Letters: Street sweeping ticket from Saskatoon city hall excessive

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Have you heard? City hall has come up with a money-making racket — a $100 ticket for cars that are in the way of street sweeping crews. Recently, our grandson parked his car on our street, not having noticed the (far-apart) signs advising of imminent street sweeping.

By and by, the sweeping crew came down the street and slapped a $100 ticket on his window. Used to be, with street sweeping or snow clearing, if you left your car on the street, for whatever reason, the sweepers or ploughs would simply go around your car and be on their way.

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Now, it’s as if you’ve committed a criminal act, and you’re hit with a $100 fine. My neighbour tells me that the sweeping/ploughing crew will tow your car away — at God knows what charge — if the car is not moved. Luckily, my grandson at least had time to move his car.

I phoned city hall to complain about this excessive penalty and was put through to the revenue department, where a recorded voice told me maybe 50 times “your call is important to us,” but of course no one ever picked up. (And the music loop they play drives you crazy.)

We had noticed street signs advising of the forthcoming sweeping, but since we invariably use our driveway … no problem. But if, for whatever reason, moving your car from the street slips your mind, get ready to shell out, folks.

It’s this kind of despotic city hall policy that does not foster warm civic relations.

Wayne Eyre, Saskatoon

Canadian Light Source pioneers remembered

While the news is still fresh that the linear accelerator (Linac) of the Canadian Light Source is turned off, it may be an opportune moment to pay homage to the memory of Leon Katz and Roger Servranckx, who were the primary movers to bring the Canadian Light Source to Saskatoon.

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In 1960s, Katz brought parts of the Linac from Stanford University to continue nuclear research here and recruited Servranckx, a world authority of electron ring designs, into the mathematics department at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

Servranckx was fondly known as the “lord of rings” among professionals around the world. The rest is history. The Linac served more than three decades as a tool for nuclear physics research on the campus.

It is also the main reason that we are the home of Canadian Light Source for which it served as the provider of electron beams.

The vision of Katz and the combined genius of him and Servranckx put Saskatoon and Canada on the world map of electron synchrotrons, also known as light sources. I was fortunate to have interacted with both of them.

I may add that I was drawn to Saskatoon because of the now-retired Linac, which now enjoys a well-deserved rest after more than six decades of service. It will be replaced with a new linear accelerator this year.

Chary Rangacharyulu, Saskatoon

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