The year 2012 is now in the history books, and the year 2013 now looms before us, with many important and exciting developments to look forward to, and issues to be resolved at the local, provincial and federal levels.
Some of these issues were unresolved in 2012, and are carrying on into the new year, such as, for the City of Weyburn, the unresolved contract settlement between the city and the Weyburn Police Association, now a full year since their contract expired.
For all municipalities, their respective annual conventions (for SARM and SUMA) are coming up, with SUMA being held in the first week of February; Weyburn's Mayor Debra Button is vying for the presidency of this provincial organization, following in the footsteps of former mayor Don Schlosser, who served a term as SUMA president.
Then, this spring, all municipalities and taxpayers are watching as the three levels of government will bring down their respective budgets, with the local governments not able to finalize theirs until the federal and provincial governments bring theirs down, with the levels of funding for the various programs and services set out in their documents.
For the City of Weyburn, there is excitement over new developments, both ones which have begun (such as Riverwood on the former Souris Valley grounds) and those which are set to start, such as The Creeks and the new Silver Heights developments on the east and northeast sides of the city respectively.
In terms of projects, the long-awaited Triple C Centre is set to be finished by June, and the demolition of the old brick portions of the Comp are to occur over the summer, with the next phase of construction to get underway for the junior-senior high school.
The city will also be hosting the 2013 Saskatchewan Oil and Gas Show, with hundreds of oil company representatives and politicians to converge on the city on June 5-6, bringing the latest in technology innovations and news about the industry.
Weyburn is also celebrating its centennial as a city, which was kicked off on New Year's Day with cake and a ceremony, and cake served at the Red Wings game; the celebrations are to come throughout the year, with the main one set for Aug. 1-5, and then on New Year's Eve to wrap up the year with a special "White Night" celebration. All in all, there is much to look forward to in the coming 12 months. Happy New Year!
