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Power of the people After recently returning from an extended period away from Whistler I was thrilled to be able to once again utilize the vast network of trails for running and biking.

Power of the people

After recently returning from an extended period away from Whistler I was thrilled to be able to once again utilize the vast network of trails for running and biking. I also have the luxury, once again, of working within biking distance of my home – something I did everyday weather permitting.

So you can imagine my disappointment yesterday when I left work to ride my bike home to discover that my trusty steed was gone. Now we are not talking a brand new top of the line mountain bike here, it’s a 14-year-old stranger to suspension, gear sticking, wobbly back wheel, bottom of the barrel clunker.

Why anyone in their right mind – or any mind for that matter – would see the need to steal this bike is beyond me. After the initial shock, then the outright rage, I realized that I was partially to blame for not locking the bike up. That being said, in the 12 years we have lived in Whistler I have never locked my bike and – call me a fool and naïve – but I was hoping that this community was immune to this sort of event. Was I to blame for not locking my bike up or did the person (I use that term in its loosest sense), who obviously had a greater need than I for the bike, bear some responsibility?

After much thought reviewing my options – right it off to experience, kick the cat in frustration (except we don’t have a cat), swear yell and generally get stressed out about it or… maybe I could ensure that this bike thieving individual did not have the pleasure of using my bike either.

So through the power of the Internet and digital photography I have circulated a picture of my bike to every person I know in Whistler – and trust me after 12 years that is a few. I have asked them to be on the lookout for my bike and that they forward the e-mail on to at least two friends. I calculate that within a week over 1,000 people will have the picture and description of my bike. If that does not make the pond scum who stole my bike stop using it then it will at least make them very nervous.

For those of you who will not receive the e-mail with picture please be on the lookout for a no suspension, bright yellow Giant Iguana circa 1991, with purple seat post pack, purple handle bar extensions, plastic back tire rain guard, seat with most of the cover falling off, wobbly back wheel, blue water bottle cage, plastic pump attachment, foot cages on the pedals, the right one held on by wire.

Through the power of the people I believe (more so than I did that it would not get stolen in the first place) that my bike will be returned – or at the very least no one other than me will be riding it !

If the person responsible feels the need to return the bike it can be left from where it was taken, no questions asked.

Mark Lamming

Whistler

Bike thieves be scared

Sept. 22, 2005 started off as a normal day of biking and just hanging out with friends, when word reached us that they had arrested two people who stole a bike from the base of the mountain less then an hour before. Not only was this fantastic news, everyone was talking about it and a lot of people made comments like, "good thing we didn’t catch them." All summer we have been hearing about bike thieves taking bikes, in some cases almost right from people’s hands when they just set them down and turned their back.

When we spend a huge amount of money on a mountain bike, it isn’t because we are rich and like to blow our money on expensive toys, but because mountain biking is an attractive sport that is a lifestyle for some or a hobby for others – and in many cases it’s a big investment of savings.

I hope pictures of these alleged thieves are released so that Whistler, being a strong biking community, can give them the lack of respect they deserve.

Joe Christopher Bishope

Whistler

Localism good or bad

In 1984 being a local meant collecting UI and going skiing everyday.

Skiing was a dying sport, only affordable to the wealthy, cowboy hat-wearing populace. Locals revelled in how their beat up old double chairs were becoming less and less crowded and lineups were non-existent. This was the life! Government-subsidized skiing. What a great future.

Money was leaving the valley and in a couple of years the lifts would have fallen down. Only a crazy person would invest in Whistler; it rains all the time, it’s too close to the city so that you will never have any feeling of exclusivity.

Luckily a little company came to town and invested in new lifts and, being new guys on the block, totally ruined it for the locals. Suddenly there was work and the new ski area was easy to get to, so anyone could ski there. The end was truly here.

But at least we still had our old mountain where we could cling onto the past with our skinny skis and difficult runs. Surely this new resort was just a fad, because anyone can ski those nice easy big runs on short skis.

Remember, we were all once the new guy in this town and the locals will always be trying to kill our fun.

Doug Lundgren

Whistler (best place in the world)

Shared medical frustrations

I share the local medical communities’ concerns regarding the lack of funding for services north of Squamish (Doctors Frustrated with VCHA priorities, Pique, Sept. 29).

This is yet another system I view as broken. Decisions are based on skewed statistics rather than common sense. Most of us have experienced the over-capacity and under serviced medical centre. We have also witnessed some severe accidents, resulting in heli-vacs or transfers to the city. These situations are not cost-effective. If we invite the world to our world-class resort we must also provide the necessary equipment and services should anyone require medical attention.

As a proud Canadian I share the popular view that medical services should be 100 per cent publicly funded. Lack of funding undermines this ideal, forcing people to seek private treatment. Although our B.C. MED is subsidized it is not free, as in some other provinces. Even the excellent extended coverage I seasonally receive from my employer does not cover homeopathic, herbal and holistic medicine.

Health issues in our family have become challenging logistically, financially and emotionally, partly because of lack of services and funding. I support the doctors in their need for diagnostic equipment here such as CT scans, ultrasound and MRI. These are all services we have needed recently and have had to endure long wait times, and costly and inconvenient trips to the city. When a loved one is faced with a medical situation attention is required "here and now." Financial and political concerns (even sinking condos) become less significant. Therefore, in this case, I would support a "public-private" diagnostic facility here.

Mike Roger

Whistler/Birken

Any connection?

I am currently reading a very interesting book. I won’t bother telling you the title because apparently there are only two copies in the country so I am reasonably sure that most of you haven’t heard of it. Unless you are Swiss, then I know for sure you haven’t heard of it because it has apparently been banned in that country. However, I will tell you that I have just finished Chapter Four which is called How to Buy Planning Permission. This chapter deals with the various conflicts of interest councils often find themselves in when developing local land and how they often serve the needs of the land developers and not the needs of the community they are supposed to serve.

Anyway, my point here has nothing to do with politicians or any land developers. It has to do with a small fact provided in this chapter which was referenced from some research conducted by Dr. Ian Roberts, Director of the Child Health Monitoring Unit at the Institute for Child Health, Great Ormand Street Hospital in London England. To plagiarize a bit of his research which was printed in the book I am reading, he states that one of the primary reasons a child in England of the lower social class is five times more likely to be hit by an automobile than a child in the upper social class is due to the fact that the wealthy tend to move farther from highways and leave the poor to live with the noise and pollution. These areas also have lower real-estate markets and are therefore where many social housing projects are located.

Those sorts of developments haven’t been occurring in the Sea to Sky corridor with any recently built staff accommodation projects such as 19 Mile or other entry-level townhouses like those around the gas stations in Pemberton, have they?

Bjorn Gimse

Victoria

Valuing pets and pet care

In last week’s Pique, there was an article about an attempted theft of a dog in Pemberton. This article indicated that dogs are available for free from WAG. I would like to take this opportunity to correct that statement.

WAG operates an animal shelter and places animals up for adoption. WAG does charge an adoption fee for every animal. The adoption fee only partially offsets our veterinary bills for each animal. All WAG animals are spayed and neutered prior to adoption, given first vaccinations, dewormed, and given any other necessary medical treatment.

Many animals must be treated for fleas, lice, mange, and other parasites. They are often malnourished, abused or neglected. In some cases, an animal may cost WAG hundreds or thousands of dollars in veterinary care in order to bring them back to health.

In addition to helping WAG cover our costs, adoption fees are designed to prevent the impulse acquisition of a pet and ensure that a new guardian is prepared for the financial commitment of caring for an animal. The adoption fee is still a bargain for adopting families as the costs of spaying and neutering, deworming, vaccinations etc. add up to significantly more money should they have to incur those costs themselves.

WAG is a unique organization that operates quite differently from other shelter and rescue groups. We focus on finding the best match for animals and new families. Our application process can take anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks and involves references checks, interviews, and sometimes a foster period. Our goal is to find our animals a life-long home that is not only loving but responsible.

We also share in the frustration of having animals stolen from our shelter.

In August we also had an attempted theft of a dog. (Our thanks to an RMOW Bylaw Officer for thwarting this abduction.) In September someone broke into our kennel area and damaged fences, gates and dog houses. I am also reminded of a dog that was stolen from outside of a coffee shop in Whistler Village last year. It is disheartening that there are people who would commit crimes against a charity and animals.

Tips for preventing pet abduction include ensuring that your animals are wearing ID (rabies tag and dog license at the very least) and tattooing and/or microchiping your pet as this is a way to permanently ID your cat or dog. Hopefully dog owners can learn from Ms. Sanderson’s near miss with heartbreak and avoid leaving their dogs unattended in public places.

Carol Coffey

Shelter Director

Whistler Animals Galore (WAG)

Recipe for a beautiful Pemberton spring

Ingredients:

15 Rotarians and their friends, children and significant others

34 pairs of gloves

20 shovels

6 trowels

1 wheelbarrow, all under the command of one Landscape Gardener, France Lamontagne.

3,000 bulbs of irises and daffodils, donated by the Pemberton Centennial Rotary Club

4 hours of sunshine on the second last day of September

topsoil donated by Cam McIvor and Terrane

coffees donated by Serge Côté and the Shell Gas Station

dump-truck and delivery services volunteered by Peter Vandenberg

advice and enthusiasm from landscaping expert, Robert Meilleur

moral support and the loan of  "Rotary at Work" signs from Stephanie Matches and the Whistler Rotary Club.  Simmer at cool temperatures for 5 months.

Serve with onset of spring. Enjoy throughout Pemberton, from the entrance sign, to the Gateway sign, to the roundabout, to the gas plant.  Sitting in our famous Pemberton earth are now more bulbs than there are Pemberton Village residents above the ground. We hope our guerrilla gardening efforts bring as much joy to the community when they blossom, as we gained from the planting. Our target is to plant 5 bulbs per person!

The Pemberton Centennial Rotary Club