ROASTED & TOASTED

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

ROAST: Roast to the new City Manager and Council who spent a million Dollars on the KPMG report to be told they need to find some savings, only to turn around and hire two more executive managers with large salaries. How do the frontline workers feel when some of them will lose jobs?

ROAST: To all of us Albertans! Jason Kenney meets regularly with Stephen Harper (two founding members of the Reform Party) and has hired Harper’s son to work for him. Harper was born and grew up in Toronto - Kenney from Oakville, a wealthy suburb of Toronto.

So! We are being run by two right-wing lunatics from Ontario!! Wow! No wonder neither of them know anything about Alberta!

ROAST: To Bill Ginther requesting the City and residents to do more for the homeless during the cold weather. Bill perhaps you need to go for a drive around the city and see all the hoodies, jackets, blankets, and clothes laying on the ground. Hanging on the fence at Henderson Lake Park there is usually many articles of clothing. Next stop Galt Gardens, there are more clothes here, too. Onward over to the Exhibition Park usually at the large dumpers there are clothes here, too. Stop by the 7/11 on Mayor Magrath Drive behind the store, there are always clothes here. Near LakeView school walk path there are clothes hanging on the benches. I do hope you have truck to collect all the clothing for I have only started with the list.

ROAST: I understand that the national commercials we see on TV should reflect the diversity of the Canadian population. That’s why we need more commercials featuring South Asian and Chinese people.

ROAST: Roast to all the North Lethbridge second-class citizens, as proven by your lack of response when the North Regional Park was identified as substandard and a costly fiasco. Compare it to the other two Regional parks.

ROAST: To all old people (40 years plus). You keep saying you built this country, but in reality you destroyed it. You sucked out all the natural resources and left a huge environmental mess. In addition, you left the younger generation with a massive debt. Every dime you have should be taken away and given to the younger generation to clean up the mess you made!

ROAST: To Justin T. When will you stop spewing B.S. about the COVID-19 vaccine and its availability as it changes from day to day and sometimes hour to hour. Tell Canadians where we really stand and stop trying to be politically correct, get on with the job at hand and do it with honesty and respect. Then make up your mind on who gets and who repays the CERB cheques you drive people crazy. Lastly, stand up to Biden and be a man for once.

ROAST: A huge roast to the big box grocery store on Mayor Magrath that has 2/3 of a Canada flag flying at half-mast. I called the manager three weeks ago and he said a new one was on order. I suggested he remove the flag out of respect, but he said it was too windy. Since he has lowered the flag. I made a complaint on the store’s web site two weeks ago. I have been assigned a case number and they will be getting back to me soon! The damaged flag still disgracefully being flown!

TOAST: To the snow angels on Corsl and Pebble Place S. Nice to see neighbours getting together to help move the snow!

TOAST: Did you get your glasses and read your utility bill and your specific recycling collection fee? The waste hierarchy finally woke up to the fact recycling is not garbage which they declared a $7 “enhancement” increase to your waste collection fee, no proper explanation. Of course they took of the $2 from garbage collection to bi-weekly service.

Think of it: residential curbside recycling collection had no fee but the waste hierarchy collected $3.8 million and deposited it in the waste collection fund, not Recycle Services. Do you wonder where the $9 ($4.1 million) ends up?

TOAST: To the cashier and manager of London Road Market. Thank you for showing some intestinal fortitude while dealing with the customer who wouldn’t wear a face covering in your store. Your actions should be an example to so many other stores. Well done.

ROAST: Who can explain why the Grassy Mountain mine is still going ahead after the government has agreed to reinstate the Coal Policy? Who can explain how “removing the tops of mountains” will no longer be allowed when Grassy Mountain will be an open pit mine? What in the world will we do when our water is contaminated, our economic base destroyed, and we won’t even be able to sell our houses and move? Hello out there?

TOAST: Toast to the Herald for putting the sports stats back in the paper every day. Now a quick glance gives an update of games, stats and standings and is easy to see where all the hockey teams place with the new divisions. Thanks very much.

TOAST: A huge toast to the “goodie fruitie” roast to those continuously feeding sandwiches to the vulnerable. The writer is very right. In fact one of the best roasts of reality I’ve seen yet. This is why when you go to the parks there are signs. “Do not feed the animals“They become reliant on the feeders and never fend for themselves. No more sandwiches. We all know the practical reasons why. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs lays it out fairly well. You work for your sandwich!

ROAST: Roast to the city if you start making cuts that we hear about, but don’t look at the dead weight. Our assigned community group contact hasn’t answered an email in years so we always have to work around him to get anything done. It’s time to get rid of those lazy staff, and this one is in management so is probably costing us a lot of money.

ROAST: To the lack of full disclosure regarding the police officer’s surveillance of Shannon Phillips. There must be much more to this issue we are not hearing about. Why did these experienced officers undertake this investigation? They must be aware of the rules of surveillance and that this would come out. Why would they risk their careers? So many whys in this case that the public has a right to know the many sides of this story. This is where we rely on local papers like the Lethbridge Herald to get both the full story.

ROAST: To those business owners who say they did not get enough notice when the government relaxed rules for reopening. Well, never have I heard the government saying you had to open and when.

They simply said you could open. So if you’re not ready and need more time then don’t open. The one thing we have heard these many months is that COVID is unpredictable and things change — sometimes daily. But these owners want assurances, guarantees and firm timelines. Perhaps we should do as the many experts say and simply closedown everything until we all get immunized. But in Canada that could take well into next year.

TOAST: To the person stating that there is no email available for the City of Lethbridge, City Manager. I have noticed this since the last City Manager left. As taxpayers in the City of Lethbridge and seeing we pay his wages an email should be available. Is it possible that if the City Manager is kept in the dark that the mayor and council can over power him more easily rather than have people voice their concerns directly to him so he can be included in the problematic operation of this city? We need a response from the City Manager on this matter.

TOAST: To Bruce Friesen at the Lethbridge Herald. 34 years at any job is amazing these days, the fact that you still smile and laugh every day is an inspiration to your co-workers and your customers.

TOAST: Pope Francis says “put the economy at the service of men and women, not vice versa”...create an economy that “cares for the environment and does not despoil it.” In her recent column, MP Rachael Harders seems to be joining Ronald Reagan in his support for trickle-down economics. Support the wealthy and everyone else will thrive on the crumbs from their table. I wish I could vote from Francis!

ROAST: To Miss Phillips. Her party is not in power but she continues to waste our hardearned tax dollars. Why are you continuing this dead issue?

Why was such a private conversation worth all this wasted tax dollars?

TOAST: To all the elderly drivers fighting to hold their independence but please if you have to drive 30 km/h down Mayor Magrath maybe it’s time to hang up the keys. When you have to slow to 5 km/h to make a right turn it’s time. Maybe your children could take a little time out of theirbusy lives and return some care that you so gaciously gave them and drive you once in awhile.

ROAST: Roast to everyone who is against Alberta Energy Sector and using coal, oil or gas to heat their vicheal, home or business, in these extreme temperatures. How dare you! Or perhaps you are self-righteous and lily- white and not using Alberta coal, oil or gas. Instead you prefer the stuff that’s being shipped in from other countries, magically mined and processed without any consequences to the environment. Pat yourself on the back, good job for being an upstanding citizen and doing your part.

ROAST: Roast to the City of Lethbridge snow and ice control department. How can it take 45 days to get Whoop-Up Drive back to your so-called safe driving conditions. If this is the the number 1 priority road, it sure doesn’t get the attention needed. Yet you send out two graders and a pilot truck scraping up a bit of snow on the edges of the roads which serves really no purpose other than appearance. How can the provincial highway get highway 3 back to good conditions the same day yet the city takes days on end? Maybe time to contract out snow removal on WhoopUp Drive and we won’t have to wait days at your ridiculous 60km speed limit.

TOAST: To Tony Pargeter for his letter in the Feb. 11 Herald regarding the illegal surveillance of the Environment Minister Shannon Phillips by two LPS officers. He is not alone in wondering if those officers would have harassed and boasted about the harassment had the politician in question been male.

ROAST: To those individuals continuing to victim blame in the incident of two LPS members surveilling and harassing Shannon Phillips. It was unprofessional, inappropriate and wrong.

ROAST: To the the Feb. 11 ‘Guest Column’ penned by the Fraser Institute entitled

“Lessons from Klein era can help Kenney repair Alberta government finances” wherein it describes itself as an “independent, non-partisan, Canadian public policy think tank”. It is neither independent nor non-partisan. A simple Google search provides multiple reliable sources where one can read to learn more about it.

ROAST: Opioid deaths down, Amazing what happens when you do not encourage crime in Lethbridge.

TOAST: Thank you, Al Beeber for a much-needed and helpful article about the Crowsnest

Pass. I fear that quite a number of people, myself included, had pretty much forgotten about the feelings and livelihood of the people who call “The Pass” home. The environment issue is huge and as far as the integrity of the water supply downstream, is concerned, monumental. One could have expected more leadership from the Environment Minister and the Premier who has been less than open on these issues. In fact, he has been deliberately absent, hoping to sneak these deals through without proper consultation with the people of Alberta. However, Thank you again, Mr. Beeber for your excellent article.

TOAST: to a former colleague who got COVID and suffered through "the worst 64 hours" of her life. She was so scared she wouldn't go to sleep when it was at it’s worst because she didn't think she would wake up. She is now fine, but it is particularly galling to see a woman try to get service in a Lethbridge store without a mask, or a church leader in Edmonton flagrantly conducting services because he thinks God will protect his people.

TOAST: To everyone who knows about the billions of dollars wasted by Jason Kenney on cancelling rail contracts, setting up an energy “war room” (where's the report?), letting coal companies get away with 1% royalties, letting the investment arm of the government lose 2 billion dollars in pension money. It is no wonder the NDP is raising more money than the UCP.

TOAST: Toast to hardly any influenca cases this year. I’m baffled by fact! Astounded! This is a ground-breaking medical miracle! All these years with hitand-miss flu shots hoping for the best and all of a sudden ...I'm at loss for words. But nevertheless what are our expert medical doctors saying about this? I’m disappointed that there's been so little coverage on the drastic decline of influenca. Why is no one else excited about this?

ROAST: To our mayor and majority of council for not paying attention to a need in this city to charge people for vagrancy but will “stoop” on the EMS Dispatch situation for our safety. We definitely need a bylaw in this city to charge people for vagrancy. I have noticed other cities have this and use the vagrancy or loitering bylaw as a deterrent. We need a vagrancy/loitering bylaw for our safety, to assist the local police to remove unwanted personal in various areas of this city and to help businesses operate in a more efficient manner, especially presently in the downtown area of our city.

ROAST: Roast to Spearman for coaching and mentoring Crowson to take over his job as mayor. When her name is on the ballot for mayor this fall, please remember who trained her and vote carefully!

ROAST: Now that he’s retiring as mayor, who’s willing to bet that “Just Go Shopping” Chris Spearman will make a run for Lethbridge East as an NDP candidate in the next provincial election. If you recall, he advised people to “just go shopping” when access to the two bridges linking our city were severely restricted due to traffic accidents and construction.

No need for another bridge — just go shopping!

ROAST: Roast to the Roaster, re: all the drivers in Lethbridge who have expired registrations. Obviously you are not aware of the new process, which no longer involves stickers on license plates. The police can scan a plate and determine if the registration is current or expired!

ROAST: To the driver on Whoop-Up Drive concerned about the variance with the speed limit. There wouldn’t be near as many accidents, if the speed was set at the lower speed limit; (60 or 70 km-h) year round. Timing your drive might take you “+ - 15” seconds longer at the lower speed and much, much safer!

TOAST: A big TOAST to London Road Market for respecting the safety and well being of their customers by enforcing the face mask requirement. A big ROAST to Save On Foods for not respecting the safety and wellbeing of their customers by

NOT enforcing the face mask requirement.

ROAST: To Mr. Dress-Up (I read this and loved it) and his buddy Finnegan (Kenney) for giving front-line workers a $1,200 bonus. Regardless, everybody in this epidemic is feeling the crunch but these people have jobs and they are making money when others have no jobs. Now you have to ask yourselves where is Mr. Dress-Up finding all this election suck-holing money. Ask your parents and grandparents. I know that he taxed my mothers pension $189 a month. The utter gall of this drama teacher to use our parents meager pensions to try coddling votes is a insult to every Canadian and when you get your cheque by all means cash it, but please ask your parents how they feel about it before you vote next election.

ROAST: Roast to the person in Feb 9th Roast and Toast page who was roasting the

Lethbridge drivers for not having stickers on their license plates. Just to update you, I just renewed my registration today (Feb 11th) and was informed that they are no longer giving out stickers to put on our plates but all we need it our up to date registration.

How difficult that is going to be for the police — are they going to have to stop each vehicle with expired stickers (like mine will show as of the end of this month) to double check the registrations?

ROAST: To the roaster and your remarks about the weather and oil and gas. What day and time are these two fossil fuels being “turned off.”

I just want to be ready, awaiting your announcement.

ROAST: to city council for considering letting the mask bylaw expire.