Spring is often regarded as a time of renewal. In and around Parksville Qualicum Beach this year, fall might more aptly fit that description.
We have had some rain the last few days, with more to come this week. Considering the fact one could probably count on a single hand how many days we've seen rain in the last four months, these showers are a
welcome, renewing sight.
No word yet on the easing of watering restrictions, but the campfire ban has been lifted, just in time for one of the busiest weekends of the year, the Labour Day weekend. A renewed season of camping has arrived.
Ah yes, Labour Day, which brings us to the month-long dispute between union employees and their employers, the Town of Qualicum Beach. We are hearing a deal has been reached through a mediator and could be ratified by town council as early as this morning.
There's a need for some serious renewal in how these parties view each other and interact. There will be some lingering bitterness from a dispute that had its nasty moments, that's an inevitability after any labour dispute.
Here's hoping both sides can consider operating from a clean slate — a big ask, we know.
It is also the fall, not the spring, that ushers in the new school year. The 2014-15 school year was the first in this district after the painful closure of four schools and a prolonged, passionate labour dispute between the teachers and the government. Perhaps this school year will see a return to more normal, renewed sense of educational focus on the students and not the buildings, budgets or educators.
There's also the federal election next month, which will bring some form of renewal regardless of the outcome.
While our neighbours south of the border herald the baseball season's start as a sign of renewal in the spring, we have a different sports-renewal view in the Great White North.
The fall brings us a new hockey season, an untarnished canvas akin to a freshly resurfaced rink. Whether it's the millionaires' club of the big leagues or the local Junior B circuit or minor hockey, every team is in first place right now in this time of renewal. The local junior team, the Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals, have faced too many start-and-stop renewals over the past couple of years, but they seem to have righted the ship, bringing that fresh-faced sense of renewal to Parksville Qualicum Beach that only a new hockey season can bring.
Here's to fall as the new spring!
— Editorial by John Harding