Op-Ed A5
Delivering the Gold Standard in real estate
LYNN CHIPLEY, Broker/Owner Cell 306.421.0100
1339 Fourth St., Estevan, SK S4A 0X1 Office 306.634.1020 Fax 306.634.0088 lynn.chipley@c21.ca www.century21.ca/lynn.chipley
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Corey Atkinson New Material Only
Horrendous behaviour is rewarded I was recently thinking about the idea that there is a level of decorum and behaviour among our elected and appointed officials that has seriously fallen by the wayside over the last few years. Rob Ford was the first to take it to an art form. Something wild happens, then a flurry of questions about it and then the next day it’s on to the next wild thing. It’s a news cycle centred around one person, and often their non-job related behaviour is what gets them in trouble the most. The Rob Ford incident file provided by Toronto editor Peter Lynn stands as (an incomplete) testament to an era where literally anything was possible. If you were to have heard in 2011 that a lion escaped from the Toronto Zoo because Rob Ford let him out, you would probably not think anything of it, other than “there he goes again.” We forget the near daily level of wild behaviour that came from the office of the Toronto mayor during his tumultuous one term of office and the jaw-dropping resume of nearly as wild behaviour that preceded it. It’s not often my place to speak ill of the dead but Rob Ford was an ill-tempered, foul-mouthed buffoon and would have been proud of most of that reputation. There wasn’t a lot of positivity in his campaigns for Toronto city council, but repeatedly telling people you’re in politics for the little guy and then promising to lower taxes? Heck, even if you don’t actually lower the taxes paid by people, who can resist? As a councillor in 2006, he was removed from a Toronto Maple Leafs game by security for drunken belligerence. In 2008, he commented thusly about Asians: “Those Oriental people work like dogs. They work their hearts out. They are workers non-stop. They sleep beside their machines. That’s why they’re successful in life. I went to Seoul, South Korea, I went to Taipei, Taiwan. I went to Tokyo, Japan. That’s why these people are so hard workers. I’m telling you, the Oriental people, they’re slowly taking over.” Was this during a Thanksgiving post-meal, post-drinks discussion between family members? Was this during a private conversation between old university friends? No, it was during a city council debate on holiday shopping hours. I’m not sure if this was meant as a compliment towards Asian peoples or what but it was clearly forgivable because this man was elected mayor not long after. Not that the election campaign wasn’t fraught with its own issues. He was found to be improperly paying his campaign expenses, borrowed money from his family’s holding company, exceeded the spending limit and accepted corporate contributions. In 2012, he stood trial for using city letterhead and official council and city resources to help raise money for the football team he coached. Ordered not to do so again, he was found to be doing the exact same thing a few months later. Ford claimed that players on that team would be dead or in jail without his coaching, and that was disputed by some of those players. He’s finally mercifully released of his coaching duties by the school. And then there was the Gawker video incident. In May 2013, he was shown to be smoking crack cocaine while making homophobic statements and slurs against minorities. Later in May, his staffers handed out “Rob Ford: Mayor” promotional magnets to those attending the funeral of Toronto Sun founding editor Peter Worthington. He fired his chief of staff, Mark Twohey, for suggesting Ford enter rehab after Ford says to get the equipment he donated from the school that fired him. That same month was also the statement from Ford in a press conference that he can’t comment on a video that he has “never seen or doesn’t exist.” Finally, in November, Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine “in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago”, and concluded the announcement with saying he’d be running for mayor again the following year. The idea of an elected public official saying and doing these things would have been considered lunacy a decade or so before this but in a lot of ways, the late Rob Ford paved the way for what you see today. Heck, he might have won the 2014 re-election campaign before a cancer diagnosis snuffed that out. So with Thanksgiving in our rear view mirror, we all have that person in our lives who says cringe-worthy things we know aren’t truthful or right. But don’t worry at all if that uncle is ranting, belligerent and possibly addicted to alcohol and other substances, he might be a mayor or premier someday. As long as he promises to lower your taxes, he’s good to go.
Pipe Valves, Fittings • Fibreglass Automation • Valve Actuation • Mulitplex Fire & Safety • Industrial Sales Artificial Lift Systems • Repair Shop
Each office is independently owned and operated.
Changes coming to the City of Estevan’s fitness centre Some significant changes will be coming to the Estevan Leisure Centre’s fitness centre in the near future. “Our committee has already gone through and done an inventory as to find what we actually have in the facility right now and what we think from talking to users as to what we should add to what’s already existing,” said Erin Wilson, program manager for the City of Estevan. “I think the importance of these changes is that we are showing that we are listening to our users. We want to provide a quality facility for any and all individuals who come to work out and we think these changes will really help us accomplish that.” The changes are coming due to feedback from a town hall meeting in the multipurpose room in May that saw a fitness centre committee struck. “The committee is our commitment made to the residents and fitness community, by providing a modern fitness and recreation facility,” said Wilson. “Their goal is to serve the athletic and recreational needs of the entire community and are committed to continuing to
work with the community as we move forward in bringing this vision to life. “Some of the changes will be happening in the coming months, while others will take a longer time to implement. “We’re really in the process right now of seeking out quotes from different organizations,” said Wilson. “We want to make sure that we match the right price with the right quality so we can really make the most of the budget and give our users the best experience.” The committee is also looking at other ideas brought forward by the community and invite input sent to Wilson at e.wilson@estevan.ca. W ilson noted some smaller items like benches have already been received and added into the gym, but it will take some time to receive and implement all of the new equipment. “It’s slow right now, but it’s slow for a reason. We want to make sure we’re taking our time and not just buying whatever we think people want,” said Wilson. “One of our key messages is really the importance of individuals voicing what they would like to see. It doesn’t
Erin Wilson mean that we can guarantee to acquire all of the things people want, but we want to make sure we’re heading in the right direction for everyone who gives us feedback. Wilson added that in the future more town hall-style meetings might be held, if it’s apparent that they are of use, and members are able to get
Estevan Arts Council discusses various topics at annual meeting The Estevan Arts Council (EAC) held its annual general meeting on Oct. 4 at the Estevan Leisure Centre to discuss the past year’s events, and to begin planning for the upcoming year, according to Wilma Mantei, president of the organization. Mantei noted that this will be her seventh year as president of the EAC, and said she is excited for the events in the coming year. “We are a non-profit organization, and we work on zero budget,” said Mantei. “We don’t consider that we need to make money, because we want to give the most that we can to our community. We’re not out here to make money at all but we do try to make our expenses and our income kind of flush,” The EAC ended the year with a small surplus, according to Mantei. The organization receives a number of grants, donations, and sponsorships throughout the year, which allows for continued programs throughout the city. “ We have an Energy City Film Circuit, Koncerts for Kids, we have the Estevan Concert Series, we do visual arts and some other stuff, so we have five different books that have to be kept by our office administrator,” said Mantei.
“This year was a very full year for us, as it always is. I think this year was one of our busiest years when it came to providing art programs in the city for both adults and kids.” Mantei noted that the importance of the EAC is to continue providing programs throughout the city and although they finished this year with a monetary surplus, making money has never been the aim of the organization. “We knew that we would lose money on some of our programs, as we always do,” said Mantei. “But we know how important it is to bring different events to the city, even if some of them don’t have the highest attendance like the Concert Series, but it doesn’t cost a lot of money to have these events in the city so we think its worth it.” Mantei noted that in the coming year there will be four Koncerts for Kids events in the city as well as a number of other events throughout the year. “We unfortunately only had two concerts this year for the Koncerts for Kids series, but we also had some school concerts that were held,” said Mantei. “So we’re pretty excited to be able to offer a few more in the next year for everyone
Wilma Mantei in Estevan. We’ve already got our four Koncerts for Kids performances booked, and we are hoping to possibly have some more. The Estevan Concert Series has six concerts booked, and we think it will be a great year with lots of opportunities.” The EAC has also acquired the ability to do debit and credit card transactions,
with Mantei noting the change was made as most people aren’t carrying cash on them. “Otherwise things are going to be pretty much the same this year,” said Mantei. “We’ve got some new board members joining us this year so that’s exciting, and we’re just really looking forward to another great year.”
Your opinion matters
Estevan Mercury Publications welcomes your opinion on articles that appear in our paper, or regarding other issues in the community. Do you have thoughts on physician recruitment efforts, snow removal plans or any other issue? Send us your letter by visiting www.estevanmercury.ca, or emailing it to editor@estevanmercury.ca.
Winnie is a 8 week old kitten very sweet and cuddly.
Poco is 5 years old, black lab cross, she loves kids and other dogs.
Estevan - 306.634.6494
their ideas across. “Although we don’t have anything planned for the future right now, I definitely hope that people remain involved,” said Wilson. “We’re trying to do our best to be transparent and show people that we are really listening to them and taking their input seriously.”
Spayed and neutered pets are much happier pets.
The Estevan Humane Society reserves the right to refuse any adoption.
CALL ESTEVAN HUMANE SOCIETY
306.634.3444