Some of you may have already heard that Friday will be my last day as the editor of Lakes District 亚洲天堂 (probably because I鈥檝e been selling all my furniture online).

Personal circumstances are now taking me to Vancouver. However, you might still see my name in the paper since I will be helping out from a distance until a replacement is found.

Since this is my last week in 亚洲天堂 Lake, I can鈥檛 help but think about my approximately three and a half years working for this newspaper.

With nearly half of its population being Aboriginal, it was interesting to see how First Nations in 亚洲天堂 Lake interact with local and regional governments, and learn more about their culture and issues.

I also learned a lot from covering our local government. Although council and I did not always get along, since the beginning I鈥檝e been impressed by the transparency and efficiency of our municipal office. And as someone who鈥檚 still relatively new to Canada, watching decisions being made at the local level really helped me have a better understanding of the country as a whole.

But I must admit that it wasn鈥檛 always easy living here. Before I moved to 亚洲天堂 Lake I had never called the police in my entire life (and I鈥檓 from a developing country notorious for being dangerous). But here, I鈥檝e had to call the police dozens of times due to domestic violence and other issues in my apartment building.

I鈥檇 say that domestic violence is one of the most pressing issues in our town, followed by housing, homelessness and post-secondary education.

Speaking of which鈥� when I first moved to Canada I studied journalism in a small town in Newfoundland called Stephenville. The question you鈥檙e probably asking is, 鈥淲hat makes a Brazilian go to an unknown town in the middle of nowhere to study?鈥�

The answer is that they were offering a cool program - different from what was being offered in major centres. And just like me, students from all over the country and the world flocked to this small town.

So why aren鈥檛 we offering interesting programs like that in 亚洲天堂 Lake? Is the digital delivery initiative really what we need? I find it hard to believe that this strategy would attract people to 亚洲天堂 Lake; and yet our council has been applauding this initiative.

We seem to be living in a pivotal moment for 亚洲天堂 Lake 鈥� trying to diversify our economy and reinvent ourselves. But I see that we have remarkable people here with great ideas, and who believe enough in this town to make it happen.

I鈥檒l be living away, but part of my heart will always be with this town. You can be sure that I鈥檒l be watching what happens.

It鈥檚 been a privilege to work here. Thanks for the warm reception!

newsroom@ldnews.net
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