Noteworthy: They just keep coming…

By Bruce Penton on September 17, 2025.

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Wow, what a municipal election we’ve got coming up Oct. 20.

Deadline day for nominations is Sept. 22 and already there are six people running for mayor – former city councillor Kris Samraj, current mayor Linnsie Clark and Mark Fisher are the latest three to join the race that also includes former MLA Drew Barnes, ex-police chief and current councillor Andy McGrogan and Alan Rose.

Meanwhile, raise your hand if you are NOT running for city council. At last glance, the list of council hopefuls stood at 35.

City boulevards are being overtaken by those little election signs featuring the name (and sometimes photo) of the candidate, which does little for me as I drive by. However, I suppose the more signs a candidate has next to the roadway may help to create an imprint on a voter’s brain that might result in an ‘X’ beside their name on election day.

Thankfully, a couple of candidate forums are being staged next week, organized by the Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce. Both will be held at the Esplanade; the first one Wednesday, Sept. 24, and the second on Friday, Sept. 26. Doors open at 5 p.m. and organizers say the events will conclude no later than 9 p.m. (I’d love to attend both, but Bryan Adams and I are getting together with about 17,000 others in Calgary on Sept. 26.)

Questions for the candidates will be prioritized in the following manner:

1. Questions based on the policies and positions of the Chamber of Commerce;

2. Questions submitted in advance by Chamber members, which will be prioritized in the order they are received;

3. Questions submitted in advance from the general public;

4. Questions submitted at the forum.

All questions will be posed to all candidates. If you have a question for one specific candidate, the Chamber asks that you contact the candidate directly during non-forum hours.

â€¢ Fifty-seven years ago, in 1968, the Peanuts comic strip introduced a black character, Franklin Armstrong, and in some sections of the United States, one might have thought strip creator Charles Schultz had committed a cardinal sin.

A school teacher, Harriet Glickman, wrote to Schultz shortly after the assassination of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King, suggesting a black friend of Charlie Brown’s in the comic strip might lead to better race relations in the U.S.

Many newspapers, mostly in the South, threatened to cancel the Peanuts strip after Franklin appeared. Few, if any, did. Ultimately, it was a small step toward helping ease racial unrest in a country where racial equality is still a dream for many.

â€¢ Statistics are available for almost everything, but one category I found recently really opened my eyes: It’s about sleep habits, which change for people as they get older. A baby might sleep for 12 hours overnight and then have a two-hour nap in the afternoon, but most adults get about half that amount of shut-eye.

In fact, the stats show the average bedtime for adults is 11:37 p.m. and the average duration of sleep is six hours, 40 minutes. That information came from Axios.com, which said the info was compiled from Apple Watch data from 61,000 Americans. Canadian numbers are likely similar.

Health officials recommend adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. I’m certainly falling short of that seven-hour minimum and, as I get older, it seems my sleep time is getting shorter. A tip from sleep experts: Going to bed around the same time every night leads to longer and better sleep.

(Friends of mine say reading this column every Wednesday puts them to sleep, so I’m doing my part.)

â€¢ More on (yawn!) sleep: A Globe & Mail story suggested afternoon naps are good. Makes me sleepy just typing those words. Because deep sleep time is reduced with age, the story said, one can boost their total sleep time by taking a nap. “Short naps (10-30 minutes) before 3 p.m. can be restorative without interfering with your nighttime sleep,” it concluded.

I’d carry on and elaborate a little bit on this subject, but I’m off to take a nap.

â€¢ Short snappers: The name of former mayor Ted Clugston keeps popping up on the election rumour mill. … Six names of people seeking five seats are on the Catholic Board of Education ballot while 11 people going for five spots are on the public school board list of candidates. … I have strong free-speech and anti-censorship views, so I don’t mind saying the UCP government should be reminded that school libraries are only one place among dozens of locations where books or videos containing racy images can be seen by impressionable youth. … Another Pecha Kucha night is scheduled for Saturday at the Esplanade, starting at 7:30. Tickets are free, but must be reserved through tixx.ca or at the Esplanade’s box office. â€¦ Inflation? What inflation? Gas prices have dipped to $1.25.9 per litre at most places in Medicine Hat, about four cents cheaper than the going rate in recent weeks. Costco, as usual, leads the way at $1.13.9.