Yorkton got a visit from Stephen Harper last week. Or, did we? One scribe who shall remain nameless because I'm not sure if he/she wants his/her name published said, "Let's get this clear. Harper was not in Yorkton today. He flew into the airport, left his plane, had a brief meeting with James (Wilson), and got on a chopper. He went for a 45-minute spin with the Agriculture Ministers and Brad Wall. He landed at a farmer's house, shook hands, kissed babies and then flew back to the airport. He got on his plane and was most likely in Calgary by 4 p.m. He never saw the city at all, or spoke to the local media." The Calgary reference is one I made about this being an easy stop for Harper seeing as how he was likely headed to the Calgary Stampede anyway!
Don't take this the wrong way, I think the federal government's announcement of an instant 400-plus million dollar aid package is bang on. Provincial NDP leader Dwain Lingenfelter doesn't like it, but I get the feeling with his tone, prairie farmers may have come up empty handed if he had a bigger role. You can't compare farm aid to money spent on the G20. It's apples to oranges. The fact remains this amount of money is the most ever spent on farm aid, and the availability sounds like it's going to be relatively quick. Mr. Lingenfelter should offer up a 'thank-you' and move on to criticizing other things.
There is still some protestor fallout from G20. The protestors are upset over what they consider their rights being violated when they, apparently, weren't allowed to protest. They argue being in a democratic society, they have the right to protest. Aren't a lot of these people protesting democracy? I still don't know what any of them stand for. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
I'm somewhat thankful of my busy life over the last few years because there are a number of really good television shows that run repeats and I still haven't seen the original. This is important to me because watching Big Brother or The Bachelorette makes me want to poke my eyes out with really sharp straws. I have seen 8-10 episodes of Criminal Minds in the last week. I had no idea it was such a good program. On Sunday, I was burning the midnight oil and after Criminal Minds came a new show called The Glades (on A&E). Finally, something new has caught my attention. I can relate to the main character. He's dry and sarcastic. It's along the lines of a Criminal Minds type show, only the focus is on one investigator as opposed to an entire team, and the setting is in Florida.
I notice speed bumps in the Super Store parking lot. This may not be a bad idea for Circlebrooke Drive. I'm serious. I remember going home to Fredericton a few years ago and cursing under my breath about one of the main drags in a residential area (Marysville) that had speed bumps. Now, I understand why this was done.
If you are reading this today, I hope you are not one of the classless people going around and picking up trash from the end of your neighbour's driveway and setting it out at the end of your own driveway just so you can make an insurance/disaster claim. And, if you are one of the people looting these abandoned houses, may you someday have to experience a tragic worldly possession loss. This is a time where I've marvelled at seeing a city of 17,000 come together and act like a village in that everyone seems to help out one another in a brotherly fashion. A select few are trying to wreck it.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders may go 13-and-5 or 14-and-4 this season. They've played two very impressive games against two pretty good football clubs. Darian Durant continues to establish himself as the CFL's best quarterback, which means Rider fans are going to have to find something else to gripe about for a change. The quarterback, normally the position most critiqued, is as good as it could possibly be right now. Next up is Edmonton and the Esks are 0-and-2. There is wide spread panic in the city of so-called Champions. Interesting moniker when I see Oiler and Eskimo teams headed straight down the sewer (sorry for the flood reference).
Kudos to Yorkton Harvest grad Riley Storzuk, who last week announced his commitment to the Flin Flon Bombers of the SJHL. It sounds like another Harvest player, Curtis Veitch, is going to play with Waywayseecappo. A third, Kyle Trimp, is eligible to play an over-age midget season in the United States and that appears to be where he's going. Call me crazy, but the Weyburn Red Wings need that guy. I'm surprised after seeing how soft they were against Yorkton that they can't find room for a big truck like Trimp.
Feel free to email me your thoughts at [email protected] or check out my new, unestablished and maybe temporary blog at mikestackhouse.blogspot.com .
Nice person mentions this week to Lori Desroches, the Vargo family, Chuck Tysowski, Cam Mehling, and Flo Christianson.
