SHERIFF SPITS THE DUMMY

Gail Sheriff has had things her own way for a long time so it came as somewhat of a shock for the holiday-loving councillor that people would even dare to suggest that her trip to San Diego to study sandcastles was anything more than a ratepayer funded junket.

So Sheriff has spat the dummy and resigned, claiming she and her family have been 'abused and harassed' since she arrived back from sunny California.

She's not owning up to doing anything wrong though and it doesn't appear that she's going to pay back the $4000 that was spent on the trip.

Apparently it's all the fault of the good people of Christchurch because we just didn't understand what this sandcastle competition was all about.

'It's called sandcastles but actually it's sand sculptures,' Sheriff imformed the media.

Fantastic.

So it was a sand sculpture junket then

Sheriff's resignation may not be all that it seems though. The gossip around town is that she wasn't to going to stand for re-election anyway.

Meanwhile Sideshow Bob has sprung to the defence of his loyal follower and blamed everything on the nasty media who have had the bad taste to ask questions about Sheriff's trip.

Pontificated Sideshow Bob: 'Perhaps the media need to look at themselves and think that they are dealing with human beings who have families. They're dealing with real people in real communities.'

It's a pity Bob never displayed this kind of social concern when he tried to put council rents up a massive twenty four percent or when he cut funding to community groups.

Of course what Sheriff's resignation does do is that it takes the spotlight off both Sideshow Bob and his right hand man Tony Marryatt for approving the sandcastle junket in the first place.