My husband Greg and I moved here from Ontario with our two young sons 16 years ago. Our boys grew up here, graduated from school here and have chosen to remain here.
During that time I have helped create and continue to co-own and operate two successful businesses, Country Squire Gift Shop and The Country Squire Property Services.
In 1997 I became the Clinton Correspondent to the Ashcroft Journal and later the 100 Mile Free Press as well. Since then I have had the opportunity to attend numerous community events and have rarely missed attending council meetings although I have never served on council.
I have been active in the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Society, Clinton Cleavages and Communities in Bloom Committee.
I hear so often that there are no jobs for our young people. Once they finish school they leave to find jobs elsewhere. Without jobs there is also no reason for young families to move to Clinton. As a result our school population continues to decline.
If we take a realistic look at our village we would see that Clinton is slowly becoming a retirement community. People from the coast and other more highly populated areas are finding their way to Clinton to retire. So why not promote Clinton as a safe, clean, friendly place to retire?
I worked in a nursing home in Ontario for over 12 years. One thing I learned is that seniors can be very determined when it comes to getting what they want. We need more seniors who will demand the services they need. And these are the same services that we all need – improved health care, a pharmacy, a larger grocery store, more shops, more activities etc.
There will soon be a tidal wave of baby boomers retiring. Why shouldn’t they retire to Clinton? Along with more seniors would come more jobs as the services they demand are created here. That means more jobs for young people, which translates into more children enrolled in our school. We can continue to work to attract new businesses or industry here as well.
I love living here and I intend to retire here. I truly hope the necessary services will be here for me once that day comes.
If elected I will work with council and other groups in the community to try to make this happen.