We all impatiently await its arrival, but we have to admit spring is not an attractive season in the early going.
As once pristine white snow melts into lumps of grey sludge, the garbage (and don't forget the dog and deer poop) begins to emerge.
While it is a truly sad commentary on how some people treat the environment, a huge bouquet to the City of North Battleford employees who pitched in last week to pick up more than 7,500 pounds of garbage in and around the community.
They, and a neighbour spotted cleaning along the fence at Heritage Christian School last week, should be role models for us all. The City organized a special cleanup day, that City Manager Jim Puffalt says will be an annual event, but there's no need to wait for a special day to do your bit. Don some gloves, grab a garbage bag and stage a one-person cleanup in your neighbourhood.
The pink tide has subsided after last week's anti-bullying activities, although the message is one that reverberates throughout society throughout the year. Too bad the politicians in Parliament and the legislature don't do more than give lip service to the cause. They could go a long way in spreading the message by being better role models.***
As a buzz phrase, privacy protection has a certain cachet, alliteration even, but as an entity, is it a figment of our imagination?
I work in a newsroom. It's my job to spread information around. Anyone contacting my newsroom knows that's my job and as Mayor Ian Hamilton remarked in a recent conversation, nothing is ever off the record.
So it can be puzzling to receive email with this type of disclaimer as an automatic signature: "This confidential e-mail message is only for the intended recipients. If you are not the intended recipient, be advised that disclosing, copying, distributing, or any other use of this message, is strictly prohibited. In such case, please destroy this message and notify the sender."
Ironic to be sending information to a newsroom address but expect the recipient to ensure the message goes no further. Goes against the whole purpose of the place. What's even more ironic is I get these types of messages from public relations personnel. Wouldn't their clients be a tad alarmed to find out the information dissemination they are paying good money for is being protected from further viewing by privacy protection babble speak?
Beyond the ironic reaction, however, is skepticism. When does just saying it make it so? Not very often. So the odds of someone going "oh my gosh, this wasn't meant for me. I must delete it immediately and let the sender know I got it by mistake," are slim to none.
