Two departures

This week's announcement that Bruce St. Louis will soon be retiring is not surprising, in fact anyone who knows the City of Westmount's energetic Director General has seen it coming for a long time now.

Though he will be staying on until his successor is properly in place, his impending departure is sure to leave a considerable void at City Hall.

Mr. St. Louis (pronounced like the city, not the lake) takes a hands-on approach to administration that may seem shockingly old-fashioned to some people, but in a good way. How many of his peers in other municipalities have made it their policy to be at every fire or other crisis on their turf, even if it means driving in from the West Island in the middle of the night?

How many residents have called City Hall with a problem and shortly thereafter answered their front door to find the Director General himself standing there? The level of personal service he has always provided stands as a towering example of bureaucracy done right. Westmounters are indeed fortunate to have such a dedicated, friendly and approachable man running their City.

Those who have never met this true friend of Westmount, or those who wish to see him once more before he leaves, will have the opportunity to do so this coming Tuesday evening at the Westmount Public Library, when he presents 'Improving Communications Between Citizens and the City' during the Westmount Municipal Association's monthly public meeting.

Thank you, Don!

It is with regret that we announce the departure of Don Wedge’s Civic Alert column from The Examiner. After several years of reporting on and critiquing the quirky world of municipal affairs in two separate columns for The Examiner and West End Chronicle — always with that unique blend of irreverence and scepticism — Don has decided to move on. This issue marks the final appearance of Civic Alert in our pages.

We thank Don for all his work and dedication to The Examiner over the years and wish him the very best.

On the brighter side, the space previously occupied by Civic Alert will be taken up by a revival of the popular Around Westmount column, a breezy weekly round-up of local events, business news, announcements and personal achievement. This will be written by the multi-talented journalist Jessica Murphy, whose name is no doubt quite familiar to Examiner readers. If you have an item of local interest for Around Westmount, simply send it to The Examiner by e-mail at larsenw@transcontinental.ca.