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On Feb. 13 th last we lost our son, brother and best friend, Dave Sheets, in a fatal skiing accident at your wonderful resort, Whistler-Blackcomb. Dave loved Whistler and all it stood for.

On Feb. 13 th last we lost our son, brother and best friend, Dave Sheets, in a fatal skiing accident at your wonderful resort, Whistler-Blackcomb. Dave loved Whistler and all it stood for. He dedicated his whole life to many of the adventure venues that are part of your community. We know that he loved downhill, extreme, racing and speed skiing. He always took a great interest in BMX biking and road biking. We can’t imagine him living near such fine mountain bike facilities and not utilizing them to the fullest. He was that kind of guy. Also, he was an avid and accomplished fly fisherman.

Dave, like most people in his position, didn’t share all his endeavours with his parents. We think he was trying to protect us because some of the photos he did share with us scared us just to look at. So much of what we learned of his endeavours was from his many friends in your community.

We feel so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and concern for us by the whole community. We wish to express our thanks and gratitude to the corporate side of the community, Whistler-Blackcomb, the medical clinic and staff, the many restaurants and Millennium Place. We felt that the gifts and assistance afforded us were not just in the line of civic responsibility but on a very personal and sincere level as friends of Dave.

The photographers and the people who put together the memorial service did a fine job that has received compliments from across the country. Some of the compliments came from people who did not attend. The leaflet that was presented at the service did a lot to help us and our friends focus on Dave’s life and what he stood for. Thank you.

Our greatest thanks, of course, goes out to those of Dave’s friends who took the time to share their grief and sorrow at Dave’s misfortune and their grief of his passing. The people who took the time out to sit the vigil at the hospital while we waited for the word that life was over for him. Some of you even shared your homes with us and our family and friends during a very busy time in your community.

As we approach the anniversary of Dave’s passing, we are certain that although the pain is not as acute as it was then that you will remember with us all that he stood for and the wonderful life he shared with us all. We will miss him greatly and our burden of grief was lightened by the caring and concern poured out to us at that time and throughout the year.

Thank you for the memorial fund and our deepest thanks go out to all who contributed through the events and the contributions at the time of the memorial service. We hope the fund helps someone who finds themselves in similar circumstances in the future. Maybe a similar result may be avoided.

Last, but not least, we wish to acknowledge the side of your community that visitors seldom see. Your community is not just the crass, glitzy commercial venture so often portrayed in the media. Your community has soul. Bless all of you.

Logan Lake, B.C.

 

It appears there is some confusion regarding the budget for the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan project. We wish to ensure Whistler residents and taxpayers have full and accurate information. The figures listed below have been verified by the municipal finance department.

Expenditures from Jan. 1, 2002 through Dec. 31, 2003 were $936,784. This includes all fees for the proposal call, consultants, Web site and other communication and advertising materials, office operations and public participation sessions (events).

The total expenditure for project management, which was contracted out, from February 2002 through December 2003 was $333,393.27.

Internal costs (staff time, photocopying, etc.) is traditionally not costed out for any municipal project, and was not calculated in this project.

The total expenditure to date, therefore, is $1.27 million. The proposed 2004 budget for the CSP and the rewrite of the Official Community Plan is $207,000.

If there are any questions regarding the Comprehensive Sustainability Plan, please do not hesitate to contact Mike Vance, General Manager of Community Initiatives, at 604-935-8118, or mvance@whistler.ca

Diana Waltmann

Information Officer

Resort Municipality of Whistler

 

It seems we are fast approaching the half way point between municipal elections. That time between the honeymoon, and getting re-elected.

Maybe it’s time to gather up our dedicated elected officials and revisit the lofty goals and objectives we supported back in November 2002. Much has changed over the past 15 months.

We got the Olympics (yeah), and all the unknowns that go with it. Like Bill 75, the Significant Projects Streamlining Act.

The Canadian dollar is no longer such a great deal (some may remember when Suzanne Denbak warned us that we needed to be more competitive then just relying on the exchange rate). Businesses are scrambling to hang on, or re-invent themselves.

The Comprehensive Sustainability Plan (CSP) has gone from four main headings (Partnering for Whistler’s Success, Protecting Our Future, Building a Strong and Vibrant Community, and Enriching the Whistler Experience) to whether we build affordable housing in the valley, or go to the Callaghan. Which doesn’t sound so comprehensive anymore. I believe we need the housing, but what happened to all the other stuff?

I could go on, but the point is I wouldn’t mind sitting down with the mayor and councillors in a format similar to the WORCA all candidates meeting and hear directly how they feel about these changes. A forum away from Muni Hall means they don’t need to be in "decision making mode", they can be more casual and open discussing successes, challenges, and changes.

Is anyone else out there who thinks this might be a good (productive) idea?

Bob Lorriman

Whistler

 

So much tragedy, lives being lost. Whose fault is it? It’s a common syndrome in our society to search for blame outside ourselves for the terrible things that happen. It’s easy to fall into the trap of comfort that comes with "it’s not my fault", except it doesn’t do you much good if you’re hurt or dead. It takes great courage to look within and realize if you feel the effect, you are part of the cause, and take responsibility. I’d rather be responsible and alive than blameless and dead.

Signs, ropes, rules and policies can be helpful guidelines but ultimately every individual decides to act based on their own awareness. Sometimes we just don’t pay attention to what’s really going on here and now. Do authorities really believe that a sign on the highway is going to make people slow down? Reducing the speed limit may increase revenue from speeding tickets but only the nature of the road, and good sense, will slow drivers down. Right now authorities seem bent on improving the road so we can all go faster. Signs and ropes on the mountain don’t stop people from going places they’ve decided are going to be more fun than the beaten track, and there’s only one thing you can predict about avalanches; they happen.

Relying on outside authority to make our world safe, and trusting that we will be safe if we follow all the rules is not very smart. People make mistakes, not roads, not mountains, not nature. Lately there seem to be a lot of people making mistakes, deadly mistakes. We all know who we are, we all know what we’ve done. All the finger pointing is avoiding the lesson. We have to take responsibility for our own choices and decisions, for our own actions, for our own lives.

I will be thinking twice the next time I’m tempted to cross a dotted yellow line into oncoming traffic to pass someone on a two-lane section and I’ll be watching out for (and steering away from) anyone who’s passing coming towards me. I’ll be thinking twice the next time I’m tempted to take blind air and the next time I’m tempted by a powder field overhanging a cliff, no matter how safe someone else says it is. Just do your best out there and pay attention. Blame does not bring them back, give it up.

Leanne Lamour

Whistler

 

Today, for the first time, I drove passed the site of last week's deadly accident in Squamish that killed seven people. As I passed, I started thinking of the ways that this accident could have been avoided. I have long argued that a divided highway would help prevent accidents, and being on my way to Vancouver, started thinking about the upper levels highway. When I was a kid in the ’60s, I vividly remember that the Upper Levels highway was regarded as one of the deadliest in B.C. It wasn't like it is now; it was a winding snake similar to what we have now on the Sea to Sky.

As I progressed and made my way onto the Upper Levels today, I decided to look for and count impact points on the median between the two lanes. By impact points, I mean rubber smear marks. There were 15 of them between Horseshoe Bay and Taylor Way, and no doubt, years of weather erosion have removed dozens of others. Each of these rubber smear marks, in my opinion, represent 15 avoided collisions, and many lives saved. I have no memory of the Upper Levels ever being closed in both directions due to a collision since the ’70s, and I have lived in the area most of my life.

On CTV news the other night, somebody stated that putting cement barriers all along the highway would be prohibitively expensive. To my way of thinking, plunking down a bunch of cement barriers along the centre line must be less expensive (not to mention, more environmentally friendly) than grading, moving, re-routing, and blowing up giant chunks of cliff-face. And as an engineering challenge, constructing a barrier is only marginally more difficult and disruptive than painting fresh lines.

There is another compelling reason to divide the highway: it would prevent northbound drivers from illegally crossing the southbound lane to stop at the viewpoints along the canyon stretch. As a part-time professional driver, I have witnessed this dangerous manoeuvre on many occasions.

The Mayor of Squamish is proposing reducing the speed limit. He is off the mark. 80 km/h is a perfectly reasonable speed for this stretch of highway. Northbound drivers know that they have passed through the last of the traffic lights of Squamish, and have a clear, wide, arrow-straight stretch of road to accelerate along. And that's what all the cars do – get up to highway speed. Speed was not the issue in this accident; one of the cars involved crossed the yellow line.

I think a divided highway is the cheapest, safest solution for preventing head-on collisions.

Tim Allix.

Whistler

 

I have a question to ask the driver of the small bright blue car with the B.C. plates who was driving up the Sea to Sky Highway on Wednesday night, Feb. 5th.

Why do you feel that your time and needs are more important than the safety of others on the road ?

Why did you feel the need to pass me on the most windy section of the highway when:

a) It was a double yellow line and we were in the middle of a curve;

b) The recommended speed was 60 km/h and I was actually guilty

of driving closer to 80 km/h through that section;

c) We had just gone by a sign that said a passing lane would be available in

2 km?

If you know the highway that well and are that confident you should have know the passing lane was coming up very soon.

To me this is further evidence that it is not the safety of the actual road, but the attitude of the drivers on the road.

There has been enough pain and suffering in the last week, so again I simply ask you: Why? Was it worth it ?

Beth Fisher

Whistler

 

Blackcomb’s happiest employee

He never once complained about his job! He would awaken every day at the crack of dawn and pace mercilessly back and forth eager to get on with the day. Once he’d put his work jacket on, he could hardly contain his excitement. No-one loved their job more.

His day would begin like most Blackcomb employees; with a ride on the chair. You have probably seen him – sitting upright, chest puffed out, his eyes alert and alight with anticipation. What would the day bring? It didn’t particularly matter – a callout for a search, a training session to brush up on techniques, or even just a sweep of the mountain at the end of the day. As long as he was working he was happy.

I am sad to say that Blackcomb’s happiest employee passed away recently. His name was Bodhi. An Avalanche Rescue Dog by trade, he patrolled both here and in Switzerland. Truly gifted, he could find absolutely anything in snow. Once, when searching an avalanche site, Bodhi managed to find the only thing buried – a piece of plastic the size of a penny! I for one felt safer knowing that he was around.

Bodhi is sadly missed by his workmates at Blackcomb Patrol and all who were lucky enough to know him. Loved forever by his best friend Brian and new friend Finn.

Good-bye, awesome dog.

Abbie Finestone.

Whistler

 

On Jan. 29th the Whistler Adaptive Ski Program held a fundraiser at Hoz's Pub. Whistler is an incredible place, there are so many worthwhile causes here yet people and companies continue to help out. In addition to raising money and awareness about our program everyone had an awesome time.

We would like to say a special thanks to all the businesses that donated prizes and to everyone who attended. A heartfelt thanks to the Hair Farmers (Guitar Doug and Grateful Greg) who yet again came through to help another "cause" and to Ron Hosner for letting us hold our event at "his place".

Bob "Rocket" Richards & Kelly Lee-Richards

Whistler