Pellet gun reaction anything but ‘fake’

Situation in Cornwall could have turned bad really quickly

By now, most air travelers know, either from personal experience or from hearing how people who have done so are treated by security, that you don’t utter the word “bomb” even jokingly in an airport. Such utterances are taken as threats and treated very seriously.

The same applies to brandishing a fake gun, such as in the incident that happened Wednesday in Cornwall.

We can picture the fear the three teenagers experienced when an older teen, after threatening the youths, pulled out what appeared to be a handgun, and we can imagine the snickering by the bearer of what turned out to be a pellet gun in considering the reaction his little stunt caused.

But it would have been no laughing matter some 20 minutes later when RCMP officers, with their real guns drawn, executed a high-risk vehicle stop.

An 18-year-old male, accused of brandishing the pellet gun is facing weapons charges. The situation could have had an even more serious ending. If the fake gun were pointed at police, officers might have been forced into taking more drastic action. Shots, from real guns might have been fired.

The message here is, if it looks real, or if the threat seems real, the situation could very well be treated as real, and it could become deadly, really quickly.

It’s still only early March

From the comfort of their kitchens, some Islanders might have wondered Friday what caused the one-hour delay in classes. Conditions looked pretty good from that vantage point, but, upon heading out onto the roads, they would have encountered many slippery spots and even some drifting, especially along secondary roads.

So, no complaints here. Better to be safe than sorry when transporting Prince Edward Island’s most valuable resource, our future leaders. The school delay is a simple reminder that, even though the calendar and the experts are in agreement that winter’s almost over, there’s still some oomph left in it.

So, keep the shovel and the scraper handy, and don’t be in a rush to remove those winter tires.

So much to do

Melting and mud and municipal budget meetings. All those are part of the annual mix known as March. Throw in St. Patrick’s Day, March Break, hockey playoffs and southern vacations. The dead of winter is over. The schedule is getting busy again.

Just don’t miss out on the opportunity to go skiing or snowshoeing when the next snowfall comes, because those opportunities are getting limited.