Martensville Messenger September 22, 2016 | Page 14

Page 14 - sePtemBer 22, 2016 - martensville messenger McMorris DUI a painful reminder can. However, McMorris’s Before anything more is said about Indian Head-Milestone MLA Don McMorris, allow me to relay a story. The lives of those at the Regina Leader-Post became a little sadder four years ago when we lost the late, great Ron Petrie - a friend and writer of extraordinary talent. Losing his battle with cancer, Ron left behind his incredible wife Joan and four kids - three of them, his 15-year-old triplets. McMorris, really a stranger to Ron, did an extraordinary thing for the family. Notwithstanding the needs of his own family and his own busy schedule as health minister, McMorris, a onetime driving instructor, took time out to teach the triplets to drive. Few know about this, largely because McMorris didn’t want anyone to know. But in the wake of McMorris’s drunken driving conviction, maybe people should have an opportunity to judge the man by something other his worst decision. Driving with a blood alcohol content two and half times the legal limit was surely Don McMorris’s worst decision. That it happened in the late morning - after what he described as late night drinking with an old school friend - has caused many to wonder. His lawyer Arron Fox suggested after McMorris pleaded guilty described it as “an issue with alcohol.” That painful admission has been one of many for the Indian Head-Milestone MLA. He immediately lost his high-ranking standing as deputy premier and minister responsible for SGI and the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA). And, quite frankly, it’s diffi cult to understand right now how he should be allowed to keep his seat. The rules of the legislature say MLAs can be booted out for criminal code convictions while serving, but only for sentences greater than two years. McMorris’s punishment was a one-year driving suspension and a $1,800 fi ne. But can a lawbreaker fulfi ll his duties as a law-maker? Many Saskatchewan people feel it’s just not right. Premier Brad Wall has already determined he THE OIL TREE : Natural Health Products Submitted by Shauna Welter You don’t need fancy soaps and serums to create a luxurious and relaxing experience. This Lavender-Oatmeal Bath Soak is simple, inexpensive, and packed with amazing skin benefi ts. Oats help soothe and repair dry, itchy, and irritated skin, making them a staple in many allnatural beauty products. Epsom salt helps relieve tension in muscles and Tea Tree offers all-natural, gentle cleansing. Lavender and Frankincense essential oils create a relaxing and spiritually uplifting atmosphere and can even help enhance the look of healthy skin. DiY lavender-Oatmeal Bath soak recipe ingredients: 1 cup Epsom salt 1 cup quick oats 1/2 cup baking soda 5 drops Frankincense Essential Oil 10 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil 15 drops Lavender Essential Oil Try this blend or experiment with any combination of 30 drops of aromatic/ topical essential oils. these are some of our other favorites for skin: Manuka Essential Oil Jasmine Essential Oil Cedarwood Essential Oil Patchouli Essential Oil Myrrh Essential Oil If you want to learn more about Young Living Essential Oils contact The Oil Tree 306-955-6457 or email [email protected]. I am happy to help answer all your questions, or you can take part in any of our information sessions. conviction brings to four elected to the current Sask. Party caucus with a history of drinking and driving. It’s not the message that should be sent out by any provincial government - let alone one that is presiding over a province with the highest rate of drinking and driving convictions in the country. But there might be one good thing emerging out of McMorris’s story. It is one of the things forcing the Saskatchewan Party government - and the rest of us, for that matter - to begin to a serious dialogue on how we need to change. On his Facebook page, Premier Brad Wall offered some rather heartfelt and important words on the subject. "Saskatchewan. We have a s e r i o u s problem. We have had it for some time," Wall wrote. "Too many of us are still drinking and driving and it is taking the lives of our neighbours and friends, fathers, mothers and our kids. And it is devastating the lives of others who are left behind. "We need to stop this." It’s sentiment hard to dispute, although there are some who still do. According to an August Mainstreet/ Postmedia poll - one in fi ve of us still seem to believe it's okay to drive drunk if it's only for a short distance. This speaks to a long-standing culture - especially in rural Saskatchewan - where we use long-distances, cold nights and the lack of taxis Provincial Politics with Murray Mandryk or public transportation as a convenient excuse. A d m i t t e d l y, Wall’s Facebook post likely had less to do with McMorris than it has with a rash of incidents in our province this summer that have. However, it is McMorris who will be the lightning rod. But maybe that’s a good thing. M a y b e McMorris’s woes should remind us all how much is at stake when we drink and drive. Letter to the Editor Sea-Can Concern At the July 18th RM of Corman Park meeting, council spent considerable time discussing how to restrict the number of sea-cans in the RM. Mention was made of how ugly they are. However, there was no discussion on why so many taxpayers are now adding sea-cans to their property & how to address this need along with balancing aesthetics. Times have changed & no longer can people leave their machinery, equipment, tools & big boy toys out in the open. Vandalism is a growing fact. A fact too is a sea-can is an excellent deterrent as they pose a more diffi cult challenge to break into than a shop. Instead of implementing restrictions on the number of sea-cans allowed, a more productive discussion would be on their visibility. If a taxpayer has 80 acres and chooses to have 10 seacans that are out of sight there should be no problem. If “ugliness” was a criteria worth mentioning it seems beyond comprehension that at the same meeting council approved the building of an Industrial Seed Cleaning, Grain Storage & Seed Selling Operation in the middle of over 60 rural residences. When the residents voiced concerns that this operation did not fi t into the location and would be visible from numerous homes the applicant said they would plant a row of trees. A sea-can is 9 ½ feet tall. According to the applicant the seed cleaning building will be 32 feet tall plus there will be multiple large seed storage bins. This is over 3 times as tall as an ugly sea-can – yet council approved this even after well over 80% of the taxpayers were against it. Yes both a sea-can & a Seed Cleaning Plant are ugly, but the sea-can is moveable, does not cause noise, dust, potential health issues, increase rodent population, have lights, risk accidents due to increased traffi c on an already busy highway, decrease surrounding property value, disrupt the peace & quiet and quality of life of over 100 people in the area. Cheryl Laliberte instructions: Grind oats in a food processor or coffee grinder into a fi ne fl our-like texture. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until oils are evenly distributed. Store in a glass jar and use about 1 cup of mixture per bath. Tip: Create a pouch for your mixture using a sock or pantyhose to reduce fl oating oatmeal fl akes in your bath. Letter to the Editor The Martensville Messenger welcomes letters to the editor for publication. Letters m ust be signed and a phone number and/or email address included so the writer’s identity can be verified. ALL letters are the opinion of the writer and NOT the Martensville Messenger. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, clarity or compliance with the current standards of public taste. Submit your letter to [email protected] or [email protected] or drop by the Martensville Messenger office at Bay #7 - 301 Centennial Drive North. Brad Wall's Saskatchewan is black hole in Trudeau's 'sunny ways'