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Letters to the editor for the week of January 24th

Standing on principle
opinion_letters1

Standing on principle

I am writing as a Village Host to fully support G.D. Maxwell's January 17th article regarding the requirement for Village Host volunteers to get a criminal record check. As a volunteer for the 2010 Olympics I had to submit to this check, so when the new requirement was introduced by the RMOW I didn't bother to protest — but it sure made me wonder.

The Village Host program started back in 2004. Why this requirement now? What's changed? Has there been some "incident" that has made the RMOW distrust us?

Like Max, I have no criminal record. My major concern is the security of the confidential information the RMOW has collected on the volunteers. Once an individual has complied and the RMOW requirements are met, are the documents destroyed in a secure manner, or is the information at risk of appearing in the public domain in the future?

Sadly, Max has opted out of the program on point of principle. If more follow suit, the RMOW will lose a very valuable service.

Barbara Milne

Whistler

Trails for everyone

Whistler is a wonderful place to live and Stu Sjolies makes it even more wonderful! Stu is the mechanic at Nicklaus North Golf Course and under his own initiative he has been grooming the service trail along fairways 1 and 2 and the cart paths on fairways 14 and 15 for walkers, dogs and snowshoers. 

He has designed the groomer that he pulls with his own snowmobile. He does this so that he and anyone else can walk their dogs on a groomed trail, but not disturb the trails around the golf course that are part of the Lost Lake cross-country network.  "Stu's Stroll" makes it easy to connect with the Valley Trail by the Clubhouse or at Nick North Blvd. to cross the highway.   We would like to thank Stu for taking on this endeavour and also to thank Nicklaus North Golf Course for allowing the trails on fairways 14 and 15 to be open for non-skiers.

Maureen and John Richmond

Whistler

FSAs don't help students or teachers

Once again Grades 4 and 7 students in Sea to Sky School District and across the province will be writing Foundation Skills Assessment tests (FSAs) later this month. Teachers have longstanding professional concerns about these measurements and the misuse of the data by external organizations such as the Fraser Institute, an ideologically extreme right wing 'think tank' whose goal is to undermine public education and privatize public services such as education and health care.

While government officials have expressed misgivings about the use of FSA data to rank schools, these tests continue to be administered and the data continues to be used to promote the Fraser Institute's destructive assault on public education.

In fact, our current Minister of Education, Don MacRae, expressed support for FSAs in a recent letter to the Vancouver Sun despite teachers' professional concerns. He claimed that the FSA "helps us identify students who might need extra help. It also assists school districts in targeting and planning the supports that are needed the most."

This statement is highly misleading and disingenuous, given the massive cuts that have been inflicted on public education since Mr. MacRae's Liberal government assumed power in 2001, especially in supporting students with learning challenges. Special education, ESL and other supports for these students have been decimated. As BCTF president Susan Lambert stated in her response to Mr. MacRae's statement above, "We've never seen a shred of evidence that any student has ever received additional learning support due to their FSA scores."

Professionally, teachers are genuinely concerned that FSAs do nothing to help students learn or teachers teach but do take away valuable time from more meaningful learning and student engagement. Teachers accept that testing is an important part of the learning cycle, and are trained in the appropriate use of tests. Moreover, we understand that because no specific test or assessment is completely reliable, it is essential that a wide variety of assessment methods and instructional strategies are used, including authentic assessment where students perform real-life tasks to demonstrate their learning and project-based learning, which allows for a range of assessment techniques.

As highly trained professionals, B.C. teachers continually reflect on our practice and stay current in the most effective instructional and assessment methods. Locally, teachers are basing much of their assessment of student learning on the most current, student-centered instruments, including student self-assessment and performance-based measures. These are far more meaningful and relevant than an anxiety causing, high stakes standardized test.

Parents who share our concerns are encouraged to write to your child's school principal requesting that your child be exempted from the FSA. We also encourage parents to discuss their children's progress, including the real assessments of their learning, with their teachers. This provides the most meaningful, appropriate feedback for parents.

Carl Walker

President, Sea to Sky Teachers' Association

Drawing the line... as a volunteer

G.D. Maxwell is absolutely correct. The venomous snow snake has struck again, trying desperately to kill the old Whistler spirit, one bite at the time. Spineless they really are.

A "clean record" local with over 35 years of ski and snowboard experience on the local mountains... a volunteer no more.

Pierre Forand

Pemberton

A slice of generosity

On January 15th, a group of local young adults with developmental disabilities hosted a fundraiser at Creekbread Restaurant. We would like to thank the local businesses who generously supported our fundraiser. We are truly grateful to: Canadian Wilderness Adventures, Hilton Resort & Spa, Fairmont Chateau Whistler, Ziptrek EcoTours, Creekside Market, Scandinave Spa, Sutton West Coast Realty, Arbonne, Earls, Kaze Sushi, The Keg, The Grocery Store, The Colpitts Family, Twisted by Choice recycled jewelry, Lululemon and of course Creekbread for making space in their restaurant available to host our fundraiser.

Over $1,600 was raised, all of which will go directly to supporting local young adults with developmental disabilities learn the skills they need to be able to live independently. We would also like to extend our gratitude to those who came out to Creekbread to support our cause! It was a heartwarming evening and made us all remember just what an amazing and supportive community Whistler is.

Amanda, Brad, Taylor, Sarah & Tricia Mitchell

(on behalf of Sea to Sky Community Services)

Twice neglected

I would like to thank Karen Goldsmith for bringing attention to the plight of the Emerald residents who do not own a car (The Emerald bus blues, Pique letters Jan. 17).

Today I shared the Marketplace bus stop with other Emerald residents, amongst them Karen and her family. We were 10 minutes early for our bus home, but 30 minutes later it became apparent that it was not showing up. On phoning BC Transit I was told that due to driver error, the service we were waiting for had been cancelled and they had to prioritize the bus elsewhere — but don't worry, I was told, there will be one soon.

By this time we had been passed by no fewer than four free number 4 buses, and while I was on the phone another one passed. Who exactly were they prioritizing services for? Certainly not the people who are paying for or actually need the service! Do we really need so many free buses for people who can't negotiate our small, pedestrian village on foot, while people who rely on the bus to get home have their service cancelled and have to wait in the cold?

Fortunately the next bus did turn up soon — unsurprisingly it was completely packed.

It would not be such a bad situation if we had only been neglected by BC Transit, but unfortunately we have been forgotten by the municipality as well. With the Valley Trail between Alpine and Emerald currently covered in thigh-deep snow and not maintained throughout the winter we are left with very few options for traveling. Unfortunately the taxi is far too expensive to consider using on a regular basis, and the bus service does not even come close to meeting expectations.

I realize that constantly plowing the Valley Trail during a storm cycle may not be cost efficient, but we are lucky to have access to all kinds of modern weather forecasting equipment and information, and it is common knowledge that this current high pressure system was expected to last for a while. After the last storm, it would have only needed one pass with a plow to keep this section of trail open for two weeks and counting.

I realize that people at the RMOW and BC Transit are "just doing their jobs" but please remember how your decisions affect those who provide your income, and don't forget that a little bit of common sense goes a long way.

Chris Barnard

Emerald Estates, Whistler

Biggest ever...

Whistler Nordics hosted a Teck Coast Cup classic distance race at Whistler Olympic Park this past weekend and it was a huge success, bringing in 230 skiers from all around the region. It could not have happened with out the help of so many generous folk!

Thank you to chief of course Theresa Oswald, course setter Maria Lundgren and Theresa's helper Bert Ionsen. Thank you to the timing crew, chief of timing Rowena Vincent-Nordin, her mentors Elizabeth Hardy and Janice Teadstone, as well as Crosland Doak. Thanks to David Kirk for all his expertise as chief of stadium — his crew made our course look First Class. Thank you to Suki Cheyne who did an awesome job learning the ropes as race secretary and to Nicola Kilfoy for bringing her along. A huge thanks to volunteer coordinator Cheryl Morningstar — it's a big job recruiting 50 helpers. I'd like to give a shout out to all the volunteers from Whistler Nordics, as well as to those from other clubs — Hollyburn, Squamish, Spud Valley and the Nordic Racers.

And what would an event be without the offer of some free stuff from our amazing community? Thanks to Marcus from Ryders Sunglasses, to Whistler Chocolates, to Marketplace Starbucks and a huge thanks to Nesters, who always seems to come through for community events and were very big supporters of this event!

Whistler Olympic Park is a true gem. Thank you to all of you who continue to donate your time and effort in helping show off this gift of a venue.

Margot Murdoch

Whistler

Thank you mommies and daddies

A shout out to all the mommies and daddies who put in the effort to get their little babes outside every day... all bundled up in their strollers, their chariots, on their toboggans and sleds, in their backpacks, in their baby Ergos and Snuglis, on the bus, on the valley trail, on dog walks, out cross country skiing, you name it! It's never easy — wow to you all for doing it!!

Jessica Kologie

Whistler

Dis-Harmony

As a long-term customer of Whistler Blackcomb I have to say that the plans for the Harmony Chair seem ridiculous. At present, with a quad chair in place, Harmony Basin is tracked out after two runs. With a six-banger it will be a one run wonder. I say leave it as a quad and put in a new lift in a new zone with the money that will be spent on the six-banger.

A lift up Sun Bowl for instance. And spend some money glading trees to open up more skiable acreage. And try and cut an easy run down to the Creekside while you're at it, giving beginners lessons on the Dave Murray Downhill is not cool (or safe).

Jim Barrigan

Whistler

Smart minds on SMART meters

There has been so much opinion, information and misinformation on the possible medical effects of the radiation from SMART meters that we should at least look at some of the information from the "other side" of the controversy, or in this case from a source in between.

A recent study at Washington State University considered the exposure of human beings to radiation from one example of a wireless SMART meter at 900 and 1900 MHz and concluded that the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values obtained (absorption of electromagnetic radiation by a human body) were within safety guidelines except in the contrived situation where an individual essentially placed his or her head against the meter and the radiation was assumed to be continuous.

This did not take into account the typical duty cycle of transmissions (0.088% transmissions for less than one second in every thousand). If this were taken into account, even if the head was placed against the meter and the antenna aligned with the nose, the guidelines would be met. This assumed free space between the human and the meter; the existence of a wall would further reduce exposure. All whole-body SAR values were substantially less than the safety guidelines in IEEE Std C95.1, 1999.

Looking at the SMART meter on my own house, there does not appear to be an antenna there, so presumably no radiation at all! Any antenna would have to be outside any metal screen within the meter enclosure, and it would be stuck to the inside of the glass.

The title of the study is "A Study of RF Dosimetry from Exposure to an AMI Smart Meter" and there are 38 references, including a few expressing fear of the effect of radiation and opposing the very concept of the meters.

Health Canada also took a look at the situation. Have a look at hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/prod/meters-compteurs-eng.php

Bob Eldridge

Pemberton