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Letters to the editor for the week of November 15th

WAG says thanks It takes an entire community to run an animal shelter; and this weekend the residents and guests of Whistler came together to do just that.
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WAG says thanks

It takes an entire community to run an animal shelter; and this weekend the residents and guests of Whistler came together to do just that.

Thanks to the generous contributions from local businesses and wineries, WAG raised in excess of $30,000 to replenish our critical care fund for 2013.

This fund provides costly surgeries for animals like Atlas; a very special dog who was abandoned at a campground and left to fend for himself for 18 months. After multiple surgeries, and months of recovery, Atlas's happy ending came last week when he was adopted into his forever home.

WAG is a second chance for hundreds of animals just like Atlas, for which happy endings would not be possible without the community's generous financial support.

A very sincere thank-you goes out to first Watermark and Tourism Whistler, who made WAG the selected charity for this year's Cornucopia event. Secondly, a heartfelt thank-you for everyone who donated an item to the silent auction, as well as everyone who purchased the items for often more money than the item was valued at.

And finally, a tremendous thank-you to the troop of a hundred-plus volunteers that spent their weekend working on any and every task necessary to make the event the success it was; every contribution is inspiring and works together to indeed make a difference.

This year WAG was able to accept over 300 animals through its doors, thanks to the generous support of Whistler's bountiful community. On behalf of the animals of WAG I would like to extend the warmest thank-you to each and every individual; your hard work, compassion and outstanding contribution has allowed us to have a critical care safety net for 2013.

Thanks to everyone in Whistler, for continuing to hold WAG close to their hearts.

Shannon Broderick

Director of Shelter Operations

WAG – Whistler Animals Galore

So when are your business hours?

This letter is going out to the owner of the asphalt plant (at Cheakamus Crossing). I was coming home Sunday night-Monday morning at 1:45 a.m. and I could see smoke in the distance and lights on near the plant and sure enough the plant was running.

Since when can an industrial business run during the night near a residential neighbourhood?

This raises the question how long has this been going this past summer? Was his contract from Squamish really coming from Whistler and produced during the night? I have asked the mayor for a full investigation to see how long this has been going on.

It just irks me to think the plant hardly ran all summer or did it during the night?

D. Ryan

Whistler

Pemberton Creek Private Power Project

A past Pemberton Council wisely obtained a water license on Pemberton Creek to prevent a private power project from being built against the wishes of the community.

Yet with no public consultation at all, the current Council has just invited private interests to build one.

Council must find out what the public wants on the Creek before going ahead with this.

Mayor (Jordan) Sturdy, you are now seeking the Liberal nomination for our riding. Seize this opportunity to demonstrate your willingness to listen to your constituents rather than to Innergex. Don't be in a rush to turn this public resource over to private interests.

Doug Helmer

Pemberton

A thank-you and a call for Sunday library hours

I would first like to thank all the artists and visitors that participated in the opening of my show, Pending Discomfort, at Millennium Place on Nov. 7.

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!! It was my best show yet!!

The show is on until Nov. 21.

I would also like to take a moment and address a couple of comments recently printed in the (Pique, Nov. 8, 2012) First, in regards to the closure of the library on Sundays I have to ask why this continues? We need that open. It is the only library I have ever been to in the world that is not open on Sundays. It's like math. Friends and families, tourists generally have Sunday off, but, our library is closed — 1+1+1= 0. It does not make sense.

Please reopen the library!! Let's start a campaign.

Also, the recent comments about the highway from Function to Tamarisk having it's speed reduced. Really?

First, more people speed after Creekside than they do on that strip. I was just the other day following a string of cars and we were almost doing 90km/h after Brio!!

And the buses never, I mean never, reach the speed limit. They can't!

I cannot count the times that I have stood by the bus driver and looked at his speedo and it says 50 kilometres.

Also, as proven on Sunday that with a bit of snow and lower than designated speed limit, vehicles cannot stay on the pitch north of Spring Creek without sliding into the oncoming lane.

The highway was not designed for any less of a speed limit. Let's just practice common sense and be safe.

Put snow tires on and clean your car of any recent snow.

I know it looks cool to drive with tonnes of fresh snow on your car but it's not safe.

Maybe we could have a new goof fine for people that don't want to clean their cars of snow?

Arne Gutmann

Whistler

Sunday library closure

I couldn't agree more with last week's letter regarding the Sunday library closure (Pique Nov.8, 2012). Before the cutback in library hours and before that the seven-day-a week library schedule, the library closed on Wednesdays.

In a brain storming session with local high school students changing the Sunday library closure to a mid-week day was one of the ideas they had to make Whistler a better community for young people.

Sunday is a day they can go to their school library.

My niece was visiting from UBC over Thanksgiving; she was looking for a quiet place to study (our house was not quiet enough). She visited the library Saturday, but was shut out on Sunday.

Local students and families, as well as visitors, have the highest need for this facility on the weekends. If we need to close the library for one day a week let's make it a mid-week day.

Failing that, if funding can be found to keep X-country trails open, why can't the RMOW find the funds to keep the library open an extra day, given that it has a much larger user group?

Cathy Jewett

Whistler

OCP process needs review

Our mayor, the council and RMOW staff must feel just a tiny bit embarrassed for scheduling OCP public hearing on Nov 6. I would expect ignorant Americans not to know when the U.S. presidential election was. But Canadians? This election had more impact on our own fate than our own elections. Memo to Mike Furey, CAO of RMOW: new procedure for scheduling dates for important meetings and events — Google the date.

I spent five days writing my extensive OCP comments. But then it was too cold to go outside, and I felt I could not take two great doses of excitement at the same time, so I watched Obama win. Mea culpa, I am not blaming the council for that.

Sending or publishing my comments now has no effect. But a significant part of my comments was related to the process of OCP, not the content and I hope that council can read those. Actually, the process is more important than the final result.

There were extensive consultations in this OCP process and that is a great achievement. Nevertheless, I believe that the process is somewhat lacking. I followed this process by only using Mountain Radio, the Pique and the Question. I have plenty of time and knowledge to wade thru binders and binders of information or many Internet pages. But I wanted to be on the same level as the majority of residents who are not in such position or do not even have Internet.

Political processes an as such OCP are geared to those who get really engaged either due to their work, political position, their own activism or self-interest. These very active participants: council, RMOW staff, organizations, lobbying groups and very engaged individuals exert great influence on the process.

The majority of people are left off-site. Not where their rights are concerned, but where their effectiveness in the decision process is concerned. They have a right to participate but they chose not to. They chose not to because it is either very demanding both in time and effort, or they have given up on the political process, or they simply do not give a damn.

And ay, there is the rub, as Hamlet would say. Our system gives the rights to the people but does not give them enough instruments to implement their rights. Nearly 50 per cent of people do not vote in elections and we say that it is OK because they had the right to vote.

It is not the fault of the people who do not use their rights, but it is the fault of the political system that does not offer proper ways to exercise those rights.

There is enormous difference in being given the opportunity to participate in consultation and being given the opportunity to participate in some form in the actual decision.

An important issue such as OCP should be put to some form of binding or non-binding approval by residents (a referendum, a town hall meeting with vote, a proper opinion survey) before being adopted by the council. The HST referendum was an enormous step forward for the democracy in B.C. And when Harper, elected with only about 25 per cent of registered voters imposes the pipeline on B.C. against the will of 80 per cent of the B.C. population, wouldn't it be nice if a confirmation referendum was required.

Mountains of information, which most people have no time to study should be digested to a couple of pages. Such an executive summary written in simple language with main elements, arguments, counter-arguments and rejected options and reasons for their rejection should then be mailed to each resident the way budget info is.

Does council have any quantitative data to show how many people support the current version of OCP to be adopted? Or any data on how many people do not even know what OCP stands for?

Maybe it is not too late to get things right. This council is very sensitive to complaints of us residents. They cancelled a summer artist market because of a complaint by one art gallery owner. I do not expect anything like that from this letter.

Drago ArhWhistler

Nelson Bastien gets award

I write today with a bittersweet heart; Nelson Bastien was awarded the Queen's Jubilee Medal at the British Columbia Snowmobile Federation Fall General Meeting in Abbotsford on Saturday, Nov. 3 for his volunteer contributions to snowmobiling and his community. Nelson's wife Ruth passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer on Monday, Nov 5 in Squamish Hospital.

Nelson has been a staunch advocate for mechanized recreation and snowmobiling particularly in Whistler, as well as the whole province. He and Doug McDonald were the founding members of the Powder Mountain Snowmobile Club (www.powdermountainsnowmobiling.org) in 1990.

He has spent countless hours in meetings; the Backcountry Access Forum lasted for three years, and he attended most of the weekly meetings to protect your right to ride. He has been a director of the BCSF for 10 years and currently is the Secretary/Treasurer. Recently, Nelson housed the BCSF office in his house for 14 months following the BCSF's decision to close the Houston, B.C. office due to the overspending of that administration. The office was successfully moved to Keremeos in September.

Where would organized snowmobiling be without Nelson?

When I first started sledding in 2001, the Brandywine parking lot was directly beside the highway with spots for a dozen or so trucks. When those spots were full you basically parked in the ditch and sledded back down the shoulder of the highway.

Reloading at the end of the day was even more dangerous with all the skier traffic. Now we are safely tucked away behind the Transfer Station and have a groomed and plowed parking lot for over 500 trucks and trailers.

New this year, a safer truck loading area was built with two levels, made with concrete blocks with room for six trucks at a time.

As well, the road in has been fully repacked with ground asphalt from the highway resurfacing. Nelson saw the opportunity piled at the side of the road and got it for $50 a load; Doug got his loader out, and now we'll all have a nice smooth ride to the parking lot.

Congratulations Nelson! You deserve the recognition of all of Whistler, the Sea to Sky corridor, and all of B.C. and Canada with your years of dedicated service in the name of snowmobiling and mechanized recreation.

Condolences on your loss and have fun on the motorhome trips you have planned.

On behalf of the Powder Mountain Snowmobile Club and all the other sledders in town (and anyone else that likes the money sled tourism brings to our town), we wish you the best in the coming years.

(We) hope to see lots of new sledders at our next meeting November 21 upstairs at Boston Pizza. You can congratulate Nelson in person.

Gavin Christie

2nd Vice President, Powder Mountain Snowmobile Club