living
FROM THE EDITOR
I T WA S D U R I N G L U N C H T I M E C O N V E R S AT I O N
in early December that we were discussing meteorological seasons in
an effort to mentally shorten winter, and we found that January 15
marks the midpoint of meteorological winter, which is good news for
those of us who look forward to getting on to the warmer weather and
the longer days that come with spring and summer. If you’ve visited
our website, you’ll know that Tip #11 in our online article 12 Tips
and Hints to Weathering the Winter Blahs is to “make peace with the
weather,” something some of us in the office still need to do. So in an
effort to help those of us who can’t wait for summer make peace with
the winter weather, and for those of you who love the winter season and
can’t wait to get outside, we’re kicking off 2016 with 16 Ways to Beat
Winter and sharing some ideas to help all of us stay active and get out
of the house throughout these winter weeks (p. 35).
Another great activity to think about undertaking this year is
featured in this issue’s cover story–get a few neighbours together and
start working towards forming a neighbourhood association.
In July 2015, the Council of Lethbridge Neighbourhoods was
formed (p. 26). Its primary focus at this time is to assist all 43
neighbourhoods in our city to create their own neighbourhood
associations. It’s through these neighbourhood associations that
residents can get to know each other better, work together to address
neighbourhood issues and needs, and work collectively to make
their neighbourhoods vibrant communities within our city. As
former council Chair Kim Siever states, “The key to having a strong,
heathy community is having a neighbourhood association, and with
that dedicated neighbourhood association involved, [residents] can
start creating events, programs, and services that are dedicated to
strengthening community and providing benefits for the community.”
Strengthening our individual communities is key to building a
bigger, better city as a whole, and isn’t that what we all want to work
towards?
And how about that third bridge? In this issue’s history article,
Belinda Crowson gives us a rundown on the challenges and issues
that surrounded the building of our second bridge, the Whoop-Up
Drive Bridge (p. 20). She also tells us about an alternative third bridge
location that has been lobbied for, on and off, for over a century. Be
sure to visit our website and weigh in on this issue’s poll question as
well: do you think we need a third bridge, and where should it be
located?
As usual, there are a number of great things to do in our city, such as
the Lethbridge Artists Club’s Faces of Significance portrait competition
and series of exhibits (p. 17), or learn more about Lethbridge’s heritage
trees and visit our website for a map to take a tour and check out some
of these amazing trees in our city (p. 38).
Happy New Year, keep warm, and thanks for reading!
Story idea? Letter to the editor? Email: [email protected]
06 LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
JAN-FEB 2016
JENN S. REMPEL
P H OT O G R A P H Y: D E J O U R DA N ’ S B Y L I F E T O U C H
@jennsrempel