Let us have a discussion this week on a variety of topics:
1. Apparently Moose Jaw’s two seniors’ groups were not interested in my suggestion a few weeks ago that they might earn some money by counting parking spots in a designated area in the downtown. Nor was city council enamoured by my suggestion.
Instead, the funding involved will go to a consulting firm. It is only $11,000 and change, but still a questionable expense when there has to be parking spot information already sitting on a shelf in city hall, put there by previous studies that haven’t been completely covered in dust and cobwebs.
And don’t forget the secondary parkade discussion. Several readers suggested the city does indeed require a parking structure, but who should pay was not part of those comments, nor was a suitable location to accommodate such an edifice.
One reader suggested the men and women who walk the sidewalks handing out parking tickets could do some double duty by counting the stalls when they are not engaged in finding errant parkers.
A good idea, I thought. So many good ideas, but no one seems to be listening or taking them seriously. So sad!
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2. There was some excellent and exciting curling on television last week as the Scotties’ Tournament of Hearts came to us from Calgary.
Not so exciting was having to sit through those elderly advertisements of the sponsor. The competition has been known as the Scotties since 2007 but the relationship with the paper company has gone on through various company tangents for the past 43 years. Surely in all those years the company could annually come up with new advertisements with which to entice viewers to use their products.
Again this year as in the past many years, we see a youngster using her rolls of bathroom tissue to replicate a curling sheet, with the child knocking over enough rolls to start her cheering, just as the TV announcer introduces the new Canadian champion of 2020.
As well there’s that child crying when her balloon bursts and around her are all the soft and cuddly animals to ease her tears and to suggest softness for the nose tissues. Surely by now that child has grown up and gone on to skip her own curling team.
Perhaps the commercials for the Brier will be new and improved and entertaining to match the excitement on the ice. I’m already excited to anticipate the smoked ribs advertisements from the new sponsor.
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3. On a recent trip to 15 Wing, I might have been slowing traffic just a bit but there was a good reason: the Snowbirds were practising. It was a blue-sky day and the Tutors shone in the sunshine. The activity in the air was more important than zooming over the speed limit along Ninth Avenue.
Obviously the drivers of cars who passed me didn’t agree. However, the talk later at the meeting I attended indicated that others in attendance were as captivated as I was at seeing the Snowbirds in this early morning rehearsal for shows to come. The smoke was definitely on that morning.
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4. There’s already early chatter in some circles about this year’s civic election. There’s speculation about the potential candidates for mayor, and of course, who will put up their name for one of the six councillor positions.
Voters will no doubt have some interesting choices to make once deadlines have passed for nominations. But until then, superb citizens should be encouraged to take the leap towards civic office. Puppets and rubber-stampers are not welcome.
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5. A belated thank you to Derek McRitchie of Ottawa Real Estate and Insurance for kindly providing our household with a 2024 calendar to fill that empty spot on the wall.
I am now able to keep our schedules visible at a glance while enjoying the scenic photos for each month. Thanks Derek.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
