Shame on us — at least to a small degree.
At a recent Davidson town council meeting, an RCMP officer presented crime stats for 2019. We are the culprits. I have been covering Davidson council meetings as a freelance writer for the Davidson Leader. I have never covered a Saskatoon city council meeting, but have watched them on Shaw Cable. Trust me, Davidson meetings are more relaxed and efficient.
Someone asked me what type of things are on the agenda. Well, they include the location for a park, installing the waterslide at the pool, reviewing remuneration and discussing that horrible little stretch of road from the highway to the A&W. Never have they talked about bike lanes.
Anyway, back to the crime stats. Sgt. Robb Karaim told Davidson council how quiet their town is. “I have driven around here at 12:30 at night and I am kind of frustrated because there is no one to stop,” he said, drawing laughter from council. He said there were eight criminal code complaints, 22 property crimes and 10 thefts under $5,000 in 2019. He said two bad guys were responsible for most of them, and they were from Saskatoon, passing through town.
One is in custody. Since Christmas, three people have been nabbed driving stolen vehicles. In another instance, he said a spike belt was used to stop a stolen vehicle being driven by an impaired driver. “The stolen vehicles we are stopping and seizing are all
(driven by) Saskatoon people. That’s just what it is.”
*****
Here, according to one person, is a three-part platform to become the mayor of Saskatoon. (The person is not me by the way.)
No. 1: A consistent speed limit from the Chief
Mistawasis Bridge and going east toward Central Avenue;
No 2: No more discussion of bike lanes;
No. 3: No mandatory green-bin program.
*****
My predictions are seldom correct. I hit one recently when I wrote in the Davidson Leader that Kerri Einarson would win the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. It was nice to see someone new win. For too long, Jennifer Jones and Rachel Homan have been in a league of their own in this country. The results of events became too predictable. Yes, the odd time someone from the outside would nudge in, but it was never sustained.
Homan finished second and Jones third at the Scotties. With Einarson, Canada now has a third elite team. That’s a good thing, but we need more to keep the game growing and interesting.
*****
The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost about 2,500 games during my lifetime, with three standing out among them.
One was 1993, when the Leafs lost Game 7 5-4 to the Los Angeles Kings in the Campbell Conference final. It was a shame for Leaf fans when, in Game 6, Wayne Gretzky was not called for a high stick on Doug Gilmour.
A second loss was Game 7 of a 2013 series against Boston. With about 10 minutes left in the game, the Leafs were up 4-1. Boston scored three goals to tie it, and won in overtime. I did feel sorry for goalie James Reimer.
And then there was the Feb. 22 game, when the emergency goalie was called into action after the Carolina Hurricanes’ two goalies were injured. A 42-year-old man named David Ayres, who has a short resume as a goalie, played the last half of the game. Carolina won 6-3. While Ayres was the story, it should be noted that Carolina limited the high-powered Leafs to just 10 shots on goal in the last 30 minutes of the game.
That loss wasn’t as heartbreaking for Leafs fans as the first two, but the one on Feb. 22 will not soon be forgotten. I enjoyed it.
*****
Congratulations to our sales rep Aaron Shutra and his wife Brittany on the birth of their daughter — Kacey Sloan Shutra — on Feb. 24.
*****
Happy Birthday to Ken Noskye who turned 60 on Feb. 24. And Happy Birthday to Ned Powers, who turns 90 this month. Both are good friends and mentors. I love them both.
-Cam Hutchinson