Tea with Tait: When a friend has a good day...(PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL POST)

I am really happy this evening for a friend of mine who is getting a chance to do something he loves to do. And, selfishly, I am thrilled he will be in town for a while, because, even though I don’t see him as often as I would like, I have been worried he might leave town. I’m talking about Mark Scholz. I met Mark in the fall of 1997 when he came to Edmonton from Halifax to Edmonton to co-host The Big Breakfast (remember that?) on A-Channel.  Mark and I started sharing time together and formed a great friendship. I can honestly say he is like a brother to me and we have had a few special times together.

Mark is a great drummer. My father played clarinet in a small “orchestra”  — Dad’s words — in Saskatchewan. Dad loved telling stories and Mark loved listening. When Dad passed away Mark was a pallbearer; when my mother passed on Mark and I drove to the funeral together. We’ve travelled together and have had many, many laughs together.

I also know Mark as a very talented broadcaster. I never understood why Mark and A-Channel parted ways. He free-lanced for CBC Radio for several years, but nothing permanent. Until this morning: that’s when 630 CHED announced Mark and J'lyn Nye will co-host the 630 CHED Afternoon News starting Aug. !9. The duo will fill in the 2 to 6 p.m. Time slot, while, in another move announced by the station, Dan Tencer and Andrew Grose have been given the keys to the 9 a.m. to 12 noon slot.

Mark is a dear friend. And any time a friend has a good day, so do I. 


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A petition against lack of communication with people with disabilities — revised Friday at 5:15 p.m.

We’ve started a petition today against the Disabled Adult Transportation System on their new policy, set to roll into gear Sept. 1. DATS is changing their cancellation policy from 30 minutes to two hours without any consultation with their users. We petitioning the policy — and the lack of communication DATS had with their users: they only shared the news in the DATS newsletter — after the policy was changed.

We’ve seen this lack of consultation rodeo before. In June, Alberta Health Services made wide sweeping changes to home care without — you guessed it — any consultation. In fact, (I know from personal experience as I am a home care user) when existing home care programs were asked to submit proposals, we were told if we called our MLA or the media our proposal could very well be disqualified. Why does the word bullying comes to mind?

Perhaps we’re seeing a trend. I think we need to make a statement and encourage all levels of government to have better consultation with people with disabilities before making significant changes. But, first things first: the DATS policy. If we get enough signatures by Aug. 1 on the lack of consultation with users on the new DATS cancellation policy we will deliver the petition to Edmonton City Council. One never knows: maybe City Council will reverse DATS cancellation policy. After all, we will have talked to people to get their input. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION

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