Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

A return to when Whistler was cool

The Games are over and apparently the world is our oyster. Success can be measured in many ways and we will debate this topic for weeks and years to come no doubt. I have so many great memories and experiences so it is hard to pick a favourite.

The Games are over and apparently the world is our oyster. Success can be measured in many ways and we will debate this topic for weeks and years to come no doubt.

I have so many great memories and experiences so it is hard to pick a favourite. What did strike me on the evening of Feb. 5, the arrival of the Olympic flame in Whistler, was how vibrant and buzzing the village was. It took me back to the 1990s when Whistler was cool! We worked harder, reached higher and "no we can't do that" was not in our vocabulary.

Sightseeing lifts get built every year, the Olympics happen every two years. Whistler has two fantastic ski mountains, incredible lakes, great backcountry and much more that brought the original settlers years ago. The world has always been our oyster. How we welcome the world determines whether the oyster produces pearls for years to come.

Sharon Audley

Whistler

 

Don't flush money away

Grant Lamont has a valid point that now is not the time to throw a $150,000 party for us locals. Money is tight and after the last five weeks most everyone is already partied out.

Better to put the whole $150,000 into one big Olympic Legacy rather than split it into small amounts or put it back into general revenue. My suggestion would be to start a fund to build a sewer line down Alta Lake Road. Andy and Florence Petersen and the other families on Westside Road have waited long enough.

Ruth Buzzard

Whistler

 

B.C. has shown the world

There is nothing that B.C. can't do. We've just hosted the best Olympic Winter Games celebration ever and showed that there is no limit to what we can accomplish if we put our collective hearts and minds to it. And the Paralympic Games weren't just an echo of the Winter Games, they have sounded the charge anew.

As a British Columbian of Greek ancestry I am doubly proud of what we've shown the world about this province and everything it has to offer. The environmentally-friendly venues built for these Games made them the greenest Olympics in history and drew attention to the leading role B.C. is playing in the global transition to renewable energy sources and clean technologies.

Every time I look up at Grouse Mountain and the new wind turbine they've installed, I'm reminded of how much potential we've been given to work with in this wonderful province and how much we have to give to the world from our richness. We have the resources, we have the brains, we have the leadership and vision. And we've shown that we can do it like no other place on earth.

Eugenia Nikolaidis

Vancouver

 

Setting the record straight

Your editorial piece published on March 17, 2010 titled "How Whistler is seen post-Games" referenced a statement that originally appeared in a story in the South Whidbey Record Newspaper regarding the closing of Holmes Harbor Golf and Beach Club. In that article the following statement, attributed to the owners of Holmes Harbor Golf and Beach Club, was included:

"As evidenced by the recent bankruptcy of Whistler Resort, the recreation business, along with the collapse of the housing market, has significantly impacted revenue sources for operations and has negatively impacted our overall development operations."

This was an inaccurate statement on our part, and we have been informed by Intrawest, the operator of Whistler Blackcomb Resort, that the property is not bankrupt and continues to operate business as usual. We understand that this inaccuracy was addressed upfront in your editorial piece but felt that it was important to bring this error to your attention to ensure that we set the record straight.

Josh Chaitin

Vice President/Sustainable Practice Lead

Frause, Full Spectrum Communications

 

Many thanks

As we begin to pack for Africa, Shannon and I just wanted to thank everyone who has made this trip possible. Paul Selina of course, Marnie & our Rotary Club of Pemberton Centennial, Mary Ann and the Rotary Clubs of Whistler, Sheri Davis.

We want to thank the Whistler Valley Quilting Guild including members Jean, Lyn and Jan, Dawn Ross and Bog Fabrics. From Pemberton, Tonette McEwan, Linda Ronayne, Peggy Perfit, Margaret Pearson, Ann Robertson and Barb Turrin. Also Irene from Vancouver and Donna's mom from Ontario. All donated such beautiful quilts and blankets that will help to keep the children warm and cozy at the SOS Children's Village in Lesotho.

Thank you also to Cora and Megan Menzel for the Spiderman quilt and to those who bought the raffle tickets, to everyone who purchased quilt squares, bought Christmas Cards and to the great guys that supported the Men's Night event in December.

Lizz Kelly and Shannon Ellis

Rotary Club of Pemberton Centennial

 

Good news and bad news

Reports of an abnormally low snowpack across British Columbia mean we're probably looking at another devastatingly dry forest fire season this summer. That's not good news.

But it also means the province's dams and reservoirs are going to see dangerously low water levels this year. And that means B.C. Hydro's ability to generate electricity is going to be impaired again this year just like it has been in most recent years over the past decade.

We certainly can't control the weather, but it has not helped the situation that no money was spent to maintain or improve B.C. Hydro's dams and facilities during the 1990s. As a result, we're now having to catch up all at once and B.C. Hydro is having to spend billions and billions of dollars in a short span of time to bring their dams and power stations up to current standards.

Yes, the billions of dollars that B.C. Hydro is spending to refurbish their mega dams and install new generators (ones that can extract more power from less water) is causing our hydro bills to go up. But what we're really paying for is the lack of maintenance and investment on these mega dams and facilities during the 1990s; neglect that's now left us having to take the hit all at once.

The good news (because there has to be some good news) is that, even with B.C. Hydro's multi-billion reinvestment in its hydro dams and facilities, British Columbia still has one of the lowest electricity rates in North America. And as the global economy starts to reconnect, our low electricity rates and clean hydro power will help attract new investment and jobs to our province.

Kevin Lee

Vancouver