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Who should go smaller? Re: the Whistler Housing Forum invitation I just read your ad for the housing forum entitled "Smaller is Better.

Who should go smaller?

Re: the Whistler Housing Forum invitation

I just read your ad for the housing forum entitled "Smaller is Better." As a Whistler local, I think we've gone small enough! My boyfriend and I share a one-bedroom condo in an apartment complex. We don't need a monster home, like all the empty ones we drive by on the way to our jam packed complex, but would one day like an extra bedroom or a foyer like most normal homes.

Moreover, what will determine whether we stay in Whistler is how strong our desire for a yard and garage becomes. This is where I think you should be focussing your efforts.

Why should locals go without their own piece of property to play on?

Please, it is the corporate monster home owners who should go smaller, not the cramped locals.

Tobi Henderson

Whistler

 

Re: your Australian Feature and Aussie flavoured Pique of last week.

Austrlians in Whistler is a tired old axe to grind, and I often used to side with the odd Canuck who was in desperate need of putting the boot into my countrymen and women. For what could be more annoying than a tanked Aussie pack of larikens stumbling through the village at 2 a.m. shouting abuse in our native slang and starting a bit of biffo at Misty Mountain? I have lived on both sides of the fence in regards to this behaviour, and know too well just where it gets you in the eyes of the Whistler local.

However in hindsight of five years living amongst the Canadian pines I can say one thing, the low pay and basic jobs offered by the mountain aren’t all to blame. There is the W-B mandate to house internationals together, rather than mixing the housing on a first come, first served basis.

This housing situation or segragation is akin to public housing in South Africa. The short black sheep go here the tall white sheep here and the Quebecois down there. The ultimate result is a lack of socializing on all parts. The Quebecois stick to themsleves, the Aussies go to their local pub in a group and the English sub-let all their accom and live in beat up vans in Carpark 14. It's anti-social and what I believe to be the basis of the problem of Aussie haters.

If you make the effort not to be swallowed by the W-B machine, you benefit in many ways. You meet Canadians, you work with them and you may even be lucky enough to live with a couple. It makes you live a lot like a Canadian, and that ain't bad – in fact it's a joy. There's a stack of benefits other than the sweet smoke of back bacon, pancakes, maple syrup and hash browns. Why you'll learn many new things like how to recycle, and master the art of (PC) political correctness (Canadian for Pilates). In fact you may just see what Canada is really about, rather than meeting four more china plates from Dunnydoon.

My advice for all the Aussie's arriving for the rest of the season: get a job in the private sector, pay for your own pass and avoid large groups of Aussies like the plague. Mingle with the Quebecois, the tourists, and the locals, and above all respect their way of life. After all, it's these people who made it possible to ski thousands of acres for the same price as one lousy PM ticket at the farce that is Perisher Valley.

You may just find those Canucks aren't all that different from ourselves, and once that link is made you've got friends for life, not just a season.

Hooroo.

Dave Henderson

Australia

PS: Small Glossary may help.

Larriken - obnoxious individual.

China Plate - Rhyming slang for best mate.

Biffo - Fighting

Perisher Valley - Australian Ski Resort

Hooroo - Goodbye

 

This letter was addressed to the board of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.

I am writing this letter to propose the establishment of management guidelines to protect the scenic values of the Whistler-Pemberton corridor. The fantastic views and diversity of features along that 20 minute stretch of road are a strong component of the tourism product this region markets, and deserve better management.

What prompts me to suggest this are two events that occurred along the highway in the last year.

The first event was the installation of utility poles along the highway between the Soo Valley and Pemberton for the purpose of supporting a fibre optic cable. In my opinion, these poles diminish the scenic experience of the Whistler-Pemberton drive. Considering the fibre optic cable was installed on top of the existing B.C. Hydro main line towers from Squamish to Whistler, it is frustrating to see these poles go up when you know there was a viable alternative. In addition, I was surprised that the new set of poles were allowed to be built directly over the only grove of Pacific Dogwood ( cornus nuttallii ) along Highway 99 north of Lions Bay. The grove is between the Nairn Falls parking lot and the rail crossing to the south. I am curious to see how many of those beautiful, large flower trees will still be there next spring.

More recently, I was disappointed to see the scenic natural flood channel of the Rutherford River being bulldozed to accommodate development. Yet another feature of the scenic drive experience, gone.

These experiences lead me to believe that more development will occur along the scenic corridor that will further diminish the tourism product. Perhaps it is time to establish management guidelines for development along the Highway 99 corridor, that will ensure any future development meets objectives that respect the scenic values of that valley.

As tourism becomes a more and more important player in the economy of this region, we must be even more careful to protect what makes our product one of the best in the world.

Stéphane Perron

Whistler

 

Many years ago I travelled with my boyfriend to Toronto for a surprise party for his mom's 50th birthday. Naturally I was a little nervous, as I had not met any of his eastern family yet. To say they are not laid-back, conservative people is a very large understatement. They are fabulous, but standing back from the mayhem every once in a while is needed.

Aside from meeting his family and friends, I met Tommy the two-tone black on black Labrador Retriever. Tommy was a lovable, well-trained, hunting dog. However his biggest responsibilty was being the quiet, calm family member. Tommy was my saviour, when I became overwhelmed, I stepped away and visited him in his corner, he always offered calmness.

Over the next few years, we all had many great times together. Tommy and his family visited Whistler, and we visited Ontario. Good times had by all! Tommy was even polite to our goofy puppy!

Tommy was only seven when he was taken away from our little world. His mom was visiting us at the time and received the very sad phone call from her step-daughter, as her husband was too upset to speak.

It was a wintery night when Tommy jumped out of the car upon arrival to his favourite place, the farm! He was enjoying the snowfall and sniffing about while his dad emptied the car. Unfortunately he did not return when his whistler went off, that is not like Tommy. He was found critically injured, by a truck. Someone driving too fast down a dirt road in the middle of the snowstorm, did not see the dog until it was too late.

It is difficult to understand why Tommy ventured out to the road, with 100 acres of safe exploring territory behind him. He was such a fabulous little buddy, how could he not know the dangers that awaited him?

I think of Tommy every time I see dogs in our neighbourhood left to their own demise. The golden girl who lays sadly on the driveway, or on the road, if it is sunnier. I ask her not to be happy when her family comes home, they obviously think she's happy the whole time, when she would prefer a safe couch to sleep on. The young husky boy who has kisses and fun for everyone does not realize that anything bad could happen. I asked him not to go to the highway the last time he followed us on our walk. He looked at me perplexed, obviously not knowing what a highway is all about. There are many more free-range dogs in Whistler, who do not belong out on their own, regardless of the season. This environment makes them vulnerable and their sociabilities change.

We are very lucky, we have our circle of family and friends. We help each other with our fuzzy friends continually, and when our schedules do not click, we call in the forces. Whistler has great dog-loving walkers available. I wish taking care of myself could be so simple.

Abbey McLachlan

Whistler

 

I read your paper every week and was saddened to read another tear jerking story told by Ruth Norden on the way animals are treated in this area. I feel a deep respect for the people that try and help these pets, including Whistler Animals Galore and the Coast Mountain Veterinary Services in both Pemberton and Whistler.

The reason I am writing to you is that I was concerned with a note that was posted some time back on the window of the Pemberton Veterinary Hospital. Briefly put, it was about a cat that had been struck by a vehicle around New Year's Day. The person who found the cat immediately called the 24-hour emergency number from a pay phone. The call went through a paging service, who got the info and paged the vet on call. The number given for the vet to respond obviously didn't go through and if this person had been thinking clearly they would have realized that no one can return calls to a pay phone. By the time the person finally clued in that the paging service was unable to help them at that location and went to another with an actual phone, the cat had died and the person missed the vet’s call.

The posting basically went on to say that it was the fault of the vet and hospital that the cat died that day and that people should think twice before taking their pets to this particular hospital. How in the world can you put blame on a person that would have helped if possible? Obviously the vet cared enough to do his/her job by calling when he got a number where he could reach someone.

I have never had any kind of trouble with either Pemberton or Whistler hospitals and with everything that I have seen and read about in the last year, the veterinarians and staff at both these hospitals have been nothing but kind and understanding to animals, no matter the circumstances. I do not envy these kind people their jobs. I would hate to have to deal with some of these disrespectful so-called "clients" that can only try and place blame on someone else. Sorry unidentified caller, your stupidity killed the cat.

P.S Just to let you know, Coast Mountain Veterinary Services is the only vet hospital on call to you in Whistler, Pemberton, Mount Currie, Birken and D'Arcy area. All other doctors are based out of Squamish or the city.

J. Murray

Pemberton

 

I have two statements to make about the letters in last week’s Pique magazine. Regarding Cole Shuker’s letter, it was good, and yes people shouldn't attack others when they know nothing of the person. But seriously, do you think that this is what it is about? This is not about who Mr. Campbell is it's about what he has done, and what he has done is slapped every person who has lost someone to drinking and driving right in the face, including me. And he has also let down anyone who is involved with MADD or any other drinking and driving association. He is someone that was put in the position to represent the good of Canada, not the stupidity of it. There are families that are trusting this person to do a good job and to help with the province’s and country’s needs. All he did was add to them.

As for the letter from M. MacDonald, it was absolute crap. Who is M. MacDonald to say that the girls that are showing up are not going to be wealthy, or are daughters of the wealthy? How can this person say that its only going to be girls with low income jobs, like housekeepers, clerks and waitresses? Not everyone wants to base their life around money. There are people who just want to go out and have a good time. If they want to take it off, that’s their choice.

I also strongly suggest that people watch what they say about waitressing, sales clerks and housekeepers; 80 per cent of the jobs in Whistler are of this type.

Sasha Pellow

Whistler

 

On behalf of the Whistler Minor Hockey Association’s Atom Division teams, I'd like to express our appreciation to Steve from Great Games and Toys for sponsoring the Lego Contest at our Christmas Party.

Although it was a very busy time of year for him, Steve graciously offered buckets of Lego and donated numerous prizes for our Lego-building projects. It added creativity with a focus on team work to our program.

In the spirit of community support, thank you for your generosity. We look forward to visiting you soon at great Games and Toys.

Sharon Young

Atom Division

Whistler Minor Hockey Association