We live in a wonderful small town, a true community, a place where people support each other and care for each other. As a member of the Creston town council, I pledge to you that I will do my best to build on the strengths of our community and to enhance the options that are here, so people can have improved economic, cultural, and educational opportunities.
When I look around our community, I see much that has been accomplished and much more that could be done. Throughout its history, one of the great strengths of Creston has been the rich abundance of our agricultural lands. Previous generations have made Creston one of the most productive and amazing agriculture areas in British Columbia. We must continue to promote and publicize our area as the go-to area for abundant, locally grown, healthy food — from fruits and vegetables to grain, meat, cheese, wine and other value-added foods. We can take advantage of the food movement to promote Creston as a go-to food destination area: come and drink wine, dine in our fine restaurants, go bird watching, fishing, hiking or golfing. People outside our community may not have a sufficient appreciation of what our community has to offer. We need to polish and update our image.
We also need to support and assist our business and arts communities. Activities like markets, fairs, parades and festivals bring people to Creston and support our local businesses. We can do much more to increase tourism in the Creston Valley.
By supporting the arts community, agriculture and local business to work together on various initiatives, we can build on and enhance our existing strengths.
I urge you to vote for the big-picture ideas that I bring to our community and help me make our community a dynamic, supportive and successful place to live.
Malcolm Ferguson is seeking election to Creston town council.
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The Advance asked each candidate for Creston town council and mayor, Regional District of Central Kootenay director and School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) trustee — as well as acclaimed directors Garry Jackman (Area A) and Larry Binks (Area C) — to submit about 300 words to describe their goals, background, qualifications, concerns — whatever mattered to them. Of the 27 candidates, only two, Jackman and Creston town council candidate Louis Mihaly, chose not to make a submission.