The Editor:
This submission is in direct response to Chad Saxon's "Don't like it here? Leave" column in the July 4, 2012 edition of the Estevan Mercury.
I am so very sorry for hurting your feelings by expressing what I feel about Estevan.
I am not a coward by any means and as such, here is my letter to you.
You mentioned Mr. Saxon, that I was being cowardly by posting a comment in The Trader as an anonymous entry. Well, the end of my letter will contain my name.
I will start off by questioning you on your disliking of Cheers and Jeers? Why would you read it then? It's like reading the horoscope if you don't believe in it.
My venomous comment (as you described) is not venomous at all. It is exactly what I have witnessed, and the last time I checked, I am more than welcome to express my opinion and observations verbally, in the newspaper or otherwise. It's too bad that you have to try to downgrade my character in the process.
So, what makes Estevan lame? Let's start with its roads ... many potholes that get patched (when the town actually gets to it) with poor quality asphalt and poor quality workmanship making a very uneven and rough surface for its citizens and visitors to navigate.
The town may as well save its road repair money if this continues. Failure to re-vamp intersections for better traffic flow is another example.
Next, the mayor. I've been to many Bruins hockey games in the few years of living in Estevan. The man quite regularly berates the officials and opposing team. All within earshot of children. Is this a good ambassador for this town?
The town planner continually lacks the foresight that Estevan is growing and fails to initiate the infrastructure to dictate as such. Case in point, housing, failure to widen roadways, low standards by turning a blind eye to people's shoddy and disgraceful yards and allowing this town to get dangerously low on doctors.
Now, ta-dah ... the citizens of Estevan with their I'm-better-than-you-because-of-my-toys attitudes, the continual staring at strangers in restaurants and going out for a walk (as another person submitted as a jeer in The Trader), the lack of knowledge in the stores in which they work, the belittling of those who are less fortunate, the comments of those who are overweight seem particularly bad in Estevan, the vicious comments of the lady who was transgender and got verbally and physically abused, and had no choice but to leave town.
Remember that Estevan? Remember the write-up in the paper a year or so ago about her? Are people here really that ignorant?
There are even people in Estevan that can't and won't welcome other ethnic backgrounds here. Some of whom I know personally.
How is any of this positive? I've experienced more of this in Estevan than any other community in which I have lived. How does this shed a good light on this community without being labelled a redneck town?
People here live in a bubble, and what little they have here, they must show it off and brag to feel better than others. I suppose there is a lot of money being made around here, but using that as a tool to gloat is plain stupid, which reminds me of an old saying, "he who dies with the most toys, still dies."
Onto the rest of your letter Mr. Saxon, I do volunteer for my daughter's baseball program, I do volunteer for my son's lacrosse games.
I help out as much as my job allows for Cub Scouts or whatever group they happen to be in. I try buying local without having to head south.
So much for your generalization that I might not offer anything positive to Estevan, Chad! I have no petty little comments, I have very little misery in my life, I have a well paying job in which I was able to purchase my first house in Estevan. I was born and raised in Saskatchewan.
I do not necessarily hate Estevan, and I do not plan to leave any time soon, as I have no reason to. It's just that I'm rather tired of hearing and seeing it all with zero improvement.
So Chad, if you want to straighten me out, come over to my house, let's get this settled!
In closing, I do not disagree with your statement that there are many hard working and honest people here that strive to make Estevan as good as they can, but in my eyes, that very statement seems to be overshadowed by the ones who don't. You can try to look at things with your rose-colored glasses, but I tend to see things as they are.
Andrew Thomas
Estevan, Sask.
