STACKHOUSE SOAPBOX (Yorkton This Week June 6)

It was a completely crazy week for people doing stupid things.

First of all, in Yorkton, somebody neglected to turn left going through the Robin’s Dough-Nuts drive thru last Tuesday evening and ended up just about launching their vehicle over the concrete pad.  This is reminiscent of the Dukes Of Hazzard and how the Dodge Charger would jump over other vehicles with Bo Duke behind the wheel.  That stuff is make-believe folks.  You can’t really do it.  There is a picture circulating on Facebook if you haven’t seen it.  I’d love to get the explanation for doing this.  Even if you have never been at that particular drive-thru ever before, this is not something that should happen.  It was also pointed out to me that a health condition could trigger this one vehicle accident and, fortunately, this didn't end up tragic. Point well noted.

Secondly, in Yorkton, I was standing in a very long line for the ATM at my bank last week when the manager came out and apologized to the customers for the second machine being out of order.  It’s not cheap to fix these things and they are seldom under warranty because the result of the break is, usually, customer stupidity.  This wasn’t the situation last week, but I’m told it’s not unusual for a customer to try and slip a roll of coins in the deposit slot.  My reaction was ‘are you kidding me?’  Nope.  This has happened more than once at this particular ATM, so I assume bank machines everywhere have been victimized by this brain dead attempt.  For those that have done this to bank machines, please understand that by doing so you are stripping the gears and forcing down time and, thus, inconveniencing other customers.  Furthermore, one of the ways banks can pay for this is through customer service fees.  So next time you are charged $2 for using an ATM, it is likely to cover a potential repair through someone else’s ignorance as much as it is for a financial institution to line its already deep pocket. 

In Edmonton, a school board has suspended a high school teacher for issuing a grade of 0 to a number of students who didn’t bother to hand in an assignment.  You got it right.  The teacher was doing his job and is being penalized.  It seems that, in Edmonton, a failure to comply on behalf of the student when it comes to doing work is a behavioral issue and not one of academics.  Therefore, a zero is not appropriate and the matter needs to be dealt with through counseling.  Oh do I wish that was the case when I went to school.  Do you know how many assignments I would have done if there was no such thing as a zero?  Zero.  That’s how many.  In twenty years, our country will be run by a bunch of morons who can’t spell their own name, but they will all have real good self esteem. 

By the time you read this, Vince Li will have had a leisurely stroll through Selkirk.  This, coming less than four years after he carved up Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus and ate some of his organs and body parts.  You see, it’s not Vince’s fault.  He was sick.  But, he’s better now and deserves to walk amongst the rest of us.  What a crock of dandelions.  Of course he’s sick and he might very well be ‘better’.  But, for the betterment of 99.9% of the population, he should be in an institution for the rest of his life.  The experts say the risk of him committing this offense again is very slim.  I would argue the risk of anyone committing this offense again is very slim, but since it’s already been done let’s not take any more chances.

A question I would have in the case of Li is that he, obviously, wasn’t medicating himself when he committed this incredibly sick crime.  So, who’s responsibility is it that he wasn’t on meds?  Was there supposed to be someone in charge of him, or was Li given the task of making sure he took his own pills?  I would argue the negligence of him taking his medication should be a criminal offense.  Furthermore, while he is out on these walks with supervision, who is responsible should he get away and commit another crime?  Do the guards go to jail for failing to hang on to him?  And, if you are a guard, are you a little nervous about walking with someone who has a history of eating another human being?

At the time of this writing, it sounds like Luca Magnotta has been arrested in Berlin.  He’s the main suspect behind the killing and dismembering of a university student and then sending body parts to the federal Conservatives and Liberals.  Should he be guilty, he should be put in the general prison population and whatever happens, happens.

Best of luck to Craig Stein, the soon to be retired sports announcer from GX94, who is embarking on a sales career at DR Auto Extras.  Huge shoes to fill in radio land. 

Nice person mentions to Troy Wilcox, Steve Gibson, Wil Middlebrooks, Mike Dreher, and Ashley Restau.