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It’s our future I have just returned from the WORCA Whistler. It's our Future sustainability workshop. My husband Ross and I also attended the "official" workshops a few weeks ago. But this time our feelings could not be more opposite.

It’s our future

I have just returned from the WORCA Whistler. It's our Future sustainability workshop. My husband Ross and I also attended the "official" workshops a few weeks ago. But this time our feelings could not be more opposite. The official workshops induced in us feelings of frustration, annoyance, boredom and even despair. The WORCA workshop on the other hand, was not only enjoyable and interesting, but also gave us a real feeling of hope.

What were the differences? While we recognize that the originators of Whistler. It's our Future deserve kudos for thinking up the idea in the first place, we could not believe that the folks who apparently run this town could get the actual process so hopelessly wrong, and mis-read the local community so badly. This was depressing. Those very expensive out-of-town consultants were seriously superfluous in a community where most locals are vividly aware of the issues at hand. They were also, I am sorry to say, very boring, and their unwitting condescension set my teeth on edge.

The WORCA workshop however was clearly made by locals, for locals, and the atmosphere was completely different. The speakers and organizers (locals all) were brief, entertaining, succinct and lucid. They said what was necessary and no more, so that the bulk of the evening could be given over to participants voicing their opinions and ideas.

Whereas the "official" workshops overwhelmed with a mind-numbing 54 criteria, most of them rendered irrelevant unless we first address the affordability issue, the WORCA organizers had the good sense to pare down the criteria to an essential five.

There seemed to be at least 60 to 70 people in attendance, which easily beats the attendance at the official workshops once you eliminate those who were paid to be at those. And here at last were those twenty- and even thirty-somethings so lamentably absent from the "official" events.

Why, at the WORCA workshop only, did we get such a feeling of hope for the future of our community? Perhaps because thanks to the relevance of the agenda and the excellent cross-section of attendees, we heard so many concrete and workable ideas for sustainable affordability. If you were not there, I can tell you that the general consensus seemed to be that Whistler can sustain the local community if those of us who are left can resist the temptation to cash out and flee to communities where, let's be honest, we would not dream of living but for the lure of financial gain.

Those of us tempted to flee by rocketing property taxes can find hope if our next mayor and council take the WORCA participants' suggestions to heart, and take a firm line with Victoria, using our hefty contribution to the provincial coffers as a bargaining chip, not to mention the governmental desire to see the Olympics here. We can feel hope if we get a mayor and council who act on participants' annoyance at tax inequities by clamping down on the carpet-baggers (many of them local, shame on them) who build new homes at 3,500 square feet with taxes to match, then wait for the building inspector to leave so they can add another 1,500 square feet in the "garage" and flip the property at an inflated price.

The young people who do not own property in Whistler can have hope if, acting again on ideas I heard tonight, we find ways to build more 19-Mile Creek developments, while eliminating loop-hole lotteries like the infamous Lorimer Ridge where "affordable employee lots" now have homes listed at over $1 million. They can have hope if our mayor and council act on ideas to offer tax-incentives to homeowners who build suites and more importantly actually rent them to employees, hopefully with some kind of rent control in place.

I urge all local community groups to copy the excellent and encouraging WORCA example and, using Whistler. It's our Future as your base model, hold your own sustainability workshop. I urge you to do this because I love Whistler for all its problems. I love that it takes me 30 minutes to buy milk at Nesters because I stop to chat so much. I love that my children have a bewildering choice of activities with great facilities in beautiful surroundings, and have no idea how lucky they are. I love that my 10-year-old son and his dad can join 200 other locals at the weekly loonie races and be recognized and welcomed and have fun. I love that we live in a private little world of community in the midst of an unsuspecting tourist mecca, and I love all the amazing parent volunteers and the caring people at WAG and AWARE and the JJ Bear Foundation, to name only a few. It's all so worth saving Whistler – please get out and start saving it now.

Linda McGaw

Whistler

 

All the talk about building a new highway and widening the present highway will not resolve a thing, only cause more crashes .

Last Thursday and Friday, Sept 5 and 6, I drove up to Squamish and Whistler. I have been driving up to Whistler ever since the first dirt road was pushed through. Before Whistler was built and the road pushed through there were very few fatal accident in the Horseshoe Bay

to Squamish section.

On Sept 5 and 6 I thought I was in the Indy 500 by the speed and reckless driving that I encountered. I made a note and where there was a wide section and two lanes going each way, cars were passing me at a speeds of 100-120 km/h, and some were even passing over a double solid line.

With the Olympics there is only one alternative and it should be enforced even more, that is increase the fines for speeding to $500 or more. To spend a billion dollars building a new highway or improving the present one is not the best solution.

What would the cost be during the 17 days the Olympics are on if instead of spending billions of dollars on a highway we hired 100 extra patrol cars and police officers to cruise the highway? It certainly would be a lot less cost to all and save a lot of lives. The fines could be used to pay for the extra police and any pofits donated to a good cause, such as the Cancer Foundation.

When I was coming home from Arizona I noticed that there were police cars parked on the side of the road that were very visible and they certainly slowed down the speeders.

It was not until I was out of that section of highway and stopped at a gas station and talking to the operator of the station that I found out many of those cars were not manned but old police cars with a mannequin sitting in the seat with a policeman's hat on.

Sure the highway needs lots of improvement but building four lanes is not going to solve the problem. Good safe driving and high fines for speeding will.

Sandy Martin

Pitt Meadows/Whistler

 

Here are some fairly simple, affordable ideas that may reduce the nay sayers to the Olympics.

Firstly I see this as a great opportunity to reimburse ourselves from the excessive federal tax grab on British Columbians. Absorb as much funding as possible from the federal billion dollar reserves as soon as possible. The athletes are going to need extremely modern medical facilities so this as good a time as any to reimburse our failing medical systems and hospitals: an election promise made by both the feds and provinces although once in power their memory lapse happened as soon as they found their seats in the legislature.

The highways, especially 99, need only moderate repairs and safer drivers. How simple and beautiful a walk to a ferry from downtown Vancouver would be, followed by a sailing up Howe Sound and then direct to the Olympic party train from Squamish to Whistler. I happen to know where we can find several ferries available and waiting for a job to do. Possibly unemployed Glen Clark could captain one up the sound. Straighten the track out here and there and let's get that train just a hummin down the track.

Speaking of being on track… Did you like Expo 86? Weren't the Pan Am Games a class Canadian act? The Winter Olympics will be what we want them to be. There need not be a glitzy Hollywood presentation sucking up tax contributions for the following decade. If the Olympic status quo doesn't like our budget and unique presentation of the Olympics then too bad, we are just not prepared to bribe anyone to present an ostentatious, non-Canadian Olympics.

G. Swan

Whistler

 

To all those that helped bring the First Annual Creekside Street Festival to life; 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your much appreciated efforts and generous contributions.

Almost without exception, every business or organization we approached about this event participated freely or at cost, and with enthusiasm! Individuals we approached have been generous with their time and their talents. Saturday's event ran with the energy of over 300 hours of volunteer labour on that day alone. Special thanks to Ken Derpak, who’s initial enthusiasm and energy led directly to the tremendous support this event received from Whistler-Blackcomb and Intrawest. Thanks also to John Haibeck, who’s early assistance kept things going. Without Sue Adams the beer garden wouldn’t have happened and Jerry Marsh made things cook in the Family Fun Zone. There are scores and scores more to thank. The list of individuals, organizations and businesses that donated towards this event is over 125 names long!

Our best guess as to the number of participants on the day is between 1,500 and 2,000 people. The community information booths and the family fun zone were particularly well attended. Feedback has been extremely positive to date, although there is always room to improve. People seemed to be having a lot of fun.

The Whistler Creek Merchants Association will be proud to donate well over $5,000 toward the Library/Museum Capital Campaign Fund, all raised from this event this year.

Saturday’s festival was a perfect example of the fun and positive energy that can be created when you bring together a strong community around a good idea.

We feel privileged to have worked with the individuals and organizations that became involved with this event. We look forward to the Second Annual Creekside Street Festival, another celebration of the Whistler community, and another major fundraiser for Whistler’s Library/Museum Capital Campaign.

Until next year.

Gordon McKeever, event founder

Barbara Cummings, event manager

 

A heartfelt thank you from Rotary

I would like to thank all the participants of the 2 nd annual Rotary Putting Tournament that took place at the Riverside Greens Putting Course on Aug. 24 th 2002. We raised more than $8,000 for the Adaptive Ski Program as well as the Public Library and WAG. Your support of Rotary projects over the years is a testament to the kind of community we are truly known for. Often, Whistler residents are called on many times during the year to help raise funds for various endeavours and we always are ready to volunteer time, money or both.

This year’s successful event has encouraged us to make the tournament even bigger and better next year and we look forward to hosting the 3 rd annual tournament next summer. We would like to extend a special thank you to Noel Villard for his tireless efforts and the volunteers from the two Rotary Clubs, WAG and the staff of Riverside for their assistance.

Again, we thank you for your support and look forward to seeing you on the course next year.

Matthew S Souza

President

Rotary Club of Whistler Millennium

Peter Ackhurst

President

Whistler Rotary Club