The Village of Forestburg discussed several issues of interest with a resident at their Apr. 9 regular meeting. The topics included making a recreation activity more accessible.

Angela Jenowski spoke to councillors during the “question and answer” section of their agenda; this is time set aside near the beginning of the meeting for members of the public to speak.

Jenowski began by asking councillors if they would consider painting boundary lines on the outdoor municipal tennis courts so that residents could play pickleball there. Readers should note pickleball is a fast-growing sport that combines elements of tennis, ping pong and badminton and can be played as singles or doubles.

Jenowski noted the pickleball season is done but wanted to know if lines could be drawn on the outdoor tennis courts, which would allow pickleball to be played there all summer. She noted pickleball courts are somewhat smaller than tennis courts, so two pickleball courts could fit there.

She stated pickleball can be popular in summer and she’s seen times where up to 16 people turn out to play. Jenowski stated having an outdoor court that’s available to anyone seven days a week would be very convenient.

Coun. Elaine Fossen asked if Jenowski had considered using the curling rink for summer pickleball. Fossen stated the rink may be available for another sport in the summer and she recalled pickleball being played there before.

Jenowski responded the curling rink could be an option as the only thing pickleball players need in a venue are lines on the ground, but she stated organizers were hoping to find a venue that was easily accessible at various times.

Mayor Dwayne Giroux observed that the ag society is responsible for the curling rink, which means pickleball users would have to approach them first for permission.

During discussion, councillors noted pickleball use for the tennis courts has been discussed before.

Jenowski stated that organizers could do some fundraising if there were costs involved in using the tennis courts.

Coun. Dayna Oberg stated that he lives in the vicinity of the tennis courts and feels pickleball use could conflict with the heavy use of the tennis courts by tennis players. Oberg stated quite a few people play tennis on Forestburg’s courts when the weather permits and is aware that Forestburg’s school kids use the courts too.

Oberg stated that sometimes the tennis courts are so busy people must wait their turn to use them.

During discussion it was agreed pickleball players should approach the ag society first about using the curling rink, as that wouldn’t conflict with anybody else.

Next up was a concern Jenowski had about Forestburg’s Big Knife Villa seniors lodge; Jenowski stated she was concerned about vacancies at the lodge and that more advertising was needed to fill them.

Coun. Blaise Young stated that he’d been told there is an aggressive advertising campaign going on to find more residents for the lodge.

Jenowski asked that the village also help, as empty spots at the lodge ultimately affect the facility’s budget.

Lastly, Jenowski noted she wanted to voice support for the Government of Alberta’s recent decision to remove certain materials from Alberta libraries. According to the Government of Alberta website, “In summer 2025, we gathered input on new standards to guide school boards in selecting and managing materials with sexual content in K to 12 school libraries.

“In July 2025, a ministerial order was introduced requiring school boards to develop standards for the selection and availability of school library materials.” Most sources agree about 160 books have been removed for depicting what the government refers to as “explicit visual depictions of sexual acts.”

Jenowski stated the UCP government’s list of books to be removed is fair and she was happy that those materials were not available to kids anymore.