I am the new reporter at the Estevan Mercury and my name is William Acri.
I am very happy to be starting my career as a journalist. I have always liked community reporting and small towns. I grew up in a small town called Acton, Ont. that is about an hours drive from Toronto.
I went to Loyalist College in 2014 and I graduated in 2016 with a diploma in photojournalism. In Ontario the employment market for journalists is currently oversaturated. After college I spent some time freelancing but I mostly I worked part-time jobs before I got a call from the Estevan Mercury to work for them.
In Ontario the two biggest employers for journalists are Torstar and Post Media. These two companies do suffer from some financial problems and they do own a lot of newspapers across Ontario. As a result, journalism graduates in Ontario struggle with an uphill battle trying to stay motivated.
My passion for storytelling started early with my love for photography. I started taking photos when I was 10. My first camera was a No. 2A Brownie box camera. Later on I upgraded to a Pentax Spotmatic. This camera allowed me to learn how to professionally take photos.
When I left Acton, Ont. the weather was warm and there was no snow on the ground. I had anticipated an uneventful trip not knowing myself and many others were about to be caught in the first snowstorm of the year. I had a long trip ahead and only planned to stay in a few towns along the way. I had no time to stop having to drive about 10 hours each day, so I missed a lot of scenery.
Driving through the Canadian Shield was nothing short of beautiful. That beauty quickly turned to fear. When I awoke in Wawa, Ont. on the morning of Oct. 25 I noticed I was now in a snowstorm. I knew my vehicle could handle a snowstorm however between Wawa and Dryden the snowstorm turned into a blizzard.
My last day in Ontario was spent going about 60 km/h through that blizzard. The thing that was most surprising about driving through that storm was the amount of accidents I saw. It seemed that a lot of motorists that day were not driving to the road conditions. There also appeared to be a lot of summer tires and small vehicles on the road that day.
When I finally reached Manitoba the storm had calmed down a bit. Once I passed Winnipeg the roads were finally clear again. I have been to Western Canada before so the very flat landscape was nothing new. I did however miss the beauty of the seemingly endless canola fields that fill Western Canada’s landscape. I did get a chance to take some beautiful photos of the wintery flat landscape while I was driving through central Manitoba.
My first impressions of Estevan were good. Driving through northern Ontario there were some towns that once had a purpose but no longer do. Coming to a community that enjoys high employment and takes pride in participating in Canada’s natural resource and energy sector is good. It is a positive environment for someone to be in who is just starting out their career.
One of the first things I did when I got relatively settled in Estevan was attend the United Way Estevan telethon. Coming from a bedroom community it was surprising to see a community come together so strongly for a charity event. Being there was a very positive experience because it really shows how much the community cares about each other and other people.
I am looking forward to covering the many and interesting community events in the Estevan area. I am looking forward to how Estevan observes Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day is an important day for me as well. This because my uncle during his time with 405 Squadron was the rear gunner for The Ruhr Express. This plane, also known as the KB-700 was apart of Bomber Command during the Second World War.
Living accommodations in Estevan have been good. The community has been very nice and I am looking forward to covering the many events in Estevan as a general reporter.
