Category Archives: In the News

Sorry this is a day late but better late than never.  Connexions has good stuff on the day on its site.  Link to it here.

Pretty good when the “old guy” makes the front page again – this time twice on the same front page.  Two different topics but both health related.  One on a new strain of flu and the other on the Smoking Bylaw committee.  Check it out here.  At least the story on the flu so far.

Not only that but in the same issue my brother makes the sports news – named to the Prince Albert Sports Hall of Fame.

Update: Well, Leo isn’t too pleased with the stacked committee he has been named to to draft a smoke free bylaw.  At least four of the 7 or 8 committee members are adamantly against making Prince Albert smoke free.  Seems our new mayor’s true colours are showing.  Leo spent a good deal of his evening drafting a protest letter. 

And on a better note – thought you might like to see my illustrious brother as pictured in our city paper.

The local paper carried an article about Leo’s push for making our city smoke free by next summer.  Made top of the front page.  I’m quite proud of this man of mine!  He’s working hard for this.  Hope it is successful since we now have a mayor who is not too much in favor of this.  You can read about it here. 

And I’ll tell you a secret – well it is not exactly a secret but Leo used to smoke many years ago.  His whole family smoked(except his sister) and his mom died of congestive heart failure that was certainly not helped by her smoking.  Leo succumbed to my wishes that he stop smoking when we were just dating.  I supplied him with carrots to munch on instead of his lighting up a smoke.  He turned orange but he kicked the habit.  And we were married and have lived happily ever after!

Just watched the Canadian women’s team win their match against China.  Great game with fantastic goaltending by Swiatek.  Check out more about the game here.  Canadian women have come a long way in soccer – they definately have the men trying to catch up to them.  Way to go women!

Johnny Cash died today of complications from Diabetes.  I am not a big fan of country music but he was quite a guy.  So another one joins the cloud of witnesses around us.

Just skipping around the net,linking through some of my favorites and found this through Chuck Pierce.  Taxes are no fun but they can redistribute wealth.  Maybe that is one reason some of us tolerate our taxes here in Saskatchewan.  Just doing our Christian duty?

Just picked up a story from a friend  – D R Congo’s Mission of Mercy  that is a great story of rescue by some missionary pilots.  Thought I’d share it with you.

Traumatic!  That’s what it was.

This morning a patient from one of our illustrious penal institutes was scheduled to see my partner.  We don’t usually see these patients anymore – we used to regularly but found the entrance of a prisoner in shackles through the waiting room of children or older people was not much of a practice builder.  So we started bringing the prisoners in through the back entrance. 

We stopped treating these patients when it became obvious to us that most of them just wanted out for a trip rather than actual dental treatment.  So they would get to our office and decide that they didn’t want to have anything done that day.  Or there would be no problem to treat – the imaginary toothache has disappeared.

Today was an exceptional day.  My partner had seen the patient in the past.  The patient requested to see him again.  Out of the goodness in my partners heart and our willingness to bend our less than rigid rules, he was scheduled for first thing this morning.

Today became an exceptionally traumatic day.  The patient requested to use the washroom.  The guard who was by himself took him there in his hand and leg shackles.  Our washroom has no windows.  Should be OK right?  After a few minutes alone in the washroom, the prisoner threw open the door, knocked the guard down and ran.  Shackles have been removed somehow.  Right there in front of our reception staff.  One of them was shaking in the back room after. 

It will be a long time before our receptionists book any more prisoners! 

My next patient didn’t show up.  So I came home for an hour.  I didn’t think the whole incident affected me that much but it feels good to write it down and get it off my chest. 

Update:  Randall provided me with a link to one of our local news stations.  Check it out here. 

Just watched a short video updated today of the fire fighting effort in Kelowna.  Link to it here.

Found this link through the Parking Lot site.

On his site Jordan Cooper links to the Globe and mail’s story on the book by Gen. Dalliare Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda.  It looks like for the Africa aficionados and for those concerned with the cause of justice in this world, it will be a must read.