GLENDON – The councillors that will sit around the Village of Glendon’s council table for the next four-years are Lorie Czuroski, Daryn Galatiuk and incumbent Coun. Nicholas Werstiuk, who also filled the role of deputy mayor during his last term.
Returning to council, Werstiuk says he is looking forward to working with the newly elected councillors Czuroski and Galatiuk and hearing their thoughts.
“I'm excited to sit down with Lorie and Daryn. Daryn is a neighbour of mine – he just lives across the street,” he says, chuckling. “He was also my high school teacher. It's kind of funny to think that now we'll be working together.”
Leading up to the election, Werstiuk admits he was a little nervous about how the results of the election would turn out.
“I knew when Lorie and Daryn put their names in that (they were) going to be the people to beat because they connect with a lot of people,” he says.
Receiving the third most votes, Werstiuk knows how difficult it can be campaigning in a smaller community. During the previous election in 2017, he garnished 58 votes, this election he received 57.
Speaking on the vulnerability it takes to run in an election, Werstiuk tells Lakeland This Week, “Any candidate... puts (themselves) out there — you risk it all. At times you feel like it is a thankless position because you get phone calls hearing about complaints, there's not a lot of phone calls to hear thank-you's.”
Speaking from his own personal experience, he says all candidates who were willing to run for public council and volunteer extra time for the community should be acknowledged regardless of the votes that were cast.
“This is definitely something that doesn't pay the bill. This is something that you do to give back and I just hope that people appreciate that,” says Werstiuk, adding, “I am going to miss the previous council because I felt like towards the end, we were such a great team. And there's not only the change between councils, but our CAO Melody (Kwiatkowski) has been such a great asset to Glendon as well, and she's resigning at the end of December.”
Looking forward to the years ahead with the next Village council, he says “both (councillors) are going to be a great asset to Glendon and will be a great voice for their voters... there's going to be lots of support from multiple angles and that's what we need.”
The future of Glendon
As the council prepares for the next four-year term, Werstiuk says it will be important to get the new council up to speed on the community’s aging infrastructure, most of which was constructed in 1961.
“The last road that we teared up, we discovered that the waterlines were leaking... that was an eye opener for me, as well. I think we need to address the infrastructure and work with the MD (of Bonnyville) on being aggressive on fixing those problems, because we are definitely behind in that regard.”
He adds that a recent water quality study completed by Stantec, a consulting and engineering company, reported the Village’s water quality was not meeting provincial guidelines. It is an issue that the new council will be tasked with solving.
Czuroski, one of the Village’s newly elected councillors, says one of the first things she will have to tackle in her new role will be to catching up on current projects.
“First of all, I need to just get in office and see what's exactly going on,” she says. “I want to continue to see things through with the projects that are in place already. Then, I plan on starting to research and get into some senior programs and get some help for them for transportation and Meals on Wheels as soon as I can — that's my first ultimate goal.”
Czuroski adds that leading up to the release of the election results she was nervous, but then ultimately glad that the community chose and decided to stand behind her to be a representative for Glendon.
Galatiuk, or more commonly known as Mr. G, was in the school gymnasium carrying out a volleyball practice when he received a call from another candidate letting him know he would be a councillor for the Village of Glendon.
“I was nervous, this is my first foray into any type of politics,” Galatiuk tells Lakeland This Week. “I mean I teach social studies, I understand the concepts and things like that, but to actually get into it is a whole other thing... Now it's just a matter of getting together and sorting out the things that we want to do.”
Galatiuk says he wants to embrace a holistic approach as he settles in as councillor. He hopes to take tours of ongoing projects and areas of concern in order to begin prioritizing the community’s needs.
“There's been a lot of talk in town about the quality of our water and I feel like that should be a priority and something that we really need to dive into. It may not happen first, but it might be one of the first things that is discussed in terms of a long-term plan,” he says.
Overall, Galatiuk believes it is important to also continue on with the infrastructure plan the previous council established.
“Sometimes you don't need to change everything, sometimes you just need to follow along with what works and what really works well,” he says. “So, having Nick Werstiuk on as an incumbent is going to be a great resource for the two new ones, Lorie and I. I really think we can work well together for the betterment of the of the village itself.”
Ballot break down
Daryn Galatiuk - 99 votes
Lorie Czuroski - 89 Votes
Nicholas Werstiuk - 57 votes
Tanya Krywiak - 48 votes
Dallas Fewchuk - 43 votes
Roger Belknap - 33 votes
