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Jasperites exercised their democratic right a month ago, casting ballots to select seven people to represent the community for the next four years. And now those seven people are preparing for their next big assignment: the budget.

In a town like Jasper, opportunities in the tourism industry abound.

As Torontonians waited for their mayor to speak about his use of crack cocaine on Tuesday, Jasper’s own mayor was chairing the first regular meeting of our newly-elected council.

Three years ago, Jasper National Park was designated a dark sky preserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. That same year, Tourism Jasper organized the first Dark Sky Festival—an event that has grown with popularity each year.

High five, Jasperites! You rocked the polls on Monday. A total of 1,486 of you showed up and cast your vote. That’s 43 per cent of eligible voters, which is up seven percentage points from the 2010 election.

Campfires are old hat for Jasper. Some folks here can even spark a flame by striking flint onto tinder. On a bigger scale, Parks conducts controlled burns on wide swaths of land. But fire is a dangerous element.

Without a doubt, this weekend will surely see too many cooks in plenty of Jasper’s kitchens. That is, of course, because it’s Thanksgiving and at Thanksgiving, the kitchen is where the action is.

Despite Jasper’s small town charm, beautiful surroundings and amazing amenities, it can be exceptionally challenging to find qualified people to relocate to our community.

Nomination day has come and gone and the official list of candidates for municipal council is longer than we could have ever imagined.

Jasper’s talent pool runs deep. There is no better example of that than the Jasper Folk Music Festival held last weekend.