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
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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.
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