Noteworthy: Voting is over and still unsure how any choices were made

By Bruce Penton on October 22, 2025.

Never in my life have I entered a voting booth so unsure of the X marks I was about to make.

For mayor, no problem. Six candidates, enough knowledge on all of them to make an informed choice.

But 39 hopefuls for eight seats on city council? The roadside signs didn’t help, other than cement in my brain the names of a couple that would definitely not get my vote for reasons that were not necessarily logical, but comforting in my mind. The forums at the Esplanade were a big help, because one could see the thought processes developing when candidates were asked a question, and you could see how they interacted with each other and how that might translate to discussion around the council table for the next four years.

A couple of candidates got a solid checkmark in my mind after their performances and utterances at the public forum, and a couple, unfortunately, received a ‘no way’ in my brain that was overwhelmed by trying to discern the qualities of 39 people who were striving to represent me and, theoretically, improve my life in Medicine Hat.

The Medicine Hat News online collection of candidate questions and answers was valuable, but again, it was overwhelming to sort out. Most candidates sang from the same songbook – sensible spending and taxation, economic growth for the city, safe streets, proper balance of wants vs. needs – and whittling that 39 number down to eight and being confident that mistakes aren’t made along the way was nearly impossible.

Some people voted for a particular candidate because of their solid credentials; others might have put an X beside a candidate’s name because they once provided a complimentary coffee at Tim Horton’s. There are dozens of reasons for voting, or not voting, for a particular candidate, and while I tried my best on Monday to be true to myself and the system, I’m not sure of my success.

However, we now have a mayor and eight councillors, and school board trustees, and the world will carry on. Without chaos and confusion, hopefully.

• Michele Winger has taken over as chair of the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede’s Visual Arts Show and Sale. She replaces Laura Kennedy, who, said Winger, retired “after several years of hard work and dedication.”

Winger jokes that she “didn’t realize she was training for the job” when she began volunteering a few years ago.

Anyone with questions about the summertime show may contact Winger at StampedeVisualArts@gmail.com. 

• Well, that was awkward.

San Jose Sharks were celebrating Hispanic Heritage Night at a recent National Hockey League game, when an unfortunate message appeared on the giant scoreboard.

“SJ SHARKS FANS LOVE ICE!! GET ‘EM BOYZ!”

Now, ICE can have two distinct meanings when you’re in an American ice-hockey arena. There’s the ice that the players skate on, which is the ice the scoreboard message was referring to, and then there’s ICE, the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been getting plenty of media attention lately as the U.S government cracks down on illegal immigrants.

The message did not go over well with the Hispanic fans on hand for their night of recognition.

Reported The Athletic: “The Sharks issued an apology later that night, stating, ‘an offensively worded message which had been externally submitted was inadvertently displayed on the in-arena scoreboard.’

• Some Canadian baseball fans living in British Columbia were torn last week when Toronto Blue Jays played three games in Seattle to determine the American League representative in the World Series. Blue Jays’ fans from Vancouver normally flock to Seattle whenever the Jays are in town, but lately, with travel by Canadians to the U.S. substantially reduced due to protests against Donald Trump’s tariff tirade and 51st state rhetoric, fans faced a conundrum: Do I travel to Seattle and cheer on my beloved Blue Jays? Or do I continue to boycott any travel/spending in the U.S.?

Judging from TV cameras panning the crowd in Settle, many Canadian fans chose to support the team rather than continue with the boycott. But the normally vast number of Blue Jays fans in Seattle was a far cry from the thousands who ventured south during the pre-Trump days.

• Short snappers: Singing star Taylor Swift and her soon-to-be-husband, pro football player Travis Kelce, are reported to have a combined net worth of $1.7 billion, according to Athlon Sports. Swift’s portion of that is $1.6 billion while Kelce is worth “only” $90 million. She might insist that he keep working to shoulder his share of the marital load. … Never actually counted them, but more words begin with the letter B than any of the other 26 letters in the English language. Bogus? Or believable? …Researchers have found that eggs have surpassed peanuts as the leading food allergen among young children. … Canada Post’s future is on shaky ground and those close to the current labour dispute say their future might be reduced to parcel delivery. In 2006, each home in Canada received, on average, 372 letters per year. In 2024, that number had fallen to 113. The world has gone digital, and it appears Canada Post simply cannot compete anymore.

Bruce Penton is a retired News editor who may be reached at brucepenton2003@yahoo.canecessarily

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