PU2 SCANDAL IS A REAL STINKER!

Depending on whose brochure you read or believe in this hockey-crazed city (wink, wink), we’re either the City in the Country, Sport Town Canada, A Place to Explore, the Bible Belt or Home of the Heat.

And despite intermittent cries of still being the No Fun City from some bored-to-death socialites, Regina Dalton thinks we just might be the No. 1 “potty animals.”
And no, we’re not talking wacky tobacky, potty all the time types (sorry Tim Felger). Nope, we’re talking crappy conditions in our city’s porta-potties, made worse by rising temperatures and irregular maintenance.

Now, before we dive into the Smell From Hell controversy – or PU2, with apologies to the SE2 folks – you should know that Dalton has been accused of being a “shtick-disturber” on more than one occasion.

But before you label her “anti-Abbotsford,” “anti-progress” or a “negative Nellie” unfitting of a Chamber of Commerce membership, you need to understand she has a good heart, sharp mind, limited disposable income and a genuine appetite for black and white truth in this much-too-grey world.

Is she wrong to ask if the city will subsidize the new American Hockey League team? Is she wrong to ask for a guarantee that her tax money won’t be used for chasing Calder Cup dreams or flying millionaires-in-waiting across the country to shoot and pursue pucks?

Is she wrong to question pay parking in parks or lack of parking at the new hospital and arena? Is she wrong to question attempts to raise revenues by “special” Abbotsford gas taxes?
And why won’t anybody give her the answers?

Dalton hasn’t been mean-spirited in her quests. She hasn’t called for staff reductions, the demolition of facilities or programs, or the mayor to take a pay cut in these recessionary times.
She has, instead, questioned civic tax hikes, spending priorities, spending habits, department budgets and the expensive and frustrating efforts to go through Freedom of Information to obtain “public” information.

Several years ago, before media convergence and “right-sizing” in newsrooms (wink, wink), we called her passionate council-watching habits “investigative reporting,” but I digress.
While Dalton and I have agreed to disagree on several occasions over the years, I have nothing but respect for her and the local “political watchdog posse” she hangs with as they try to ensure the city they call “home” isn’t being mismanaged or run as an exclusive club that only benefits insiders, friends and those with season tickets.
All conspiracy theories aside, let’s get back to the latest big stink.
Last week at Albert Dyck Park – home of a man-made lake and amazing waterskiing feats – more than 100 sun-worshippers were gagging over the deplorable condition of porta-potties. Seems it stunk so bad it made onions cry.
Seems like folks were forced to ski or play Frisbee with one hand while plugging noses with the other. Dalton tried to find out who should be looking after this mess and-or potential health hazard and was unsuccessful trying to find anyone who cares.

Seems she brought a similar matter to the city’s attention on April 6 when athletes taking part in a field lacrosse tournament drove to a gas station to use the washroom instead of dealing with a gut-wrenching porta-potty on the event grounds.
Should the city have “sanitation engineers” – with odor eaters and extra rolls – on call during big events or busy weekends?

And if somebody is already responsible for this job and just isn’t getting-r-done, will we ever know if he or she is in “deep sheet” for messing up?
Stay tuned.