ROASTED & TOASTED

YOUR CHANCE TO OFFER UP A PAT ON THE BACK OR A KICK IN THE PANTS

ROAST: To the City. On two occasions my water meter decided to turn on (its own free wheels), leaving me with an astronomical bill to pay. The City says pay or we will cut the services. I am wondering if I am the only one with this recurrent predicament.

ROAST: Drug tents in the park? Why didn’t the police do their jobs and arrest the criminals? Who interfered? Time for a criminal investigation from an outside agency as our mayor is in conflict on the local Police Commission and we need an independent overview.

TOAST: To Ken Moore for his letter to the editor of Sept. 17, “Personal freedom ends where another’s safety begins.” We all need to do our part and obey public health advice, so that we can minimize deaths from this killer virus! We just have to look south of the border to see what a combination of lack of leadership and expressions of personal freedom can lead to. Chaos! And already more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S.!

ROAST: To the pro-business, anti-regulation, anti-maskers who were pictured on the front page of the Sept. 16 Herald. It is a small sacrifice to wear a mask, keep our distance, and wash our hands often. If a second wave of COVID-19 is allowed to expand because of your and my carelessness every one of our families will feel the pain personally with a death or serious illness. Do you have a family member in a long-term care facility? If this virus gets into that facility, some deaths are bound to occur. As of May 25, statistics from Ontario showed that 35 per cent of seniors who contracted the COVID-19 virus died. This is a killer virus! Let us all do everything we can to keep our numbers low! A safe vaccine is on the way!

ROAST: To all the yahoos who rip along Kodiak

Boulevard North. If you think you are impressing us please think again. You are careless and irresponsible. You fail to realize that at the speed you travel it would be impossible to stop if a child came across the street in front of your vehicle. The rest of your life would be lost if you hit and killed a child. The family of the lost child would be forever lost in sadness. Please reconsider your driving practices. Slow down. 50 km/h is the max. You can always go slower. Our children are precious.

ROAST: To the south end bigbox store with signs saying “masks required” and a security guard at the entry and a greeter beside him/her, on Saturday last, allowed about one-third of the shoppers to be maskless and its own staff to walk about using their masks as chin warmers. A roast to our mayor for setting the poor example by discouraging enforcement of the City bylaw. Perhaps AHS shutting the merchant down for a few days would encourage them to action?

ROAST: To the anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers. You have a very privileged position in this country. If you get sick with a preventable disease, you still get to access our public healthcare system and everyone else gets to pay for your “freedom.” And a Double Roast to the employees and workers who are still coming into work sick and are hiding their symptoms or trying to blame allergies. If you’re sneezing, coughing and dripping snot — stay home.

TOAST: To the beautiful backyards in Heritage. It’s too bad a few of you have decided to dump your dirt, rocks, grass, branches and dog turds on City or CPR property. Your trash doesn’t disappear just because it’s on the other side of the fence and out of your sight.

TOAST: To my kid’s school’s janitors as well as the cleaning staff at my job. Thank you for all the extra cleaning and additional workload you’re dealing with right now. No one thinks about all the work you do until it isn’t done right. Thank you for keeping my boy and myself safe.

TOAST: Again to all those who respect the well-being of others by wearing masks in public indoor spaces. Because of your efforts transmission of COVID-19 in Lethbridge is among the lowest in Alberta. If you don’t want to wear a mask there’s a simple solution: stay home and show respect for the well-being of others. It’s been proven the main transmission is through the breathing in of infected droplets breathed out by others.

TOAST: To Ken who so generously shared his boxes of apples with the volunteers at the Mission Thrift Store. They were delicious and much appreciated!

TOAST: To anyone who can explain the fascination our mask fraternity has with shaming others into wearing a face covering, saying “you’re protecting me from you.”

What? If maskers believe their fashion statement masks work so well, you’re protected from everyone, so why the shaming — mind your own business, and go about it with your dirty mask hanging from your chin.

ROAST: To all those who take ill-informed “coffee shop talk” and try to make an intelligent roast out of it! Get informed before you roast so you don’t look ridiculous when you brag to your “friends” of your roast in the paper!

TOAST: Thanks to Ken Moore’s Letter to the Editor (Thursday, Sept. 17) for S-P-EL-L-I-N-G it out for the dummies!

TOAST: Thank you to my Herald carrier Sharon in the Stafford area who never fails to deliver my paper before my early-morning runs or hikes that I enjoy with my morning coffee before heading out. I appreciate your dedication to doing this throughout the year. You are awesome!

ROAST: A huge roast to this UCP government for not properly protecting students, support staff and teachers from this hideous virus. Your human experiment in seeing how many will get sick is absolutely appalling. And in ridiculous and criminal Trump-like fashion you give billions away to rich corporations who don’t need the money and nothing to protect our loved ones in the schools.

ROAST: We ask you to wear a mask and you complain your rights are violated. Give us a break. All the medical professionals excluding

Trump’s bought-off doctors tell us masks work. It’s such a small thing to ask of you to protect others lives.

ROAST: To all those who oppose wearing a mask and social distancing please include a dated and signed letter with your health card information stating that I herby decline all and any medical treatment should I contract COVID-19.

TOAST: To London Road Market. A huge thank you for delivering our weekly groceries. Special thanks to the wonderful caring staff. Thanks to John who delivers our food to us.

ROAST: To city council for even considering more wasteful spending on more art projects. When is it going to stop? You could have rebuilt the Fritz Sick pool for all you’ve spent on wasteful projects.

That pool is very important to residents in Lethbridge, maybe priorily (if that’s a word) adult and senior persons, but also any ages as it is only pool (year round on the south side) that caters to water exercisers and persons with mobility issues. The small pool is the only pool in Lethbridge with mobility features and desperately needs to be expanded. The big pool needs expanding as well, and the dressing rooms need redoing to accommodate for handicap and emergency access. Please give this priority consideration over another art project.

TOAST: To Lethbridge Door Systems and their amazing service technician, Brad K. He is a very knowledgeable, efficient and friendly fellow. We love his work and his over 20 years of experience with garage door maintenance. Thanks again, Brad, and see you next year.

ROAST: Almost every developed country in the world has provided its airlines with financial support, starting with Germany (at nine billion euro), the U.S. ($25 billion), Britain, Scandinavian countries, etc., etc. As for Canada? Apparently, we are happy to let Air Canada and WestJet go down the tubes. And if WestJet goes, Lethbridge might as well mothball our airport! City council — let’s make our voices heard! Airlines are an essential service in the 21st century!

TOAST: A huge toast to the contractor and the City for the completion of University Drive. What a functional and attractive roadway. The only caveat is that it should have been done originally which would have been far less costly to taxpayers.

TOAST: To Mason who operates the Crystal Clear

Water Delivery Service from Raymond. We love your service, product and staff. Thanks so much, Mason and staff. Best wishes from a very satisfied customer.

TOAST: To the City of Lethbridge for looking at condo recycling and all the good they are doing. Private contractors do not recycle using any City services. They use their own recycling companies. Question for the City is where do you send cardboard for recycling and I notice the condos recycle glass but the City advised they just throw it in the garbage. The City does not recycle glass.

TOAST: To Pat Thurston regarding her letter to the editor in the Thursday, Sept. 24 paper. I agree wholeheartedly. Our alley was paved a few years ago and we have no vehicles parking in the alley. The front street is another story with vehicles all over the place. I actually feel sorry for the garbage pickup drivers having to negotiate tight spaces and back up three times to make the turn in our crescent. The City should revisit their decision for front street pickup before winter sets in, please.

ROAST: To the roaster who keeps calling COVID-19 the flu (short for influenza); you do see that they are two different words. They are not the same, not interchangeable. Your lack of understanding is scary. It begs the question, what else do you have wrong?

ROAST: To the people crying over wearing a mask. It is a public health issue, it does not have any thing to do with your human rights. Read the Charter of Human Rights to understand how wrong you are!

ROAST: To both Roasters and Toasters, please have all the facts and an understanding of what you are talking about. It is amazing how many people have no idea what they are talking about! It is a pretty sad statement about our society.

ROAST: To the fact that in the first six months Alberta has been averaging 75 deaths a month from ... opiods. Unlike COVID which can spread rapidly and affects everyone’s job and relationships, opioid addiction happens to people on the margins with not nearly as much economic effect. Closing down safe injection sites will not help the death rate improve.

ROAST: To me for predicting it will be a hard winter. No cure or vaccine for the virus, cases in Canada back up to 1,000 a day, people forced to stay inside and breathe recirculated air ... enjoy the last weeks of outdoor activities.

TOAST: To the Canadian medical drama “Transplant.” It is now being played on a major U.S. TV network, because of the quality and because it is unique. The “transplant” is a Syrian doctor trying to survive in the Canadian medical system that is suspicious of his ability and his race. And they don’t pretend Toronto is Chicago; Canadian backgrounds are common.

TOAST: To city council for the face mask bylaw. It is badly needed and will save many sicknesses and deaths.

ROAST: To all those citizens of our beautiful city: I’m thoroughly disgusted with the way you are throwing the free disposable masks everywhere in Lethbridge. I walked about six blocks and came across 12 masks lying on the ground. If you had to pay for them you wouldn’t be dropping them wherever you please. Maybe businesses should stop handing them out and not allow anyone in if they don’t have one of their own. By now everyone has had time to buy their own mask. I also think schools should not be handing free masks out. If the student doesn’t come with a mask they don’t enter the school (kindergarten and younger are exempt). If we thought our plastic bottles and cans were a problem, I feel this matter with discarded masks is going to be a much bigger one yet. Come on, Lethbridge, wake up and stop polluting our city.

TOAST: To the provincial government for putting licence plate renewals online. No more underwhelming experiences in long lines at the southside registry.

ROAST: To the West Lethbridge MLA who only has fearmongering in her vocabulary. How can someone vote for someone who is so negative and promotes fear to constituents?

TOAST: To the roast of humanity Tuesday, Sept. 22, for reminding us all to bend our knees and bow our heads to our Creator, for he’s the only one who can change things.

But what I saw in Dollarama South, Sept. 17, a young lady with an obscene design on her backside, what a disgrace, and what saddened me the most is she was pulling a stroller with a young child. So the innocent have to suffer with the bad.

Feel sorry for that child.

ROAST: The old saying why worry about life, just live it and the song “don’t worry, be happy” have less relevance today. Now preoccupation is with global warming and its effect on human habitation and agricultural production as a result of fires, floods and droughts. Nations have stopped co-operating with each other, have no plans and are callously turning away immigrants who are fleeing their homelands due to persecution and wars. The new universal hymn, accompanied with weeping and wailing, is “we are lost, so doggone lost that not even God can find us.”

ROAST: As I sit writing this, I think, gee, it must be nice to have nothing more serious going on in your life than all these protests. So many people in this world are struggling, with disease, dying family members, lost jobs, homes and things that are so precious. No need to go overboard with our opinions. We need to use that energy on helping others and counting all the blessings we are lucky enough to have and enjoy. We will always have different opinions, on most everything, and that’s not going to change. Please, let’s be grateful for what we have and try to help each other to get through this pandemic. Find ways to make your family, friends and neighbours happy. You don’t need money to do it, just kindness and service to others. Let’s improve where we live and not try to tear down and destroy each other.

ROAST: Yoo-hoo, has anyone seen the MLA for Lethbridge East? He appears to be missing in regard to the EMS situation. He made no mention of this in his epistle in The Herald a week ago. If he were a true Lethbridgean he would be backing council and about 80 per cent of our population. He knows the facts and he knows 19 per cent of all emergency ambulance calls are answered by our fire trucks, and the dispatcher knows the area and weather. Would you please answer this to let us know if you are for or against.

ROAST: City council continues to ignore and give no exemption for overcharging medium and large condos recycling fees. Common sense would propose that an immediate amendment and rebate to these tenants should follow. It seems that it is just another form of City greed that was not well thought out, even though it is so evident that it is without merit.

TOAST: It seems somewhat appropriate that The Herald does not publish on the day of the sun and the day of the moon while continuing every other weekday named after a god.

ROAST: City council should initiate a new emergency code for the city centre in its entirety, due to the ever-increasing need for water closets and lavatories. The most appropriate designation would appear to be “Code Brown”: “For this incontinence-related emergency.” Similarly hospitals have assumed this terminology for the problem in bygone years. A city of this size should be ashamed for inadequacies.

TOAST: The federal government should apply the $2,000 gift to the public against any amounts owing on tax account arrears and delinquent student loans. Humbug!

ROAST: Has anyone seen an apology from the federal government? The Federal Aviation Administration was responsible for approving the 737 Max jets that resulted in

246 deaths. Now the Senate is considering to let the FAA have more control of approvals.