May long gong show likely
Einstein is credited with the quote that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the traditional May long weekend gong show in Whistler will probably continue again this year.
It makes me wonder why the powers that be are planning to do the same thing again... bring in extra police, promote GO Fest as a family friendly atmosphere and be hopeful that everything will be OK.
I hope to retire early by winning the lottery... chances aren't very good that either will work.
I think GO Fest is a step in the right direction, as the past few years have proven the events to be fairly popular and it provides a great kickoff to all that Whistler offers in the summer, but we need to address the true issue at hand.
We now live in a world of entitlement where actions have no consequences. Dropping your teenage kids off for the long weekend in a resort town unsupervised nowadays appears to be the norm.
It's become a rite of passage for some Lower Mainland youth to come to Whistler on the May long weekend for the sole purpose of causing trouble, under the guise of celebrating graduation.
They're not here for the mountains and nature, to ski, ride, bike or even go to the clubs. (Causing trouble) after dark is their only intent and reason for being here. It's time to end the madness and hold society accountable.
So why not step up to the plate with true "zero tolerance."
Stop waiting for something to happen and be proactive. I've said it before and I'll say it again... Bring in correctional buses and start arresting them for unlawful assembly when they begin congregating in groups, standing around doing nothing but waiting for an excuse to start something.
(An unlawful assembly is an assembly of three or more persons who, with intent to carry out any common purpose, assemble in such a manner or so conduct themselves when they are assembled as to cause persons in the neighbourhood of the assembly to fear, on reasonable grounds, that they: (a) will disturb the peace tumultuously; or (b) will by that assembly needlessly and without reasonable cause provoke other persons to disturb the peace tumultuously.)
Ship them to a detention facility further away from Vancouver. Make it an all-day excursion for their parents to pick them up and drag their sorry asses home.
Don't be whining about the rights of the few who've forfeited their membership to civil society through their careless actions.
Clean up the garbage that think they can do whatever they want without repercussions. Maybe then they'll learn a little something about being an upstanding member of society and we can reclaim the May long weekend for those that love the great outdoors.
That may sound crazy, but I hope it works!
Kevin Mikkelsen
Whistler
WORCA Bike Swap a big success
The annual Bike Swap was a whopping success this year, and WORCA would like to send a heartfelt thank you, as this event would not be possible without the support of all our contributors.
First of all, thank you to our amazing volunteers, who contributed their time, efforts and great energy during both Friday and Saturday. The WORCA board would also like to send a huge thank you to Greg Walker, who helped organize the whole bike swap experience.
Secondly, we would like to recognize our partners, who made this event possible and showed again the amazing support from our community: Blenz Coffee, The Brewhouse, Centerplate, David's Tea, Glacier Signs, JFox Design, PureBread, Resort Municipality of Whistler, Sabre, Vinceshuley.com, Whistler Blackcomb and Whistler FM 101.5.
And finally, thank you to all the sellers who brought their gear at the bike swap, which enables WORCA to raise money through the commissions made on the sold goods, and to all the enthusiastic shoppers who came to shop for bikes, gear, shoes, jerseys, tires, etc. We hope you all found some great deals and will have an amazing summer riding all the trails in Whistler!
WORCA is incredibly grateful for the continuous support the Whistler community has offered throughout the years, and we hope you will see the results of your investments in some of the trails around Whistler. See you next year!
Martine Lafontaine, Director of Fundraising
Whistler
Trains are user friendly
The only trains (the Minister of Transportation Todd Stone) likely knows are the old-fashioned ones, like the West Coast Express and the Amtrak to Seattle.
For many years the "new" trains have not had a locomotive, just a driver cabin. Motors are small and located under/above several coaches. They are powered either by electricity only, diesel only, or both.
Depending on the average passenger load at any given time the trains may only have a couple of coaches, or many. They are fast, comfortable, have Wi-Fi etc.
Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens are some of the main providers of these versatile trains.
J-L Brussac
Coquitlam
Pemberton Women's Institute thanks
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our friends in the background that baked, donated plants, and delivered plants to our hugely successful plant and bake sale Saturday, May 7.
We would also like to thank our wonderful community for supporting us and attending this event. We had such an enthusiastic group of shoppers. As always, our Grizzlies came out and did the grunt work for us, which is so much appreciated.
This year we had some wonderful ladies from Scotiabank join us in their matching funds program. This will allow us even more funds to donate back into our community.
Linda Welsh
Pemberton
It's about performance
I'm working on this letter as I consider ground passage to Wizard.
Five to six times, in the spring, good fortune allows me to travel north, stay in the village and ski midweek. Last year our snow conditions were so poor we were extra happy to be here 15 weeks in a row.
Now, regrettably, uploading out of the village is not an option. I know this is not a new policy. It's probably about the dollars involved (a possible minority interpretation).
Good luck getting to Wizard — now the fun starts there.
World class can be an elusive idea. This could be a defining opportunity. Maybe a dedicated loop shuttle, first stop Lot 4, you get the idea. Bus 5 — not world class. Like everything in life, performance speaks for itself.
Jim Burns
Seattle
