Opinion

January is the middle of the road for winter and is also known as the coldest month of the year. If you are a lucky angler you might find a good trout stream that is slush free and fishable.

The most important word in the financial dictionary: Retirement. This is the time of the year when we focus our attention on RRSPs, both for the tax break they create and hopefully for another deposit to our personal Heritage Fund for our future.

Cyril Marshall died recently. That may not have huge impact on many of you, but he was a true war hero and a long-time member of the Cochrane Legion. And he was a character and a great guy to know.

Sustainability is ours to share. At the Cochrane Environmental Action Committee annual general meeting, scheduled for Feb. 12 at 7 p.m., those in attendance will have a chance to hear from Paul Cabaj of Spark Energy.

I am a member of the Big Hill West Light Horse 4-H Club, here to tell you about one of our fundraising events. Our members bring in one or two bags of cans and bottles each month. We recycle them, putting the money towards club expenses.

Just a few questions this week that puzzle me.

As I’m writing this week’s column, unthinkable news has left me confused and distraught. By now, our coffee companions are well aware that I try to be a positive force in connecting people and ideas.

In the past two months we have experienced a wide variety of winter weather conditions with temperatures ranging from 6C to -28C – yikes! This does present some challenges for winter horse management.

I spent the first weekend in January at the Chapters store in Crowfoot. Julia, the store manager, had scheduled me for book signing and by 11 a.m. sharp each day I had set up my stall.

What’s shaping our attitudes toward people of other religions – and especially Muslims? This was the theme at last Saturday evening’s dialogue, “Islam and the Rest,” held at St. Andrew’s United Church in Cochrane.