The new year is barely underway and already there a couple of major local developments worth cheering about.
First comes word, via general manager Jim Lambert in a recent interview with the Truro Daily News, that the Rath Eastlink Community Centre should open later this month or in early February.
There's even the possibility that the Truro Bearcats could host Pictou County in a junior A hockey tilt on Feb. 2.
That's not etched in stone, of course. As we all know, delays can and do happen with a project of this magnitude.
But the grand opening of our $50-million, post-Christmas present is now clearly in sight and community interest, no doubt, is likely to skyrocket when it does.
Another positive comes from Truro mayor Bill Mills who told this paper last week that the site for the new Colchester East Hants Regional Library will be "the first and foremost decision made in the new year."
Mills hopes the town can reach a memorandum of understanding ASAP with Colchester County regarding cost-sharing the project and assuming that's a formality (surely they know by now, right?) requests for proposals could be sought this month or next.
That's excellent news as this issue has been allowed to drag on far too long and it's especially topical in light of expensive upgrades that will keep our current library closed for a few weeks starting later this month.
The time has come for our elected officials to make some decisions and live with the consequences. Not everyone will be happy regardless of the outcome, but anything is better than status quo.
We also agree with Mills when he talks about the importance of keeping a positive attitude about our community.
"This community has a lot to offer," he says. "It could be 100 times better and it could be a million times worse."
How true.
Sure there are things worth griping about. We do it here on a regular basis, but while at it be sure to make the criticism constructive and maybe even offer some suggestions of how things can be done better with the money that is available.
Chances are that won't be so easy.
