Teachers are signed up until 2012 for both the Public and Catholic school boards - but they have to come to a collective bargaining agreement by January 31st 2008 (according to the MH News)

There hasn’t been too much discussion about the dramatic election results for the Catholic School Board - specifically how citizens voted out ALL the encumbants (there was one acclaimed from Cypress County I believe) - One has to think that the new board will help negotiate a new relationship with its teachers, which by all accounts had soured under the old board. Must be some tight negotiations to get it all done in 9 weeks.

I wonder if the collective bargaining agreement is where they hammer out details like playground and lunch supervision. Some parents have pointed out to us though e-mail that Grade 1 students in some schools eat their lunch with no adult supervision - just a 9 year old who is to call for help should somebody choke. it just seems like schools should be more responsible than just during hours of instruction to me. How hard is it to make sure kids have a safe and supervised place to eat? How many times have you read about a tragedy at a birthday party with a child choking - and those generally have adults supervising. Thats a lot of responsibility to hoist on a 9 year old.

Maybe with the provincial concessions teachers and their school boards can fix short comings like this - recognize that teachers do more than just teach if need be, but provide the service that Medicine Hat Children deserve.

9 weeks for a new CBA - huh …ah well I doubt thats where things like child supervision are decided anyways - but here is hoping they fix it.

I have had troubles finishing a blog post this past week, I started several but they all ran out of steam, not because they aren’t big enough issues on their own…just because I hit a block trying to make it sound even remotely interesting - so here is one of those potpourri style news articles applied to blogging…

No Left Turn

Did you know there are plans a foot to close off access from the Trans Canada highway to the light industrial area of town? No more turning at the Husky or at Callahan Inn. Under the new plan the only way into the light industrial area will be over by Tino’s. If this is news to you (as it was to me) there is an open house this week where you can go and ask questions, but I am not sure that there is any process by which you can actually influence the decision one way or another. I have a feeling that could negatively affect more than a couple of Hatters. It just seems* like this should be a bigger news story in Medicine Hat than it has been.

No question traffic there is an issue, as anybody who travels that way at 8:15am can testify, but on another weird and quasi related issue.

Transit
Traffic to the light industrial area of town is so bad that people are contemplating massive changes to the highway – yet Medicine Hat transit barely runs to the light industrial area. (*edit - there are 2 bus stops in the light industrial, but service there is very infrequent IMO) . Apparently there is not enough traffic for that. (Go figure) I have been working on a Medicine Hat Transit post the gist of it would be something like ….and in conclusion, almost all Hatters if they had to rely on MH Transit, wouldn’t be able to use transit to get to work or leisure – including our city council members who’s jobs for a Monday night council meeting, happens to go later than our bus service.

Civic News
I would report on our new City Hall – but truthfully they haven’t done anything yet, good or bad to report on. I think this week we can take our new council out for a spin and see if they really are committed to transparency – we’ll keep an eye on that.

The Flu
Did you ever notice during flu season, that the nastier the flu strain the farther away they always claim it is from. Beijing flu, Hong Kong flu etc. After living with this year’s version of the flu I am prepared to call it the super bug from Uranus…

Tigers
(…its pronounced jʊˈreɪnəs and its like 3 trillion KM from here…) How about our young Medicine Hat Tigers slugging away for first in the central – who would have thought with all the new faces. Anyone else surprised that Ennis is only considered the #5 pick from the WHL this year (central scouting)…apparently that Beech guy that Wasdon pasted last week is more desirable.

Oh and those Riders are in the Grey Cup….I wonder if anyone in Regina knows?

Today a Judge in our courthouse decided the fate of a 14 year old convicted mass murderer. It is somewhat disappointing to think that the Judge was only really considering the difference between a 10 month or 18 month sentence per murder. Still it will be nice to have this chapter close for the community, though I have a feeling that this trial was a just a warm up for the next one.

Link

For 16 years the people in Saskatchewan have lived under the rule of the NDP. Tonight they shift the political landscape by handing over a solid mandate to a much more conservative Saskatchewan party. Its hard to imagine such a shift in provincial dynamics, it seemed that the NDP party and mindset were firmly entrenched in the political landscape. I cant help but think that high oil prices and a booming Alberta economy might have swayed some Sask voters to think of a more business friendly government.

I am born and raised in Alberta, but it seems everybody I know is from Saskatchewan. I wonder if this news might have some ex patriots looking eastward once again?

One thing I found interesting is the political capital that young voters are starting to earn from their participation in elections. The first plank in the Saskatchewan party’s election platform: initiatives aimed at keeping young people in the Province including -

Up to $20,000 in rebates on post secondary tuition for graduates who stay in the Province for 7 years.

$10,000 tax free exemption for entrepreneurs under 30

Increased post secondary funding to keep tuition lower (28%)

Obviously a major Provincial issue in Saskatchewan was the 35,000 people who have fled the province since 2001 - but what I find most striking is that the political process is paying attention to young voters at all. Now I recognize that programs like this aren’t just to attract young voters - lets face it seniors want their children and grand children to have successful and fulfilling lives too - supporting one generation isnt putting off another per se.

Still - in my lifetime the majority of the political process seemed to cater to a much older crowd - Baby Boomers or older, so i find it refreshing to see a younger demographic targeted in major elections …and to see how the “youth” vote can have such a heavy influence in changing the political leanings of an entire province. it seems - The times, they are a changin.