People Love Smithers

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 11:52:27 -0800

Getting tired of the 2 hour commute to and from work? Can't afford a house in the city? These are some of the reasons why people look at living in a rural area. In Smithers, we get people inquiring on a daily basis about housing costs; what are the schools like; does Smithers have a golf course (yes, we have two)? Visitors passing through, stop at the Visitor Centre and tell us what a beautiful area we have. As residents of Smithers, we may be a little complacent about the beauty of our area but I think everyone here agrees that it is unique. Ongoing public debates rage in Smithers about possible projects including coal bed methane and WalMart. Destroying the natural beauty is the 'trump card' that every opponent uses.

Smithers is Hockeyville

Sat, 18 Mar 2006 09:55:07 -0800

Community energy is running high in Smithers' bid to become Canada's "Hockeyville". What started out as an idea around a table at a local pub, is now consuming the whole community. The creative energy and enthusiasm is is really remarkable. Businesses are supporting Hockeyville almost without excpetion--storefronts are decorated; signs hang everywhere; staff serve customers in either red or white "Smithers is Hockeyville" jerseys. Last week, a CBC film crew were in town for 2 days. Besides filming the energy in the downtown core, they were tranported up to Hudson Bay Mountain to film a women's hockey game played at over 5 000 feet. We expect this is a world record for women's hockey at this altitude.

Smithers is on a role! Last week on CBC Television, a local family was judged to have the best 'backyard rink' in Canada. The feeling around town is that we're going to make the top 50 entries for "Hockeyville" and we have a good chance of winning. Move over Smithers--here comes "Hockeyville".