With the feelings of gloom and doom stemming from provincial and federal budgets upon most of us this week, I feel it it incumbent upon me to find a pleasant distraction or two.
Instead of the the anxiety and cynicism that abound with all this talk of the government and money, let me brighten up your day with some positive news.
Caribou
Researchers at University of Saskatchewan have discovered that caribou populations in the far-flung boreal shield region of Saskatchewan have been increasing, and that the population of caribou in the north of Saskatchewan is one of the most stable populations of the animal in the country.
The northern third of Saskatchewan—which according to research, is one of the best habitat for the animals with all its thick forests and isolation from humans— has been estimated to be home to 5,000 or more of those proud horned ungulates.
This is a significant break in an otherwise crappy pattern, because caribou in other parts of Canada aren’t having a great go at things, as their populations continue to drop, due to habitat disturbances, and over-hunting by growing populations of predators, such as wolves.
Safer Streets
Const. Curtis has turned to social media to show the brighter side of traffic enforcement. The tweet-happy member of Regina’s traffic safety unit has been using Twitter to send out positive and humorous messages, such as one imploring people to beware of leprechauns when driving on St. Paddy’s Day.
Why is this a good idea? Well, how often do we hear anything good about traffic in Saskatchewan?
Last time I checked, a reliable way to ruin a good mood is to Google “Saskatchewan” and “traffic” and see what atrocities emerge. I’ve written and personally witnessed enough horrible things going on, on the road, to appreciate Warnar’s efforts to brighten things up.
Warnar offers regular updates from his Twitter account, including “Traffic Tip Tuesdays,” “How-Fast Fridays,” all in a valiant attempt at opening up a more positive conversation about traffic in the Queen City.
Police Push
In another moment of good news relating to police and traffic a wee bit further east, a member of the Ontario Provincial Police really put his back into the job, last week, in London when he found a woman near a major highway.
Sgt. Glen Seddon, with the OPP found a woman’s van blocking the entrance to a restaurant parking lot, having run out of gas. So, understandingly, the sergeant limbers up, tells one of the van’s passengers to switch it into neutral, and pushes the van to a nearby gas station. Not only is that a good-natured thing to do for the poor motorist, whom I presume was absolutely mortified at the time, it makes for a great story to tell over a couple of beers.
Book Battles
It’s always personally gratifying on an emotional level, for me to see big literacy events taking place at schools. Battle of the Books, of course, is a brilliant way to get kids excited about reading.
I know it can be tough to do that these days, with the gamut of glowing screens and the assortment of distractions they provide for young minds. Who wants boring old paper and ink, when you have the perennial quick-fire buzz and instant gratification of video games and social media?
Even when I was in elementary school, my parents became all too familiar with the dangers of those distractions. They’d regularly fight a little book-battle all their own, in their constant efforts to wrest 10-year-old Sam away from his Playstation and put good books like The Hobbit in front of him. While I won’t comment any further on how successful their efforts were most of the time, I’m grateful they did what they did.
I’m proud of all the Grade 5 and 6 students, rhyming off fact after fact about the books they read over the course of the winter, sharing a ubiquitous appreciation for literature.
In an era where a scary majority of people still having trouble discerning the proper uses of “their,” “they’re” and “there,” the importance of literacy cannot be stressed enough. A colossal kudos is in order for the Estevan Area Literacy Group.
