Sask. police officers go above and beyond call of duty
Just how far the Saskatoon Police Service has come in fostering a good relationship with all sectors of the community is evident in stories I frequently receive for this column — a point underlined by Sherry Palmer’s recent letter.
“I live in Westmount and I love my area,” Palmer writes. “I live behind a church parking lot and it gets all sorts of traffic. I see a lot of people coming and going by foot, on bicycles and in vehicles. I see children playing on the grounds and in this one large beautiful tree.”
She notes there have been a few incidents in the area, but nothing too major, although they hear sirens down avenues H and P.
“One afternoon I heard sirens and they were close, but then stopped, so I thought nothing of it. Then I heard the sirens again, except they sounded different. Then again.”
Her curiosity piqued by the sounds, Palmer looked outside and noticed a parked cruiser.
“The police officer was engaging these young boys by letting them hear all the different siren sounds. My heart was touched in knowing that these young boys had begun to build a healthy idea of who policemen are.”
Arloa Marsh called to say that she and her husband went to their bank in Humboldt on Jan. 21 and realized his credit card was missing.
They headed home to Lanigan intending to cancel the card, but before they could do that, they got a phone call from Ron Fredericks of Humboldt to say he’d found the Visa card on the floor of the bank and would turn it in at the bank on Monday.
She thanks Ron for spending time to track them down and for his honesty in returning the card, saving them the hassle of replacing it.
Randy Lavoie of Kindersley wants to share what he rightly describes as a “remarkable act of kindness” from a couple of neighbours to the west, when he hit a bit of bad luck in the form of a deer while travelling to Edmonton on Christmas Eve.
“I was on my way to enjoy a family Christmas with my sister’s family, my mother from Surrey and my youngest sister’s family from Vancouver. This was very special to me because we had not been together for Christmas for many years,” he wrote.
Lavoie and the deer had their painful encounter about 30 kilometres east of Viking, Alta., at about 7 p.m. on a stretch of dark, quiet highway.
“Despite a shattered grill, headlight and spewing radiator, I was able to limp into a gas station at Viking,” he wrote.
“While surveying the damage, a fellow who was filling his vehicle approached me saying, ‘Looks like you had some trouble.’
When Lavoie explained that he’d hit a deer and was headed for Edmonton, about 90 minutes away, the stranger immediately said he might be able to help.
“And help me he did. He had a van that had been sitting idle at his shop for months. On this cold night, to get it in usable condition, he first had to boost it, inflate the tires, check the oil and clean the headlights. It needed fuel and he refused to let me pay for it.”
When Lavoie said he’d return to Viking in three days and arrange to return the vehicle, the man said Lavoie could take the vehicle back to Kindersley if necessary.
“I’m just so apprecia- tive of how he turned my holiday around. Depressed and alone turned into optimistic and ultimately, a visit surrounded by family. Thank you so much, Murray Quinton and son Roby at Viking Reclamation Inc.”
Why do some pet owners figure that they are exempt from rules about leashing dogs in public areas or picking up after their pets?
As anyone who has walked around in a neighbourhood park, or travelled along the riverbank trail recently can attest, these areas have a become a disgusting minefield of strewn dog turds.
Yes, I admit to having advocated in the past for allowing dog owners to take their pets along the riverbank trails and for removing the ban on dogs in downtown parks, with enforcement efforts targeted at punishing those irresponsible few who act as though the rules of civilized conduct don’t apply to them or their critters.
Yet when an expected pleasant outing with children or a pet, or a bicycle commute, becomes an ordeal of trying to dodge dog droppings and even having to deal with unleashed animals allowed to roam freely, I wonder if those who advocate banning dogs from the trail didn’t have a point.
Granted, it might help if trash bins were placed near trails, along with a supply of plastic bags so that pet owners caught unprepared can do the responsible thing. However, if proper enforcement of the pet bylaws and making compliance easier is beyond the fiscal means of the city and Meewasin, I regretfully wonder if a ban is the only alternative to what truly is a disgusting and unsanitary mess.
Call me at 657-6442 or email speiris@ thestarphoenix.com to share your stories.