I'm willing to be a little more open minded on the potential 7th Ave North street closure after having a nice discussion with Curtis Danyluk (Home Hardware) over the weekend. A few things that were pointed out to me that I was unaware of are that homes are only moved during low traffic time periods (such as 4 a.m.). Another issue he raised and makes a very good point on is that their intent is to only showcase three homes and have them beautified with a nice front yard. I still don't think this type of business belongs downtown, especially when you need to close a street in order to accommodate it; but I am willing to back off my beautification stance for now. Nevertheless, I am not willing to back off my stance that this is bad for traffic flow in a growing city, and bad for parking in an already serious situation where spaces are lacking. Not to mention, I feel precedent is being set for any private business that may want to build across a street. Where do you draw the line? Curtis thinks once employees of Royal Ford are gone, that should free up things a little bit with regards to parking. I've always considered Curtis to be a good family friend and hockey people know I have long been a huge supporter of his son, Joel. I am still going on record as opposing this, but I am glad Curtis and I were able to talk.
My apologies for not recognizing the fact the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce was, in fact, at the meeting last Monday night with regards to the issue on whether to close 7th Ave North. Sherry MacDonald called and ripped me (actually she's not capable of ripping me, she's just way too polite) and let me know that Tom Seeley was their representative. My bad. Apparently, the Chamber's role is to make a submission (which they did in November), and then monitor the matter from a distance. So, it sounds like their involvement is pretty much done. They will wait and see what the city decides, just like all of us.
It didn't take long for Doug and Loreen of York-Sask Drycleaners to get back on their feet. They have opened a temporary location at #4-11 2nd Ave N at Yorkville Shops. Business hours resumed on Monday from 9-5:30 on weekdays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. Full alteration services have resumed and customers who had drycleaning or alteration items on the premises when the fire occurred will be contacted in the coming weeks with regards to their items.
Two radio announcers in Australia are 'shattered' after playing a prank on a nurse, who committed suicide 72 hours after the on-air 'gag'. Apparently, the two announcers phoned the hospital pretending to be members of the Royal Family and were trying to see how difficult it would be to get through to Kate Middleton, who was hospitalized due to extreme morning sickness. I am sympathetic to the family of the nurse who passed away, but also sympathetic to these radio announcers. I suspect the nurse was already sick and there were other issues involved, not just the devastation of falling for a prank. The announcers were doing what they felt would generate ratings. I can't tell from the article I read as to whether or not the company the announcers work for are supportive of the announcers or whether they have decided to discard them for their lack of judgement. I do think it's hypocritical of radio companies who put immense pressure on their employees to get ratings and then toss them out the door like trash when something goes awry. They should be good employers and stand behind their staff despite the error. But I can tell you finding a good employer in the media world can be a never ending search.
Someone put the NHL Lockout in a nice perspective over the weekend: NHL owners use their teams as toys much the same way we use snowmobiles, motorcycles, and electronics. You do not expect to make a pile of money on your toys. Signing Zach Parise to a 10-year contract is much like adding chrome wheels to your truck. You don't expect to make money on it. You do it so that you can show off how nice your toy is. And, for those of you who have nothing but disdain for the player, please remember the media wants you to have disdain for the player because the longer this thing goes, the longer media members go without much work to do. They have a vested interest in this. So any spin you see coming from your television set comes with a motive to pressure the players to cave. The bottom line is that if an owner can't afford chrome wheels (a large contract for a player), don't buy them. Simple. That way you will see players hang themselves too when eight or ten teams go the way of the dinosaur.
Nice person mentions this week to Brett Franklin, Susan Roitman, Joanne Perkins, Derek Helberg, Brett Franklin (yes, twice), and Roz Staple.
