New role created for Walker at The Echo

By Joan Janzen

The Oyen Echo is pleased to have former editor Diana Walker as a local presence for the paper. She will be at 114 Main Street (Schindel Agencies) office every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Diana can be reached at oyenecho@telus.net or by call/text 403-664-6600. People are invited to drop in to see Diana and drop off news ideas or contribute stories.

“I can’t say no, and I can’t stop,” Diana confessed. Her interest in the newspaper industry has a long history. “My grandfather and his brother in England were printers. The history of a community is so important, and the local newspaper documents that history.”

She became the editor of The Oyen Echo back in 1969, where she claimed the newspaper business “fits her to a T.” She has been contributing to many community organizations throughout the years, too numerous to mention, and in 2005, her efforts were recognized when she was named Citizen of the Year.

Throughout the years at The Oyen Echo, she attended numerous meetings and committees on her own time to cover events for the local paper. Her daughter once described her mother as very home town oriented and a great supporter and promoter of Oyen and all it has to offer.

Kate Winquist, publisher of The Oyen Echo, welcomed Diana back to The Oyen Echo, saying: “I am so pleased to have Diana contributing to The Echo. She had been the voice of the paper for many, many years, and I know that it is still her passion. Diana has been a great support to me over the last three years.”