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Davenport/Soave connection needs scrutiny Dominic Soave was closely involved in Ted Nebbeling’s campaign for mayor of Whistler and for MLA and is now involved in the Dave Davenport campaign.

Davenport/Soave connection needs scrutiny

Dominic Soave was closely involved in Ted Nebbeling’s campaign for mayor of Whistler and for MLA and is now involved in the Dave Davenport campaign. Dominic Soave was also the developer of the Sunridge Plateau subdivision. Sunridge Plateau was not identified on planning documents as land suitable for rezoning but it nevertheless was rezoned when Ted Nebbeling was mayor, in a process unlike other rezonings. This year the RMOW taxpayers, not Dominic Soave, had to fund a cost of about $860,000 putting in a proper water storage reservoir for the multi-million dollar Sunridge Plateau.

In this week’s Pique Newsmagazine, Dave Davenport speaks of a "better land use plan than just a line in the sand that we call the bed cap."

For all we know, Dave Davenport may have made it clear that rezoning payoffs are not in the cards. Unfortunately we don’t have a track record with Mr. Davenport in public office as a councillor to get a handle on his mode of operation, what he is likely to support or not support. With Mr. Soave’s campaign machine behind Mr. Davenport and the possibility of the bed unit cap coming off there is cause for concern. If you don’t learn from history, you don’t learn at all.

Nelson Bastien, retired

11 years RMOW Waterworks supervisor

 

Kathy Barnett, Publisher of the Pique, wrote a "Message from the Pique Chair" openly supporting Dave Davenport and defending the Pique’s integrity regarding current election reporting.

Given all the "innovative and independent thinking" at the Pique why haven’t the following simple facts come out, the dots hooked up and the tough question been asked of Mr. Davenport?

Whistler’s Mayor Hugh O’Reilly and the present council stood up to the provincial government and the Olympic bid corporation and withheld their support of the 2010 Olympic Games until the province agreed to Whistler’s guiding principles and committed to a package of lasting legacies for Whistler, albeit a package woefully short on tangible environmental benefits.

The premier and the bid corporation now respect Whistler’s position and we have already secured many of the legacies whether or not the bid is successful.

The MLA responsible for the Olympic bid, Ted Nebbeling, was not happy with Whistler’s mayor and council calling the shots and not having more direct personal control of the situation.

Dave Davenport was appointed to the Olympic bid corp. board of directors by Ted Nebbeling. Ted Nebbeling and his political machine are behind the Davenport campaign.

Question: Is Dave Davenport likely to be as effective as Hugh O’Reilly ensuring that the best interests of Whistler always come first?

James MacKay

Whistler

 

I’ve long considered the last page of the Pique the highlight of my reading week so you can imagine how excited I was to read the Nov. 1st edition and find that I finally had an excuse to write to Maxed Out! As a good mountain biking buddy (not to mention Official Financial Agent) of Ken Melamed I believe I’m in a position to enlighten you and provide some of the answers you seek regarding those election signs.

First, you asked, "What's the point?" That’s a good question and the same one we asked ourselves in 1996 when Kenny was first successful at getting himself a seat on council. We weren’t sure if we'd be better making an environmental statement (we’d call it fitting into the Natural Step framework today) by having no signs at all or if we’d be wiser getting the name Ken Melamed out there for the voting public to see. We decided a good compromise was to make use of election signs but make them out of old pieces of plywood, paint them ourselves, and use lettering that could be peeled off and recycled. You know what? We’re still using that same plywood three election campaigns later. It’s very time consuming and often frustrating work but Kenny is nothing if not the most consistent person I’ve ever known.

You also wondered about slogans. Me too. I don’t know how candidates decide what they’ll have as a slogan but it amuses me that they decide to have one at all. It’s said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. How gratifying it is then to recall that campaign six years ago when nobody except Kenny had a slogan. Remember "...Better Not Bigger!" I think Ken was the only candidate to have coloured signs too. We, at Melamed campaign headquarters (Ken & Uschi’s kitchen table), thought it would be aesthetically pleasing as well as politically appropriate to have Kenny’s signs coloured green. Because our signs are still those same old pieces of plywood, they’re still coloured green.

There’s lots more too, G.D., but I know my letter is already too long so I’ll just wrap it up by thanking you, as a faithful reader, for providing me with the opportunity to correspond with my favourite journalist and for giving me Maxed Out to look forward to each week. I'd also like to thank, as a campaign worker for Ken Melamed, all the electoral candidates who, over the years, have borrowed our ideas – from signs to newspaper ads to campaign strategy – we know who you are and we’re flattered!

Marilyn Manso

Whistler

 

I have spoken to many people about the election in the past weeks, and I am sad to say that I have heard many indicating that they are not going to vote, because they don't know the issues/candidates. The responsibility for democracy does not lie with candidates alone, it is also up to us.

If you want a Whistler that does not "reign in" skyrocketing property taxes, has skyrocketing rents (they are not done yet), and an employee village in the Callaghan, free bus service for the Benchland while the workers pay for buses, then I suggest that you find out who is interested in maintaining this status. If you are interested in something different, then I also suggest that you find out. But to sit on your duffs and not vote is a direct violation of democracy.

Maybe you'd rather let somebody else dictate policy that affects you directly. That is where the word "dictator" comes from – dictate. Go out and find out who the candidates are and what they represent. Read the pages of this paper. But don’t whine or complain to me about the economic cost of living in Whistler on a service worker's wage.

Mo Smith

Whistler

 

At the all candidates meeting, Nicholas Davies suggested the four candidates operating retail stores would be in a conflict of interest and unable to address issues related to the village. Using this logic, we could assume any politician who owned a car would be unable to make decisions about parking and transportation matters, and dog owning candidates would leave the chambers for by-law issues. Those who breathe would be excluded from air-quality questions. And lawyers would cheerfully exclude themselves from law-making.

Thanks for setting us straight, Nick.

Jim Watts

Whistler

 

It was timely that I might read the article by Alison Taylor regarding SUVs. If people are interested in learning more they can visit the Web site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/rollover/ It is a documentary on SUVs that aired the other day.

We seem to hear a lot about how environmentally bad these vehicles are. What I think people, especially families, should be aware of, and what struck me in this show, was how they have the highest rate of rollover of any vehicles. There is some other very interesting bits available there as well, including audio of President Nixion siding with Ford and Chrysler when it came to safety issues.

Peter Skeels

Whistler

 

The bears need your help!

For those that have been following the case of the Whistlerite charged in connection with the alleged illegal feeding of bears, the case will go before a judge on Nov. 13th. Roland (Rico) Suchy has been charged with "feeding dangerous wildlife" and "depositing a substance to attract dangerous wildlife." Both charges fall under the provincial wildlife act. The maximum fine for this offence is $50,000 and/or six months in jail.

It is not possible for a community to coexist with bears unless people and bears BOTH respect each other’s boundaries. Baiting bears with a food reward teaches bears to cross boundaries of unacceptable behaviour and increases the potential for conflict situations. It changes the bear’s attitude and alters its position in the hierarchy of the community.

Bears that are purposely fed by people become accustomed to being around people and are more likely to get into trouble causing property damage. Occasionally a hand-fed bear will become aggressive (bolder) in seeking more food and may injure a person.

Furthermore, bears that become comfortable near people and built-up areas are also more likely to be involved in a vehicle accident, possibly causing injury or death to both the people in the vehicle and the bear.

Bears that are extensively food conditioned are killed or removed by the Conservation Officer Service in accordance with current policy. As a result of Mr. Suchy’s alleged actions, two bears were destroyed and three were relocated. Deliberately feeding bears is an unacceptable practice and without a doubt undermines the province’s Bear Smart program.

It is critically important that we, the people of B.C., send the court a strong and clear message. The case will be heard in North Vancouver Court at 200 East 23rd Street, Wednesday, Nov. 13th at 9:30 a.m.

Sylvia Dolson

Executive Director,

J.J. Whistler Bear Society

 

Mea Culpa.

Yes, what I did was inappropriate. My actions at the all candidates meeting on Saturday were wrong and incompatible with my values and beliefs. I apologize to the attendees at the meeting, the meeting organizers and the community at large. Whistler is too special a place and the wonderful people that give the community its vibrancy and help make it one of the best places on earth deserve better than to have me initiate negative electioneering.

The purpose of the meeting, as I perceived it, was for the candidates to present their platforms and respond to questions from the floor while we in the audience, attending in person and via the media, gleaned as much information as we could to make informed decisions at the upcoming elections. I debased the tone of the meeting during the question period by attempting to present an argument as why not to vote for a person, Caroline Lamont. My statements and their tone were inappropriate. In the past I have been quick to deride negative statements and I do not hesitate to do the same now.

To Caroline Lamont I offer my sincere apologies on causing her to recall the loss of her family pet. I assure you it was not my intention. As a dog owner, myself, I know that a dog is a cherished member of the family and I am acutely aware of the grief and sorrow one suffers and struggles with long after a pet has died.

On my way back home from the meeting on Saturday I reflected on what I had done and held that up to the light of how I want to live my life, my code of living, my beliefs and values. Yes, she was right, the transgression occurred many years ago and I have surely recited The Lord's Prayer several times since then and here was I not forgiving nor was I forgetting. This discordance, incongruity, incompatibility, however one wishes to describe it, was troubling and I spent much of the night deliberating on how I could make things right. The first step was this letter of apology. The second, was to put out of my mind events that transpired several years ago. The third, a commitment to do my best to ensure that we as a community refrain from attacking incumbents and candidates and focus instead on defining and achieving goals while working as a team to make Whistler the pre-eminent place to live, work and play.

Keith Fernandes

Whistler/Vancouver

 

Ten minutes before I sat down to write this, I flagged the train for the last time.

My history with the Budd Car goes back in my family a long ways. But I will not bore you with a story my family, or tell of times that have past. I will skip to three years ago when I found a rusty green and white flag in a 50-year-old shed in Whistler. Buried among filing cabinets and tires, I picked it from the leaves and dirt. Speckled with rust I hung it out of the weather in the corner. Not the prettiest artifact I have seen, it was left, only to be admired while stacking recycling or fetching the rake.

Tonight is the night before Halloween and the final run of the Budd Car. It will take its own rails from the present and into the past. While the children munch on candy, if they are lucky, they will hear the final echoes of the whistle bounce from the valley walls as they have done for more years then we have had ski lifts and gas stations. The passenger train gave birth to this valley. And communities throughout the province depended and still depend on it. Unfortunately not all communities depend on it. Why doesn’t anyone here take the train? It simply costs too much and has a poor schedule.

I found in a book of my grandparents’, a schedule for the PGE from 1972. Tonight when the train made an unscheduled stop for me at the traditional Alta Lake Station, it was running about 25 minutes late. I think the needs of the communities throughout B.C. and what they need as a passenger rail service have changed since 1972. As it stands, to take the train to Vancouver to do something as simple as a single task, it requires two nights stay in Vancouver. Arrival 10 p.m. and departure 7 a.m. If they just changed the schedule then it would be possible to catch the train to Vancouver, spend the day and return home in the evening like every single commuter. Although the station is in North Vancouver, the tracks run within 200 metres of the Seabus terminal on Lonsdale. And from the Seabus you can get most places in Vancouver without the use of an automobile.

I will not continue this argument by pointing out simple facts such as how deadly Highway 99 has become and how the Budd Car can operate at a loss for 100 years before it costs about the same as a highway upgrade. I will not explain why railways are one of the most environmentally friendly ways to transport people and goods. I will tell you that if you find an old rusty railway flag and hold it up beside the tracks. When that train comes around the corner and sees you, it has to stop. It doesn’t matter that the station closed 20 or so years ago. It has to stop because you own it; the people of British Columbia.

I believe that there will always be a passenger service on the tracks that run through this valley. Anyone who can see potential will be investing money in it. There is a profit to be made on our railway with a little foresight. Unfortunately the profit is not for the people of this province but a private corporation. Tomorrow, on Halloween, the BC Rail Budd Car is leaving us all at the station and the best I can hope for is they sound the whistle at Tapleys Farm to say goodbye to the children. After all, they are the future of our province and it is they who will suffer this loss the most.

Bjorn Gimse

Whistler/Lillooet/Pemberton