The front-page story in The Lethbridge Herald Tuesday asked the question — Are MLAs paid OK?
Quoted in the story was former MLA Ray Speaker from Enchant, who told a hearing Premier Allison Redford  salary of $211,000 is actually less than the $264,000 made by the senior civil servant who advises her.
The story went on to mention the salary for Redford’s chief of staff, Stephen Carter, starts at $197,000, and can escalate almost $70,000 from there.

The events of Dec. 15 will not soon be forgotten by anyone associated with the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball.
That was the day the academy lost one of its own, as Tanner Craswell was gunned down outside Claresholm.
Saturday in Lethbridge inside the Enmax Centre, southern Alberta’s baseball community, and many others, gathered to mourn the loss of Craswell and two others.

The end of one year and the beginning of a new year often puts the focus on volunteers in our communities.
A number of community organizations honour their volunteers around the holiday season or at the beginning of a new year. These events serve to show appreciation for the service volunteers give to their communities in a wide range of events and programs.

With the start of a new year, 2012 is already shaping up to be an interesting one particularly in politics locally.
Whether you follow the political scene or not, a person can’t help but wonder just what will happen in Alberta when the next provincial election is called. With a new premier at the helm, via a leadership change that took place in the Progressive Conservative party in the fall, it will be interesting to see just how the numbers shake out when voters take to the polling stations.
When Alison Redford replaced Ed Stelmach in October, it brought about an unexpected change for a number of party supporters who were not in her camp. It also heralded in a new era for the party and the province with the change in leadership automatically resulted in a change in the premier’s office.
Redford has a few months under her belt now and is looking ahead to a potential spring election and fixed election dates in the future. The election will be an interesting process to watch, even for those who don’t even pretend to foster an interest in politics.
Fixed election dates are sure to be one of the issues talked about on the election trail. Redford, in her leadership campaign, promised fixed election dates. Municipal elections already take placed on a fixed date every three years and there seems to be growing support for fixed election dates at both the provincial and federal level.
It is an issue that has been debated at every level of government in the province and will mean changes to the way Albertans approach the voting process.
The spring election will mean a change for the local electorate, as current Little Bow MLA Barry McFarland has indicated he will not be seeking another term in the Legislature.
This should make for an interesting election starting at the party level and working its way up to the actual provincial vote.
At the federal level this past year, it was certainly one for the history books as the Conservatives finally nailed down a majority government and others parties took it on the chin in some respects. Canadians may have just shown their lack of enthusiasm for the election process and their support for fixed election dates by overwhelmingly supporting the Conservatives. It will be interesting to see how 2012 shakes out in Ottawa.
At home the political picture may be shifting but there is certainly not a lack of interesting stories to follow on the world political scene including new leadership in North Korea and continued unrest and embattled leaders in several nations around the globe.
Yes, 2012 should be an interesting year.