Noteworthy: Pre-paid fuel, city council departures and Halloween jabs on Twitter

By Medicine Hat News on November 3, 2017.

Re: Donald Trump, mocking North Korea’s Kim Jung Un with his ‘Rocket Man’ insults: One unstable person with power poking another unstable person with power is like poking a skunk with a stick. What could go wrong? … Service stations in Alberta will soon have to require fuel customers to pay first before refuelling if legislation gets through the Legislature. Husky was proactive on this matter, taking the step about six weeks before the government wrote its legislation. Husky cited “risks associated with fuel payments” and “safety of attendants.” It won’t be long before we eliminate every source of potential communication with others. A Husky attendant I talked to about the prepaying move said it wasn’t overly popular with customers. IMO, there’s not a thing wrong with it. You’d never be allowed to eat a Big Mac at McDonald’s and pay for it on the way out, would you? Why not the same with buying fuel? … At 7:57 p.m. on the night of the first UCP debate, the Jason Kenney media team issued a press release titled ‘Kenney wins 1st UCP debate.” At 8:30 p.m., presumably after viewing the tapes, the Brian Jean campaign issued a press release stating ‘Brian Jean wins first UCP leadership debate.’ The only conclusion is: Credibility? What credibility? … Someone called the Ticked-Off-Tickled Pink phone line recently to complain that Medicine Hat is falsely claiming to be the sunniest city in Canada when it’s “not even in the top 10.” Sorry, but it all depends on what website you check. The one I found had Medicine Hat at No. 1, followed by Lethbridge, Suffield, Kindersley and Swift Current, the geography of which proves that we indeed live in the sunniest region of Canada. … A news release from AccuWeather provided a winter forecast that calls for snowstorms to frequent Ontario and Quebec; and dangerously cold air to grip the Prairies. The cynic in me wonders how on earth they came up with that startling prediction. What they failed to predict is that the sun is expected to come up in the morning and set at night. … It’s always good to have newcomers elected to city council, but the departures of Bill Cocks and Les Pearson will leave a hole around the council table. In my opinion, both men were of the highest quality and served because they loved their city and wanted it to keep improving. … Big fan of the Tragically Hip and of the late Gord Downie, but the media coverage of his recent passing was almost Pope- or prime minister-like. … Alleged bank robber Steven Vogelsang was a prominent TV personality and college journalist instructor in Winnipeg, so his recent arrest in Medicine Hat was front-page and lead-story news on various Winnipeg media outlets. If this is what becomes of aging journalists, let me off this bus immediately. One thing, though: Given his journalistic background, the notes he handed to the tellers demanding money probably had solid sentence structure, spelling and grammar. … We let people have their say about most things in Ticked Off and Tickled Pink, whether we agree with their view or we think it’s bunk. ‘Bunk’ is what I think about the recent ‘ticked off’ about our newspaper’s election coverage. IMO, it was far superior in terms of quantity to other media outlets in our city, but that’s what newspapers are able to do — go beyond the headlines. … What I don’t like about politics: Opposition parties are loathe to say anything nice about their rivals, so when something is announced like the Amazon fulfillment centre in Calgary, which will reportedly employ up to 750 people, the government rightfully crows about it, but there is ‘crickets’ from the Opposition. I know that’s how the game is played, but I don’t have to like it. … Maria Collard of Medicine Hat shakes her head over a couple of recent examples of mail delivery. A card sent to her from Mexico last February finally arrived Aug. 3. An air-mailed letter from Germany to her address took from March 23 to Aug. 29; and a cheque that was sent to her home in Medicine Hat from another home in Medicine Hat was mailed March 14 and arrived Aug. 29. Yet, she has examples of cards sent more than 100 years ago that were lightning-quick. Two days from Moose Jaw to Bankhead, Alta., in December, 1906; One day (sent March 27, 1908; arrived March 28) from Moose Jaw to Calgary; and another 1908 speedy delivery, a letter from Moose Jaw to Vancouver was mailed May 28 and arrived May 31. Progress? On the other hand, Maria, email is instant … In the one month since the 59 people were shot and killed by sniper fire in Las Vegas Oct. 1, there have been more than 900 people killed by guns in the United States. To gun advocates, though, that’s apparently a small price to pay for having the constitutional right to bear arms. The U.S. president is not the only reason the world is looking at the U.S. and shaking its collective head. … On Twitter, Donald Trump, Jr., made a Halloween crack: “I’m going to take half of (daughter) Chloe’s candy tonight & give it to some kid who sat at home. It’s never to early to teach her about socialism.” The world responded, including author J.K. Rowling, who jabbed back: “Fill her bucket with old candy left by her great-grandfather, then explain that she has more because she’s smarter than all the other kids.” Trump, Jr. also should have used ‘too early’ instead of ‘to early’. … These helium-related developments certainly add to our ‘Gas City’ reputation. There are still skeptics out there, though, who say it’s all just a bunch of hot (but light) air. … It’s great to see another new doctor in Medicine Hat — Dr. Ockert Kruger from South Africa — and it was interesting to read him saying in reporter Gillian Slade’s feature that he “loves the cold.” We’ll try to remember to check back in with Dr. Kruger during the first minus-30 week we have in January. … Wow, have to be impressed with the community of Fox Valley, which organized a fundraising dinner for the recent fire victims and came up with $150,000. That’s an incredible total for a small, rural community.