Since the dawn of time, feces has been known to carry both germs and bacteria. People have known for a long time that feces ingested with food or drink can make people very sick.
Even in homesteading days, people with no indoor plumbing had to visit the backhouse to relieve themselves and the old soapy wash basin set just inside the door and everyone washed hands to control germ and bacteria spread upon entering the house.
No doubt people have died by the thousands in internment places as people did not have cleaning facilities and were forced to live and eat in feces contaminated areas because their captors did not care whether they lived or died.
It’s astounding that in this day and age, Stettler seems too relied on the so-called port-a-potties, which happen to be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. The port-a-potties are not cleaned often enough and very often run out of tissue and wipes, and sometimes the number of people using one facility is very high. If port-a-potties are to be used in emergencies, then they should be cleaned and sanitized at least twice a day and restocked as often.
The number of people working in the health-care industry in the Stettler area should be pointing these bad practices out and steering a course that would be much cleaner and healthier, and perhaps people could attend recreation areas with some confidence they are in a clean environment and will not get sick from some unknown germs and bacteria contained in feces smears.
Millions of dollars have been spent over the years on ball diamonds, soccer fields and other recreational areas, but attendance is low. If this amount of money is spent on recreational areas, then it would only make sense to spend a few thousand on the proper bathroom facilities and the people would feel safer and return to these areas. These bathrooms would have sinks, toilets and some with showers. These areas would be kept clean and always have tissue and wipes for people’s use.
If children are involved in competitive sports, then showers should be available so children from out of town don’t have to ride all the way home in sweat-drenched clothing; even children in town should be afforded this luxury.
Stettler children with proper bathroom facilities could practice on a regular basis and who knows, we could have children in Stettler who could be good enough to carry on in universities and colleges, and leave a mark of success. We have success at hockey because the facilities are there so there could be other hidden talents if our children were given the chance to compete against other children in other towns.
In sports and recreation areas, or any other area where crowds of people attend, there should be a formula of number of toilets per person for the comfort of the people.
As Stettler has no public washrooms in areas where sports, concerts or other people activities take place, and as several councillors and mayors have come and gone, then it must be the Stettler godfathers who are putting the kibosh on public washrooms. Oh well, just another bad decision and there seems to have been more bad decisions than good ones over the existence of Stettler.
It seems that ATCO has a number of portable washrooms of various sizes and these include sinks and showers with hot water and toilet facilities. The health of the people of Stettler should be held in the very important category. These washrooms that ATCO has can be placed in various places as they come in various sizes and can be easily moved and they are very easily maintained. And I am sure there are other businesses with the same service.
Dave France
Stettler