Well, the release of the Crime Severity Index numbers has come - and gone.
And here we are at the end of it all, still standing. The city of North Battleford endured its annual humiliation, and now it's over. People in the media have moved on to other topics - like this business of the exploding SmartMeters in Saskatoon or Regina.
Before we move on from the CSI story, I just have to get in one last rant directed at the news media. Or more particularly, the out-of-town news media.
The thing that irks me about them is how whenever they do a news story on North Battleford, it is usually about something negative. This CSI story is a perfect example. The moment the 2013 StatsCan numbers were released, the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix had a reporter interview a bunch of people in North Battleford, including Mayor Ian Hamilton, on the whole crime situation. Then they splashed North Battleford's No. 1 crime severity on the front page of the paper.
The story that ran claimed "this small Saskatchewan city has been named Canada's crime capital among cities with more than 10,000 people."
Let's set the record straight: never has StatsCan made any declaration of North Battleford, or any city in Canada, as a "crime capital." Ever.
In fact, you may in fact be surprised to learn this, but the information from StatsCan about North Battleford's crime severity was actually totally buried. I had to phone up StatsCan and request their North Battleford numbers myself when it came out, because I couldn't find any information online about it. So don't give me this bull about how StatsCan was going around handing out dubious titles to cities like it was some "decision desk" on election night. They did nothing of the sort.
That didn't stop the Star-Phoenix story from going on about the "stigma" the city feels about this label.
That particularly annoys the heck out of me because, honestly, I don't think most people across Canada care.
Go to any city in Canada - say, Toronto - and ask people there what they think of the CSI numbers for North Battleford. Folks would likely laugh at you and say it's Toronto that ought to be "Crime Capital" instead.
"You think you have problems? Our mayor is on crack cocaine!"
Anyway, people in North Battleford need to quit wallowing in self-pity. Every city has issues, whether it's crime, drugs, flooding in the streets, an infamous mayor, or something. People need to do a lot less worrying about the city's image and simply get to work making things better.
But back to the media.
It bugs me that whenever I see my friends from the Saskatoon media in the Battlefords, it's usually to cover something terrible. I am not just talking about "Crime Capital of Canada" coverage. I'm talking about subject matter that sometimes would make ordinary people throw up.
Whether it is someone being tried in court for indecent assaults against students in a school, or some local First Nations chief in court for one thing or another, you can count on the out-of-town media to descend like a pack of vultures, focusing on the doom and gloom.
It would be nice if they were also here for the stories of the law-abiding people in the school system who are inspiring students, or local First Nations leaders working to make life better for their people, and so on.
Remember last year when that floatplane went down at the airport, and two people from the Yukon were killed? That was an awful, awful tragedy. You could tell something awful had happened in the community, too, because news vans were causing traffic jams all over North Battleford that day. CTV, CBC, you name it, they were all here.
Now, this is an important story, and it's not every day that a fatal plane crash happens in your community. But it just seemed to me the enthusiasm was a bit much. Seriously, we were getting calls from news organizations wanting pictures of the wreckage. It struck me as ghoulish.
And don't get me started on the media reaction whenever MP Gerry Ritz opens his mouth.
I find that what gets the out-of-town media most excited about here is often at odds with what local folks are really excited about. Two notable examples are the CUplex and the North Battleford Centennial.
These were two big projects that people in the community were really interested in. It was important, just like all this other negative stuff was important.
But the main people covering those stories were local media. The one out-of-town news outlet that gave these stories the time of day was CTV Saskatoon, and even that wasn't very often.
I guess what I am saying is it would be nice if there was the same level of media enthusiasm for the good and exciting things happening around here.
Here's an example. Last week, we did a piece on the Oak Ridge Boys coming to North Battleford to play at Gold Eagle Casino.
Now, we get feedback from people who complain about "tribute" bands that come up here - you know, imitation "Elvis" and the like. But this was no imitation group, these were the real Oak Ridge Boys. People ought to be impressed.
Speaking of Elvis, another newsworthy thing was the first annual International Street Performer Festival downtown. The TV stations could have gotten some really good shots of "Silver Elvis" doing his thing. This guy would have looked good on TV.
In fact, there's lots of stuff happening - downtown revitalization efforts, a lot of construction, activity like the Husky Thermal project up the highway.
All I am saying to our friends in the Saskatoon media is: cheer up. It isn't all doom and gloom in the Battlefords. Come on up here and cover the good news sometime.
