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Father’s Day tourney a kick Although, the weather was cool and wet, the Lil’wat Youth Soccer Association Father’s Day weekend tournament June 18-19, 2005 was a success.

Father’s Day tourney a kick

Although, the weather was cool and wet, the Lil’wat Youth Soccer Association Father’s Day weekend tournament June 18-19, 2005 was a success. Teams came from Seabird Island, Chehalis, Scowlitz, North Shore (Squamish Nation — North Vancouver) Pemberton, Mount Currie (Lil’wat Nation) and N’Quatqua.

In total 28 teams with children/youth ages 4-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-16 and 17-21 participated. The number of children involved was over 420. Many moms and dads, family and friends enjoyed the games.

Alphonse Wallace, head coach said he was actually happy that it wasn’t sunny, and that the weather was just right. He also said "the tournament went well and thanks everyone who chipped in to help."

A lot of volunteer donations helped make this tournament a huge success. Parents of the Lil’wat Youth Soccer Association contribute hugely by way of volunteer coaching, clearing and lining of the fields, food donations for the concession, organizing concession, working in concession and year long fund raising.

Mount Currie Band Programs including NNADAP – alcohol and drug counselling program, Diabetes Prevention Program, Residential School Program, Tobacco Reduction Program all contributed. Thank you to the, N’Quatqua community (Anderson Lake Band) for their contributions.

The B.C. Council for Families will be awarding $100 toward this Father’s Day tournament.

The whole plan of the soccer association is to keep our children happy, active and healthy. This annual Father’s Day weekend tournament is something for us all to look forward to. Moms made a pancake breakfast on Sunday morning. With a little rest, planning and fundraising will start for the next year tournament. A big Thank you to all that volunteered their time to make this tournament a success.

Theresa A. Williams

Mount Currie

It takes a community

Mountains of thanks to everyone who donated their time and financial support to "Kids Love Camp" for Lyndsay and Mackenzie. Our fundraising exceeded our original goal! We’re not only sending them both to a camp this summer, but also adding a healthy amount to the trust set up for them by their grandma. This is truly an amazing community. The outpouring of love to these children truly touches the heart.

Special thanks to Shelly and Marilyn at The Bottle Depot, Bruce at Nesters, NSCU, Keith Bennett, Curtis Smith and Dawn at the RMOW, Pique Newsmagazine, Sabre Rentals, Lance at Home Hardware, Great Games and Toys, Cracked Pepper Café, Great Glass Elevator, The Re-Use It Centre, Mountain Paint, Bill our BBQ King, Peter, Darel, Cathy, Dawna, Eva, Gerhard, Carmen and Molly’s Grandpa who worked tirelessly at the car wash, Mr. Reimer’s Grade 6 class who made signs and posters, collected bottles and washed cars — you guys ROCK! Julie Kelly and the Pemberton kids who had a bottle drive, too! Carmen for her great big Sponge Bob signs, and the absolute mountain of bottles collected in Emerald Estates!

Thank you, thank you, thank you all. It’s true that it takes a community to raise a child.

Deanna White

Whistler

 

SHES PAC could use input

A recent article about a Pemberton retailers displeasure with Signal Hill Elementary School’s Parent Advisory Committee’s decision to partner with a Burnaby school supplies packager was misrepresentative of my commitment to local retailers. As many of my friends will confirm, I am an ardent promoter and supporter of local businesses. A vibrant local economy necessitates that the "downtown" of Pemberton is successful. Certainly the family operated Pharmacy has done much to improve the face of the corner it occupies and I think all retailers and residents alike appreciate their efforts.

Pemberton Valley businesses offer a wide variety of products at fair prices. The mention of the location of Teaching Things was meant to demonstrate that we were not shopping off shore or out of province. With the blessing of Paperworks to take on the school supplies packaging, it was felt that there would be a transfer of business and perhaps attract those who have chosen to travel outside of the valley to purchase school supplies in past years. I have heard many comments to this effect. It isn’t just about prices, though, it is the convenience of the package.

What truly disappoints me is a two-page spread about what is really a moot point if the PAC is really just taking over a "niche" market of school supply bundling. What deserves the attention of readers are the activities of the PAC in support of the students of Signal Hill. SHES PAC struggles with low attendance of parents at nearly all monthly meetings. While an offer of money or product by retailers would surely be put to good use, attendance at a meeting or two would do more to foster alliances within the community.

The many successes of the PAC include funding for such things as uniforms for sports teams and choirs, playground equipment, cultural and fine arts events as well as participation in the School Planning Council. In attendance at regular monthly PAC meetings are both the principal and the local school trustee.

The principal keeps the PAC informed of upcoming events and candid discussions about school policy and activities are the norm and have included such things as traffic congestion at drop off and pick up, duration of "eating" time at lunch, ease of identification of "duties" on the playground, as well as modifications to the school calendar; the local school trustee updates the PAC with news from the school district.

Members of the PAC are simply parents of students. A successful PAC needs participation of parents. Decisions made by the PAC are voted upon by an executive that is elected or reconfirmed annually. At the last meeting of the year four parents (three executive) were in attendance and two announced their departure. The first meeting of the new school year of the SHES PAC will be in the second week of September; any parent of a student attending SHES is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Anne West

Pemberton

Viewed through 2020

I attended the informative open house hosted by the RMOW last weekend to see first hand what Whistler 2020 is all about. I found the open house helpful because it answered alot of questions I had defining what a sustainable community really is. In particular, I was able to better formulate an opinion on the debate surrounding large retail outlets in Whistler.

According to the Whistler 2020 vision, large retail chains don't conform to sustainable and affordable practices. People have been misinformed that having large retail chains will benefit the community by making it more affordable. Large retail stores typically hire staff at the lowest wages possible to keep their pricing low as well. How are these low wage earners going to afford living in Whistler? They won't. We would be putting more people on the road to Squamish and Pemberton, making a current problem even worse. Shopping at a large retail outlet doesn't support a "buy local culture."

Expanding the Whistler card program will allow people to buy local and increase the volume of local retailers and help them keep their prices lower. One of the local bike shops is currently offering discounts to locals to the point where its much cheaper than if I went to the city. Vancouver pricing isn't necessarily affordable either.

In the long run, buying locally keeps the income distribution in the community and we will all benefit from that. Increasing the square footage of retail stores will be offset in the market by shuttering the smaller store fronts in the village. Take a drive through any old Main Street in a small town and you'll see lots of papered up windows while WalMart is thriving across town.

The retail environment in Whistler Village is special and needs to be treated accordingly. Allowing large retail chains will actually make Whistler less affordable and sustainable and is a direct contradiction of the Whistler 2020 plan as laid out by the RMOW.

Toby Salin

Whistler

Persuading CN

This letter was addressed to Prime Minister Paul Martin and Premier Gordon Campbell. A copy was forwarded to Pique.

The Pemberton Valley Trails Association is a group of dedicated volunteers attempting to improve the trail system in this valley for recreational and commuter use, both for local and tourism opportunities.

A situation has come up with CN Rail, and we are asking for the assistance of your office to help us solve the problem.

The Village of Pemberton and the Mount Currie Village, populated by members of the Lil’wat First Nation, are two communities that are only physically 6 km apart but much further than that from many other perspectives. We have agreed to try and build the Friendship Trail together in order to link the two villages, as part of a concerted effort by the two communities to improve communication and recreational opportunities in order to promote healthy living. A document outlining these proposals can be seen by clicking on "Winds of Change" at www.pemberton.ca/pages/news/index .

It is the fervent belief of many of us that this community co-operation has the potential to serve as a positive model for many other similarly divided communities across Canada.

The trail is proposed to follow the easiest and most direct route, which mostly would be within the right of way of the CN line. This would also provide legal access to many popular trails used by both locals and tourists, currently mostly using illegal accesses.

This trail could also form part of the Sea to Sky Trail, which is in the planning stages to run from Squamish to D’arcy, to provide an epic tourist destination route within this corridor.

The initial response from CN has been completely negative as outlined in their reply to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District of June 15 th , 2005. This is the normal first response from all bureaucracies to this type of request but there are hundreds of kilometres and miles of rails with trails in Canada and the U.S. that operate safely and successfully. I would direct you to some discussion of how to make this work at www.americantrails.org/resources/railtrails/index.html .

Mr. Dallas notes in his letter that there were 46 deaths and 21 serious injuries last year. I would suggest that this is an appalling failure of current policy and that merely to continue sending out the rail police with ticketbooks is not going to solve the problem. We have many constructive suggestions on how to improve the safety of railtrails in our area, that could also be used elsewhere to reduce this number of incidents.

We had discussed parts of this plan, that is building a safe crossing of the Lillooet River using the existing rail bridge, previously. Mr. Carabetta of B.C. Rail Engineering replied in December 2002 with an outline of how this crossing could be built, but discussions stopped during the period of transition to CN.

We would also like to point out that the rail bed is still owned by the people of this province, through B.C. Rail Company, and that we believe that gives us the right to have CN forced to discuss this, even if they remain reluctant.

We should also note that BCRC Properties is attempting to rezone several properties in the area and will have to go to public hearings in order to obtain full value in the disposal of these assets. I don’t believe that the public will support any such proposal as long as "the railroad" is handing out trespassing tickets instead of having meaningful discussions.

There are many ways to solve this in a manner satisfactory to all, if CN is willing to talk about how to, instead of how not to, make it work in a constructive manner that improves public service and safety. If the CN response is only bringing forward the threat of the CN Police as a means of enforcing illogical and counter-productive laws then this matter has the potential to quickly deteriorate into a messy political situation, with the likelihood of harm to everyone involved.

We look forward to your prompt response to help move this issue towards a solution.

Rod MacLeod

Chair, Pemberton Valley Trails Association

Tax revolt at Tantalus

This letter was addressed to the mayor and council of the Resort Municipality of Whistler. A copy was forwarded to Pique.

By now I am sure you have received many letters from the owners of the Tantalus Lodge concerning the taxation classification that is so outrageous that it appears to be a punitive measure of some sort. My fellow owners have brought to your attention the fact that we pay more of our net income to you than we pocket. A Class 6 classification for what is basically a family-oriented, 25-year-old lodge is ludicrous. As a resident in the Lower Mainland I can show you a hundred examples of Vancouver West Side homes valued at a million dollars that are paying less tax for more services.

You and the council may counter my arguments by saying that the value of the property has gone up. Yes, it has. I bought it for $145,000 in 1995 and it has been appraised today (and I mean in the last two weeks) at $450,000. No unit has sold for more. This increase is substantial but doesn’t even compare to the rise in prices in Vancouver over the same period. So, Whistler is no more special than any place else as far as market value is concerned, so that should not be used to club us over the head every time we raise concerns over the property tax we have to pay.

You have the power to remedy this situation. We are powerless other than possessing the democratic right to challenge this travesty. You can do the right thing and reclassify us. We are long-time supporters of Whistler who take pride in having one management team, the Delta, run our operation with the utmost care and compassion for our owners and guests. We are not running shell companies, dual sign-ins or any other type of scam to beat the taxman. We are at the forefront of customer satisfaction surveys and have one of the highest occupancy rates in the village. This is good for us but it’s great for you. The Tantalus runs an honest operation that reflects well on the municipality. By maintaining the Class 6 classification you are in effect telling us to lie, cheat and steal.

Like most British Columbians (especially Whistlerites), I was excited when the 2010 Olympics were announced. And like many of the Tantalus owners I was only too happy to give up my unit for the weeks previous to and during the Olympics and Paralympics even though it meant we would probably make half the income we could. It also meant that I would watch the Olympics from home on my television but I felt it was important for the Olympic Committee to secure reasonably priced accommodation for officials, the press and the athletes.

In yesterday’s paper, concern was voiced that not enough owners in Whistler have committed to surrendering their units for the Olympics. So, once again, the call goes out to us to help you out. Well, I’m done helping out. I am taking my unit out of the pool and will book it for the whole time the event is on. I will rent it out myself at what I’m sure will be absolutely outrageous prices and I encourage every owner of a Class 6 lodge to do the same. I know this may sound spiteful, mean-spirited and counter-productive to the Olympics. The Olympic Committee has my sincerest apologies. But I have paid tens of thousands in unwarranted taxes, as have my fellow owners, and it is now up to the city council to show Class 6 lodge-owners and myself the impropriety of my proposed action by remedying the impropriety of their property tax classification.

Peter Katsionis

Owner, 402 Tantalus Lodge

Some manners

I would like to share with you what my 12-year-old son told us at the dinner table the other night. "Mum and Dad, I don’t think that I will ride up the chair in the singles line at the Bike Park anymore." We asked, "Why?" "Because the people I’m riding up with are smoking joints on the chair." I sez "Pardon? They are smoking joints on the chair they are sharing with you?" "Yes."

Wow, it is absolutely astonishing that people could be so ill mannered to do such a thing. Do these people light up in front of Grade 6 kids in their town? Are there towns where this is considered acceptable behaviour? It is bad enough that kids who ride the gondola know from an early age what that funny smell is – at least the smokers weren’t sitting right beside them whilst doing this. Now that barrier has been broken. My kids see people walking in the village or sitting in front a café smoking. We’ve even shared that experience at Alpha Lake Park and Rainbow Park – one blanket away! Will all our athletes test positive at the next Olympics? The second hand smoke is getting a bit thick.

I hate to even mention the unimaginative lexicon that we get to hear every day. It apparently is acceptable, in the towns from which many of our residents originate, to use the "F" word generously.

Here’s a word – respect. Please respect the other people that live here – especially the kids! It may be considered perfectly normal to smoke pot and swear with children in your home community, but it ain’t here – so don’t.

Excruciatingly correctly yours,

Miss Manners

(aka C. Jewett)

Whistler

Soccer a team game

Another great year of play for the Whistler Youth Soccer Club just w rapped up with a fantastic year end BBQ which was highlighted with, great food – supplied by the ever loyal local store, Nesters, skills games for the young ones, a speed gun to test the speed of your shot hosted by our RCMP officer Stephen Wright, certificates and awards for all our players, a game between the senior girls and the junior players, and the feature game between the senior boys team and the coaches/parents team. Note: the coaches won. It was a great afternoon.

Our club is so grateful to all our players, parents, coaches, administrator Linda McGaw, and executive who contribute many hours to make soccer a viable and affordable sport in Whistler. Special thanks have to go to Ailsa Spicer for taking on the job of Referee Coordinator, a new position and duty that she took on with the utmost professional ability.

The club is also indebted to the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation for their funding this year that allowed us to buy some much needed equipment and the special 3-a-side soccer goals, the Resort Municipality of Whistler – Community Enrichment Fund – that allowed us to develop a web page (www.whistlersoccer.com) that aids in communication, registration and scheduling of games in the club, to Paul Bestherwick’s staff for all their hard work, keeping the fields in great shape, and to our neighbouring communities, Squamish and Pemberton, for engaging in creative thought to provide competitive games for all of our children for years to come. Soccer has truly become a Sea to Sky sport.

Whistler Youth Soccer Club will continue to strive to improve and meet the needs of coaches, young referees and players for years to come. Thank you ever so much again to all – this community rocks!

Oh and please hand in your uniforms.   Andrée Janyk, B.Sc., M.Sc.

President, WVSC

Where there’s smoking…

Despite the weather here in Pissler, the Skins Game was a fantastic event and a real thrill to see the pros hit the shots I can only dream about hitting. Jack Nicklaus proved once again his legendary status as the greatest golfer ever as well as being a real class act. I couldn’t believe the amount of time he took to sign as many autographs as he could. I know the fans really appreciate his efforts both on and off the course.

The course was in amazing shape and the staff and volunteers deserve credit for doing a tremendous job considering the weather and the crowds.

The only problem I found was the decision to sell cigars at this event. It’s funny to me that the only people who seem to smoke cigars are the arrogant, cocky, city slickers with the personal philosophy that no one matters but themselves. They always have that same stupid "look at me I know I’m pissing everyone off with this ridiculous thing" look on their face. There is a reason that they make special enclosed rooms for you to smoke those things. They stink, they’re offensive and harmful to you and everyone around you.

The whole idea of smoking cigars seems insane to me. Since you don’t inhale the smoke you think that it’s not harmful or addictive? Nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco, is absorbed through the lining of the mouth. If you don’t care about yourself, how about the people around you, including the many children at this event? Secondhand smoke from cigars contains many of the same poisons and cancer-causing agents as cigarette smoke but in higher concentrations. Some of the toxins and carcinogens include carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, benzene, chromium and arsenic. Cigar tobacco has a high concentration of nitrogen compounds and during smoking these compounds give off some of the most potent human carcinogens known.

With what we now know about the harmful affects of smoking and secondhand smoke I don’t understand why people smoke or why you would encourage cigar smoking at this great family event.

Tim Gorgichuk

Whistler

Getting a kick

We would like to thank the organizers and coaches for making the spring TIMBITS soccer a fantastic weekly event for our kids (and the families too)! It was wonderful to see so many kids out there running around having a ball learning new skills. A special thanks and appreciation to David Demers and PJ O'Heaney for their leadership, patience, and tremendous enthusiasm for the development of all the kids. Looking forward to the fall!

Liz & Dave Brownlie

Whistler