Keep On Truckin’… (Peace River to Westlock and then there’s us)

So, there is a new federal election coming up very soon for our new riding where we landed with much dismay. Rob Merrifield fought to keep us from being drafted into the new Peace River – Westlock Riding but he lost the fight and now Rob resides in Washington, DC looking after Alberta’s interests. I just learned that Whitecourt has two gentlemen interested in being nominated for election: Eris Moncur and Michael Jones.

I don’t know anything about Mr.Jones other than he is a lawyer who works alongside Larry McConnell here in Whitecourt. I do know Eris Moncur who manages the Eagle River Casino and is a Whitecourt town councilor. I am publicly throwing my vote to Eris as in doing business together through the challenges of the casino ownership struggle, he was as honest and forthright as he could be and a man of his word is a value and asset that more politicians should possess. Eris is a soft spoken man who thinks before he speaks and I have no doubt if elected he would try his best to support our community in any federal decision making. Being in such a far-reaching riding it’s going to be tough to have Whitecourt anywhere near the top of the heap when it comes to political decision making. Let’s help launch Eris into that position.

It was election time, again. So, a politician decided to go out to the local reservation to gather support from the Native Americans. They were all assembled in the council hall to hear the speech.
The politician had worked up to his finale, and the crowd was getting more and more excited. “I promise better education opportunities for Native Americans!” The crowd went wild, shouting “Hoya! Hoya!” The politician was a bit puzzled by the native word, but was encouraged by their enthusiasm. “I promise gambling reforms to allow a casino on the Reservation!”
“Hoya! Hoya!” cried the crowd, stomping their feet.
“I promise more social reforms and job opportunities for Native Americans!” The crowd reached a frenzied pitch shouting “Hoya! Hoya! Hoya!”

After the speech, the politician was touring the reservation and saw a tremendous herd of cattle. Since he was raised on a ranch and knew a bit about cattle, he asked the Chief if he could get closer to take a look at the cattle. “Sure,” the chief said, “but be careful not to step in the hoya.”