Currently browsing Letters to the Editor
Unhappy about abattoir approval
Dear Editor:
I am at a loss to understand why the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) even bothered to call a meeting to discuss the pros and cons of the construction of a slaughterhouse at the crossroads, when in the end they went against the wishes of the majority anyway.
Gerry Taft stated that he felt there was a “kneejerk” reaction based on partial information. And Mr. Wilkie stated that the Windermere Riding Club keeps 40 horses near the site and their smell has never been an issue. If he is talking …
Invermere Public Library celebrating 50 years
Dear Editor:
It’s the Invermere Public Library’s 50th anniversary this year and one way that we hope the community will celebrate this very special year with us is by adopting a book.
It’s been 15 years now that the Adopt- A-Book program at the Invermere Public Library has been in place. Peter McIsaac, a long-time library patron, spearheaded the fundraising initiative.
To date, over $35,000 has been donated to the library strictly for the purchase of books. That means over 1,000 books in this library have an “Adopted by” book plate …
Conservative MLAs not whipped
Dear Editor:
I read your editorial (“Candidates face a tough test,” from the April 26th edition of The Pioneer) on the tough test we face as candidates, and felt it important to address the issue you raise over “party” politics versus constituent needs.
Article 1.1.4 of the BC Conservative Policy states, “MLAs should be empowered to best represent the interests of their constituents”. Party leader John Cummins provided further support of that concept in the television debate, where he reaffirmed that a BC Conservative MLA would always be required to and expected …
Choose your airline wisely
Dear Editor:
Imagine an airline that attracts customers by plying you with a bag of cash as soon as you board the airplane. The whole cabin is first class, the best of everything: lavish meals, premium cocktails, in-flight entertainment and much more, all at coach rates!
Everything is going swimmingly until about an hour into your flight when you hear the announcement,“Thank you for choosing NDP airlines, we regret to inform you that we do not have enough fuel to get to our destination.” Nobody really cares. The man next to …
Dealing directly with deer
Dear Editor:
I read with interest in The Pioneer that Kimberley has rejected a deer hazing plan. I do not understand how anyone would expect to keep the deer out of town by hazing them, unless it was done on a daily basis, over and over again. I don’t think this is what they had in mind. I have chased, or hazed, if you like, hundreds of deer out of the yard. I don’t think they were all different deer, but were repeat offenders. I think we have approximately 12 deer …
Reflection from a retired teacher
Dear Editor:
One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much I had in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the lives of the children I taught.
I was very blessed to be a teacher.
Brian Stade
Invermere
Rebuttal to a deer rant
Dear Editor:
In response to a letter in the last edition of The Pioneer I must disagree with some of the statements made by the writer. Deer were never plentiful in this valley until perhaps after WW II but local hunters did make an effort to bring home at least one animal per year to feed their families. A long-time resident told me that during her school years starting in 1927, she walked from her home on the “pipeline” (13th Avenue) to the school
located on the present Sobeys parking lot …
Rats comparison is ignorant
Dear Editor:
Mr. Estabrooks’ comparison of our Invermere deer with rats is indescribably ignorant and derogatory.
Invermere residents, who are unwilling to live with our ungulate wildlife, which was here before we were, should consider moving to a different community. Most towns are not as fortunate to have wildlife on the street. I feel so strongly about this issue, that I am willing to contribute to a fund to help pay for their moving expenses.
I am certain Invermere will be a better place without them and tourism will thrive.
Such journalism is undeserving …
No local benefit from Jumbo Glacier Resort provide
Dear Editor:
Elderly Shuswap Band chief Paul Sam said, “When you say Jumbo Wild, it’s fine, but what has the wild ever done for us?”
I respond with yet another riddle before I answer. What has a one-stop cash drop that leaks all of the wealth to a private company ever done for us, really?
My answer to the question of what has the wild done for us can be clearly illustrated in a BBC experiment with plant life and a journalist trapped in a plastic airtight box. The oxygen levels were brought …
Deer an important part of our history
Dear Editor:
Those “rats,” as Pioneer reporter Joshua Estabrooks calls them, played a crucial role in the history of our valley. For thousands of years, until this very day, deer were an important food source for First Nations people. Venison was a usual main-course for David Thompson and our early settlers. I doubt there is a valley old-timer around today who wasn’t raised on venison. Just because our meat now comes prepackaged and trucked-in from factory feedlots doesn’t mean we should forget our past. As a paper that purports to celebrate …
Vandalism perpetrators are pitiful
Dear Editor:
Even before the election has been called, on April 14th, 2013, some pathetic individual in Revelstoke took it into his or her pea brain to kick in the front door of one of the candidate’s offices.
Pathetic to say the least, but maybe Doug, and Norm, and Earl could make a joint statement, in all the papers of the entire riding, printed over all three names, that any prosecution of the perpetrators would be signed and endorsed by all candidates, no matter the political party.
Maybe the three can make a …
Abattoir a cause for apprehension
Dear Editor:
I am writing about the application made by the Windermere District Farmers Institute to amend the Upper Columbia Valley Zoning Bylaw. The Farmers Institute would like to build an abattoir complete with corrals at a site that is roughly 0.5 kilometres south of Home Hardware. There should be no doubt that such a facility would have a negative impact upon the quality of life of those who live in close proximity to the proposed site, and I encourage people to respond to the Regional District of East Kootenay in …
Someone must pay for cream soda
Dear Editor:
In my junior high school one of our student council presidents was elected with one simple promise: cream soda in the water fountains!
This promise coupled with the candidate’s popularity and charisma landed him the job! I could have sworn I was back in Grade 9 sitting in the Gilbert Patterson gym at the recent all candidates forum. Our incumbent MLA, Norm MacDonald, was as smooth as ever and came across quite polished and
charismatic.
It was quite convincing indeed as long as you didn’t pay too much attention to what …
Rink roof a puzzling expenditure
Dear Editor:
Seventeen percent of the Village of Radium Hot Spring’s 2013 capital budget will be spent putting a roof on an outdoor rink, and this number increases to twenty percent if you include planned upgrades to the rink! Really?
Apart from a roof on an outdoor rink being a bit of an oxymoron, is this really the best use of taxpayers’ money? How much longer will a roof extend the yearly use of the rink and how many people will benefit from a roof? With businesses on Main Street shutting down, …
Better balance sought for industrial developments
Dear Editor:
Neither Teck nor the B.C. government has denied the well-documented facts reiterated by the recent selenium study quoted in Wildsight and its partners’ media release on the poisoning of the Elk River. B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake reacted by the afternoon of our release stating that there would be no new coalmines approved in the Elk Valley until a valley-wide plan to manage the cumulative effects of selenium concentrations in the Elk River is developed. This is a welcome announcement.
Though the selenium problem has been growing …
Trust leaks greenhouse gases
Tom Fletcher
Black Press
The Pacific Carbon Trust orchestrated a months-long campaign of calls and letters to discredit a report from B.C.’s Auditor General on its first two big carbon offset projects, before it could be released.
Just as the audit report was about to be made public, the trust, a Crown corporation created at taxpayer expense, participated in the leaking of selected critical letters to media outlets.
Then the Speaker of the B.C. legislature, Bill Barisoff, made a final, clumsy effort to delay the release of the report.
As soon as it was out, …
Rallying towards the relay
Dear Editor:
The Columbia Valley Relay for Life is being held on Father’s Day weekend, June 15th and 16th at the David Thompson Secondary track.
This day is a wonderful community event which raises an incredible amount of money for cancer research. We have a committee of caring people who put this event together, but we need more volunteers.
Whether you can spare an hour or two to do some phone calling, or whether you want to take on a more involved role, we would welcome you.
During the relay, we run a PowerPoint …
An election full of opportunity
Dear Editor:
On the near horizon is another election in British Columbia. May 14th should be seen by constituents here in our valley as a chance to review our needs and dreams for this amazing place we call home.
It will be an opportunity to vote for what is really important to our future and make certain we are moving forward with positive opportunities for growth and success; opportunities that will create a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.
For eight long years we have come to know and understand what …
NDP has a poor talent pool
Dear Editor:
On Saturday, March 23rd, NDP House Leader and Energy Critic John Horgan was on CKNW radio talking about the Kitimat refinery proposal being put forward by businessman David Black.
“It’s irresponsible to assume because the guy has an idea that it’s going to be successful, because that’s not the track record of private sector investment,” said Mr. Horgan.
“Everybody’s got a good idea; there’s a sucker born every minute.”
And this, more than any single utterance by any in the NDP, shows their complete misunderstanding of the real world of life and …