There are no words that I could find that would even come close to describing what I imagine the pain is that comes with having to bury your child.
This past week was a tragic and unforgiving one in the Outlook area.聽 Tragic because a young, friendly, 17-year old boy lost his life far too soon when he was claimed by the waters of the 麻豆传媒AV Saskatchewan River; and unforgiving because everyone who calls this area home felt the wrath of Mother Nature when a vicious storm brought with it rain, hail, and enough wind power to destroy trees and even a beloved community rink down in Strongfield.
On top of everything, two Elbow-area men lost their lives on the night of the storm when they drowned in Lake Diefenbaker after their boat capsized.
Three lives lost, a longstanding community hub obliterated, and a laundry list of storm damage; this was the reality that we woke up to on Friday, July 21.
As a reporter, documenting these kinds of events has a way of twisting my feelings into a mixture of sorrow and guilt. 聽I certainly don't go looking for stories on the nightmarish loss of a child, the untimely deaths of two men, the destruction of a beloved community rink, or the messy aftermath of a storm.
The events of this past week, particularly in my writing of the said events, brought me back mentally to other incidents in the past that have rocked the Outlook area.
I remember discovering in March of 2010 that a man from Broderick had been stabbed to death in his sleep by his girlfriend, who apparently had been hearing voices and was merely obeying the commands of an invisible, celestial being, who told her that the boyfriend 鈥渉ad to die鈥�.聽 The trial, a year later in Saskatoon, was an exercise in the balance that every reporter sooner or later has to find; I knew the family of the deceased victim, so a part of me wanted to be delicate with the subject matter and downplay the viciousness of how he died.聽 On the other hand, I had a duty to report my findings, so I did my best to find that balance.
I remember in June of 2010 when it was discovered that a man who was wanted on numerous sexual assault charges was found to be living in Outlook.聽 Patrick Gage鈥檚 criminal history was highlighted on the website of America鈥檚 Most Wanted, and through an interesting series of events, he was apprehended locally.聽 It was both incredible and disturbingly eye-opening that the murder in Broderick and the discovery of a wanted American fugitive were only three months apart from each other.
I remember in May of 2012 when a young man from the Whitecap Dakota First Nation tried to stab a retired police sergeant to death out in the Rudy Landing Estates development just north of Outlook.聽 It was a muddy Wednesday, I remember, and the assailant 鈥� one Ryan Kelly Bear 鈥� became agitated at being questioned over and over again when his story just wasn鈥檛 syncing up for Bob Laidlaw, the victim.
I remember the rash of vehicle break-ins and thefts from just this past year, and even an incident last winter where police blocked off traffic coming in or going out of Outlook because they were on the lookout for a robbery suspect who was said to be coming through the area.聽 Man, Facebook was REALLY lit up that night, I鈥檒l tell ya.
These kinds of events certainly aren鈥檛 fun for us in the world of news media.聽 But if there鈥檚 anything I鈥檝e learned in my ten-plus years of doing this, it鈥檚 that the world 鈥� specifically OUR neck of the world 鈥� can be a two-sided coin.聽 For almost every local event that puts smiles on peoples鈥� faces, there鈥檚 a report of a break-in, and the same issue that highlights positive things such as school sports or the accomplishments of local residents can also highlight negative things such as armed robbery.
No, I certainly don鈥檛 go looking for those kinds of stories, but at the same time, I鈥檓 a news man, and the news isn鈥檛 always positive or good.聽 It can be dark, it can be devastating, and in the case of a local boy drowning, it can shock you to your core.
Hold your loved ones tonight, people.聽 Trees can be cleaned up and stuff can be rebuilt after a storm, but the events of this past week show that none of us know how long we have on this earth.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
