it鈥檚 in plain letters 鈥榃hat does the future hold for 亚洲天堂 Lake鈥� a good question.

There is a great future for 亚洲天堂 Lake we have so much going for us.

I am going to include the Lakes District in this. The town itself is in the middle of the province so they tell us right or wrong we have to take it as gospel.

The logging and milling business has had a bad blow that will effect our economy, it will not be too many years and it will be history.

What ever logging there will be will have to be controlled. But the good news is we are in the middle of some of the finest fishing in so many of our beautiful lakes. Hunting, if it is not abused is a close second. Then our scenery is no doubt out of this world.

South country opens the way to one of the most beautiful and largest parks in B.C.

Winter sports are something special plus the bike trails I could go on and on. 亚洲天堂 Lake itself is growing but it has one thing that will have to be faced and that鈥檚 the heavy traffic that is going through the centre of the town.

Last week I heard the statistics about the increase of the heavy truck traffic on Hwy. 16. The increase every year is going to be a big problem for 亚洲天堂 Lake. The old timers say the road through town was originally a cow trail made by Barney Mulvaney鈥檚 cows and it has never been changed. It鈥檚 been paved but the sharp corners are the same. I have noticed and so have you that these big B train tucks will make it harder every year for the usual town traffic. You may hate me for my remarks but they are true. This is as an ongoing problem that someday will have to be faced and the sooner the better.

There is always a danger of these loaded fuel trucks having an accident in the middle of town so far there has never been one but I hope our luck will never run out.

Although we live at Francois Lake, 亚洲天堂 Lake has been our town for over 70 years and we also depend on your prosperity for our welfare as well. We are proud of you. The mill fire was a disaster but we will come back even bigger and better as we have already started to do.

Think positively and it will happen.

Sad news

Another sad blow to our community with the passing of Dianne Van Zanten. Such a wonderful caring person. Music was her gift which she shared with us all as she was so generous with this wonderful gift.

Her love of music and singing has been passed on to her family. She was a special friend of my late wife Jo, and was so very kind to her before she left us.

My faith tells me they will meet up together again in a far better place. Dianne has left with so many wonderful memories for us all. No doubt many ask this question why had she left us with so many years left in her life. Why? She has left such an empty space in our community.

More rain

It鈥檚 Wednesday morning and it鈥檚 rained most of the night and also a strong wind all night. Sure going to be a great hay crop but not too good for folks on vacation. Fishing is good though.

Francois Lake is still about average, so far no flooding which is good news. The rest of our province is sure having almost what you would call a disaster so much damage and they are still at risk.

The massive clean up that follows will be into the millions. Lots of homes will never be able to be lived in again. Our hearts go out to these folks. We are very fortunate to live where we do as so far we are safe.

Your home is your castle so to speak and to see it destroyed must be so terrible to watch it happen. We never had floods in Saskatchewan but we did have prairie fires and they are scary too.

Once when I was just a little guy a fire started about five miles from our place. It was coming right our way. The only thing to stop it was the eyehill creek. Prairie fires can travel faster than a horse can run if a wind gets behind them. Some of the neighbours rushed up with teams and walking ploughs ready to cut a fire guard if the fire jumped the creek. As it was night we could watch the fire coming.

Dad hooked up the horse onto the buggy and mother dressed me and brought her strong box out with the valuable papers etc. No doubt lots of prayers were said and they must have worked but the fire hit the creek and burnt itself out.

The next morning it seemed miles of black burnt grass and some small trees. The burnt smell hung over the air for days. It took most of the summer before any grass came back into the pastures. Although I was a little kid I remember this for a lifetime.

A cute little story

A young couple lived on the outside of a small town close to a neighbour lady who always had a big and lovely garden. This lady was always busy in the garden and her friends were concerned that she might have a heart attack. So every day they would look over the fence and check on her. One morning they checked and they lady was laying her stomach and her head almost on the ground, the man jumped over the fence to pick her up and his wife phoned the ambulance. As he picked up the lady she was real mad she said 鈥淚鈥檓 just fine I was just checking on my carrots to see why there are not growing.鈥�

Take care and always remember God loves you and so do I.

A wish for you

To those who need someone special, may you find that true love. To those who need money, may your finances overflow. To those who need caring, may you find a good heart. To those who need friends, we are still here for you.

To those who need life, may you find one. Thanks for being our friend