WoodPile The Catch My Drift

By R.H. Wood North Battleford

What a spectacular inglorious demise that innocent until proven guilty Chinese balloon suffered at the hands of the U.S. military. It was blown to “smithereens” to use a term much heard by the British in wartime. Why did they not put a wee hole in it from the ground from where it could be visualized allowing it to sink gently with oriental dignity onto terra firma? It could then have undergone a post mortem and its entrails carefully examined. With infinite and unanticipated non-wisdom Mr. Biden awoke from slumber to order its destruction without being aware of its contents which could have been grossly unwise

– “pour encourager les autres” perhaps. After any required repairs it could have been returned to Beijing and recycled in the interest of world peace and non-pollution.

The question, of course, is what was this non-rigid, non-dirigible,

Count Zeppelin inspired “airship” actually doing? Was it simply a weather balloon which had escaped its tether or a ridiculously obvious visible from the ground spy ship? No, my suggestion is it was a test run for low-cost high-level spectator trips for Falun Gong and Elon Musk. It could also have been planning to spread Shen Yun pamphlets or free tickets. There is a thought however that it was tracking air currents from China over the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, strategically unimportant Saskatchewan thence to central America for military not civilian purposes. Balloons large and small, being assumably innocuous, could be filled with political pamphlets, new Covid variants, noxious gases, microbes or even explosives. We should be so relieved when we learn after the fact that our defense minister, NORAD, Mr. Biden and Mr. Trudeau et al were tracking the balloon from China to our very doorstep. When I was young, train spotting in Scotland was our main source of relaxation – balloon spotting will be the new craze for the youth of today.

The currently meeting provincial health ministers are demanding something like $28 billion more in health care support which, of course, will be denied. Even Oliver Twist had the courtesy to ask politely for “some more please”. Mr. Singh has the glib answer to the health care crisis i.e. zillions more new nurses and doctors. The only way this can be achieved is by reducing training to a few intense weeks followed by paid study leave in lieu of holidays. For years I used to say that training programs could be more focused, intense and relevant but my remarks at medical conventions were always treated with derision. I cannot understand the rationale that individuals are denied health care at their own cost when all that the state system can offer is an indeterminate

Crime up 21 per cent in Battleford

Continued from Page 1 to move to the Don Ross Centre.”

Mayor Leslie added that he has recently finished his orientation with COPP, and is excited to be apart of the program. He also noted that changes are coming, even to the level that a newly branded COPP vehicle may soon patrol the streets. COPP members may also have vests and badges for the purposes of identification in the future.

Mayor Leslie then asked Inspector Gilbert if the 9 p.m. curfew has worked, but Gilbert can’t say for sure, saying that, “...with statistics, you’re sometimes unsure whether it’s cause or correlation.”

“I think it was a successful campaign,” Gilbert said, noting that there is usually a significant spike in vehicle thefts when the cold weather comes. In 2022, that spike did not happen, though it could have been other variables.

“I can’t say for sure, but I take it as a win.”

Gilbert acknowledged that statistics are one thing, but the RCMP plans to enhance their reporting and communications over the next few months and years.

Councillor Shelly Boutin-Gervais added,

“Overall, this looks like the stats keep going up. My wish is that they’ll go in the opposite direction, and maybe with the proper staffing, that will happen.”

“I know you work hard, and we’re glad to have you here,” Councillor Alexis Christensen said.

Mayor Ames Lelise noted as Inspector Gilbert finished the RCMP delegation to council, that, “As a community leader, I think we need to celebrate the successes of our law enforcement and our community better …

Letter Community laments

Continued from Page 4 saw the situation in a positive light. (The government man was no doubt told to approach the situation in a negative manner.)

The local people put in many hours of work and raised thousands of dollars to turn that building into Pine Island Suites, which became home to seniors who no longer wanted to do their own cooking. They had a splendid house mother or matron or whatever title was used, who dedicated herself to the well-being of the residents. The suites are in the same block as the government senior rental apartments, so the people who live there could just walk across to socialize with the men and women in the suites. None of this is news to the people of the town or surrounding areas.

Of course, the place cannot operate financially with only a handful of residents. Jobs have already been lost.

So, that home is going

I’d like to see bigger splashes of that into our media.

“We’ve taken off $100,000 worth of drugs, 35 weapons, put four people in custody … let’s celebrate those because to close, a good dream has gone flat, leaving people to say, “It isn’t right, it isn’t fair.”

I expect there are several reasons, not just one. Will we ever know?

Call in the bulldozers, the place is now more than 40 years old.

Christine Pike Waseca

everyone knows crime town is led by a lot of these initiatives. And the more we can help the successes of our men and women in uniform, making our community safer, the better. waiting list. Internal squabbling, Ukraine, friction between America and China, and now the earthquake scenes from Syria and Turkey sure detract from happy thoughts of a peaceful early spring.

“No one wants to celebrate crime, but there must be a positive somewhere.”

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