Sunday, October 08, 2006

If the Election Involved Ewoks

My feeble attempts at journalism took a hit last month when I opted for a lengthy road trip than for a review of the local paper. Never fear though, I'm back to offer a counter point for Celine Dion, local newspaper editor. Let's see what the city of Victoria has to offer this month, shall we?

Ooh, election season is upon us, and the lead story is about the candidates for city council spots in this fair city, with particular interest in returning candidates. The article's title was "Return of the Jedi" which is great, because sometimes I think this town believes it's still 1982. I hate to be glib, but the general consensus among the candidates, if I were to water things down, was that they intended to create more bureaucracy, and that their previous achievements were the creation of more bureaucracy. Candidate Tim Amundson did say that he wished to wield a lightsaber with more frequency, however.

The first controversy, when related to elections, arrives in the letters to the editor, where Carver County commissioner candidate Paul Andrescik inquires as to why current commissioner Gary Delaney was given space for an ad and an article, alleging that equal opportunity was not given to all candidates for a position, as is mandated by fair campaign laws. Celine feigns ignorance, implying she really doesn't know any better, or that she's not really a media outlet. In her defense, she says that she has always tried to be "fair and balanced." I'm not even going to touch that one.

The one thought I have while reading these articles, is whether or not all the letters the paper receives are ever responded to, or if they are just left in the letters to the editor. I should write a letter and ask. I guess that could be rather counterproductive.

The lead story from city hall is the purchase of a new fire engine, because ironically, the previous tanker had a fire. The cost of the new vehicle was $160,000, or roughly 200,000 less than the avera home cost of property in Victoria.

The next story involves the Volksfest, of which I had mentioned previously. At this little festival, in the barricaded area, there were too arrests for drunk driving. One of the guys, on a motorcycle, had two ounces of cocaine. Cocaine! In Victoria! I'm blown away! The only thing I can assume is that Bill Romanowski is looking to hook back up with Rich Gannon. The local sherriff assigned to our fair community mentioned some of the recent calls in Victoria:
items stolen from construction sites, a break-in at Hi-5 Liquors, vandalism and a stolen car from CW Auto, bar-type litter on the streets, damaged boulevard trees, abandoned vehicles, people running stop signs in Kirke Lachen, a semi truck that ran off the road, and another semi truck that crashed on Highway 5.

Of course, the Sherriff does mention that his highest focus right now is commercial vehicles that are overweight. Especially when they run stop signs in Kirkelachen.

That about wraps up the big headlines for the month in Victoria. I can't wait for an election recap. - Ryan

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home