Michel Beaudry`s interviews with Myles Rademan in the last two issues of the Pique, come at an opportune time. The much anticipated Community Meeting with VANOC is coming up Tuesday, June 17 at Millennium Place, 5-8 p.m. I can`t say that I favour the “Open House” format, which if you recall was the same style that we had for the “Skating Rink Open House”. It does allow more people to get their questions answered, but in the case of the skating rinks, there was a baffling display and private conversations which left an impression of — divide and conquer.
As someone who is very involved in public education, I have anticipated the announcement of a signed contract between the School District 48 and VANOC, for use of facilities. I haven’t heard any news. A couple of months ago I attended a “Schools on the Road to 2010” workshop which included staff from most school districts in the GVRD and Fraser Valley as well as representatives from VANOC and the Ministry of Education. The keynote speaker was Nancy Deford, the Superintendent of Schools for Park City during the 2002 Olympic Games. It was uplifting to hear what a great experience the Games were for the community and as Myles Rademan says “the Olympic Experience grows”, fear is replaced by fun.
I have heard, but have not seen the actual plans, that our elementary aged children will have programming in place to allow working parents to report for work when children are out of school during the Games.
Ms. Deford said that the contract between the school board and SLOC allowed the school district to hire someone to help them with the Olympic education and planning. SLOC provided 5,000 tickets for students, many of which were for medal events. There was enough money to pay teachers and hire buses to take students to these events and when the Games were over, create simple legacy projects to celebrate the memories students had of this once in a life time event. Rademan’s maxim that sponsors are fickle proved to be a boon to Park City students when Coca Cola provided 3,500 tickets for students, just prior to the 2002 Games. Every student had the ability to see at least three events.
There is so much potential for our students to not only see events, gain work or volunteer experience but also other possible educational benefits during the Olympic Games. Nancy had so many great ideas to help us get “beyond the poster contest”. I hope that we see a lot of community members out to the public meeting next Tuesday. There are many questions that people would like to have answered and many ideas to make these the best Olympic Games ever.
See you next Tuesday!
Cathy Jewett
Whistler
Chamber taking pro-active approach
While Bob Barnett is right in pointing out that "(it) isn't anyone's job to present opportunities to people in the Sea to Sky corridor or to answer all their concerns" (Pique Opening Remarks June 5), the Whistler Chamber has been actively communicating 2010 business opportunities.
Since 2006 we have been providing 2010 business information regularly. For the last five months we have been holding two to three 2010 related info sessions per month. This has been a combination of luncheons, workshops and informal 2010 roundtable discussions. Our luncheons sell out easily, but we see only moderate interest in workshops and in drop-in discussions. Why is that? Have we satisfied all the local information needs? Do our local businesses have their ducks in a row already?
I encourage everybody to check out the www.whistlerchamber.com website. It's loaded with information, links and resources. Check out the tools we developed for 2010: the commercial space matching program, the business directory with advanced search tools and the "Bid for Business" page. Members, be sure that all of your key employees receive our e-mail broadcasts so they have access to upcoming information.
In January we had Mark Lewis from JetSet Sports speak at a chamber luncheon. He encouraged businesses to get organized NOW. Come September 2008, Jet Set and other Olympic hospitality providers, will be shopping around for the best value in F&B, corporate gifts, unique activities and much more! "If you don't have your plans in place soon, you might be losing out," Mark said. Local businesses will still be able to benefit from last minute opportunities, but the bulk of contracts will be negotiated starting this fall after the Beijing Games.
If your ducks are in a row, good for you! If not, use the next three months wisely. Use your local resources: apart from the Whistler Chamber, Scott Riley, Karen Peddie or Betty McLeod from the Royal Bank, a national sponsor of the 2010 Games, can provide you with in-depth help.
Look for the Chamber at VANOC's next open house on June 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. at MY Place. Take every opportunity to find out what kind of products and services will be needed in 2010 and how you can prepare.
Last week Rob Arthurs, Manager of the 2010 Business Opportunities with the 2010 Commerce Centre, called the Whistler Chamber the most innovative and pro-active chamber he knows in the province. We take this compliment as a challenge: Let us know how we can help your business. Share your hopes as well as your concerns with us so we can continue to work pro-actively on behalf of our local business community. We don't have all the answers but we can find out who does and pass on the information when we have it.
Don't expect opportunities to be presented to you. In a market economy you have to look for them. Don't be shy and involve your local support system.
Mechthild (Mecki) Facundo
Manager, Whistler Chamber of Commerce
Off track in 21 st century
In my 20 plus year of residency in Whistler I have seen that this is a thoughtful and forward-looking community. We have led in placing a cap on the number of beds, in making various bold attempts to better house employees, to arrest and modify developments that are seen as being environmentally damaging. We were the first community to become part of the Natural Step, and we have used this template to create Whistler 2020.
Whistler 2020, puts forth a sort of manifesto of what is important to Whistler. It defines just what is the “Whistler cachet”. Within some of the task forces you can find statements to the effect that we should be involved in helping the rest of the world come to a better understanding of sustainability and ecology. Some would go as far as saying that one of the big opportunities of 2010 will be in showcasing our attempts to walk the talk.
The global community is in the midst of the fastest and largest paradigm shift seen in our lifetime, and thus in history. Much of the world has moved in about four years from a place where the vast majority of citizens and a bigger majority of leaders thought climate change was bogus or at least not man caused, to a place where even former doubters are on side. At the management level, business as usual, benign neglect, encouraging any kind of proposal promising growth and money, are all seen as woefully inadequate, and are starting to be seen as irresponsible and liable for legal action. At the personal level the squandering of fossil fuel is already becoming socially less acceptable (note the graffiti on SUVs in Europe) and will most probably become more so.
For the last eight years I have served with a committed group of Whistlerites on the Forest and Wildlands Advisory Committee, an advisory board that makes recommendations to council on issues affecting our backcountry. As such we look at every recreational lease applied for in the corridor. We have seen no application from Whistler All Terrain Vehicles to change their modus operandi.
Last Thursday’s papers invite (!!) us to come to the opening of an “off-road Go Cart track in the Callaghan.” It openly shows folk literally tearing up the track in 250 cc machines. Their lease application makes no mention of a Go Cart track; they have a permit to conduct guided tours on ATVs. This new advancement is a clear violation of that arrangement.
There are a handful of snowmobile and ATC companies in the valley. Some are no doubt more environmentally responsible than others. For others, even if attempts to influence their leases with the provincial government fail, at least the council has control of their business licenses.
This sort of business makes a mockery of Whistler 2020, the work that went into it, and the opportunity to showcase our cachet. Whether you are a resident or a tourist just don’t go to this one. If you are involved in tourism marketing promote a business that can make us proud — there are lots of them.
Alan G. Whitney
Chair, The Forest and Wildlands Advisory Committee to the RMOW
Oversensitivity or misunderstanding?
I feel a strong need respond to the letter in last week’s paper "Profiling doesn't fit," which was in response to a letter I had written the previous week.
The accusations in this letter are harsh and they couldn't be further from the truth. We here in Whistler open our arms to people from all around the world and from all races on a daily basis. So when someone misunderstands my letter and accuses me of "equating an entire ethnic race to thugs or gangsters...," it hurt. I did not equate an entire race at all. I merely stated my observations of the evening the same way newspapers around the world do everyday.
A statement of fact is not an accusation. For instance, if we in Whistler had a problem with robotic cyber dogs with laser eyes, or square dancing squirrels terrorizing our citizens in the village on long weekends, we would not discriminate against all dogs and squirrels, only hope that the police would check in on the robotic dogs and square dancing squirrels that fit the "profile" (a commonly used word in police terminology with no racial implications) and persuade them to take their troubles elsewhere.
So when there are large groups of people, red, black, yellow, blue, green or brown, that fit the "profile" of the trouble makers in our town, that don't have a speck of sports equipment in the car or a place to stay, perhaps we could nip the problem in the bud... somehow?... that's all I meant. Not once in my letter did I say "racially profile", so I would thank you to not put words in my mouth and attempt to label me as a racist.
"Profiler" Thom
Whistler
Language piques
I'm fairly sure that unless there is some language editing in future issues of the Pique, I will not be reading one again. It is now to the point that I can't really risk our seven-year-old reading it. How sad is that?
Firstly, as we all know, those girls pictured on the for sale ads aren't likely the girls to show up at your doorstep. Do we really need the pictures then?
Secondly, I realize that the word douchebag doubles as a literary word and a slang word. Neither are really appropriate to use in our local paper. Is this an article to be proud of?
Thirdly, and most embarrassing to read and to show our guests to Whistler, did we really have to print the "C" word as well as the “N” word and others, albeit a quote from a book, but did we have to print it? And to boot, two pages before the picture of Suzie Howe, one of our most beloved teachers, with six first-graders.
I do worry that our daughter will pick this up and ask for explanations. I don't particularly want to read this type of article either. And certainly I would be embarrassed to show it to any of my visiting guests, especially my mother who arrives July 14th. Would you show this to your mother?
Beverly Lucas
Whistler
Remembering a flower
This letter is not about dog owners who don’t give a dog’s shit. I abstained from foolish thoughts in 2006. I’ve come close to relapses, once this winter after seeing myriad piles of dog shit at the Tapley’s end of the valley; and again when reminded the first signs of spring in Emerald are the countless piles of dog shit appearing in the receding snow banks.
After an owner let his dog trash my tulips I came close to suggesting the muni remind residents in writing Whistler is a leash dog community; but I recalled the impact of the ‘letter’ they have posted. It reads “Dogs must be leashed.” Just in case, under these words there is a graphic of a person walking a leashed dog. If their dogs could reach that high some owners would have them piss on it.
No, this letter is about flowers. In efforts to protect mine I have given loose dog owners the cold shoulder, the hot glare and the loud shout. At my half-wit’s end, to frighten them I shout at dogs and swing tools, partly naked when really desperate. This year I have laid down spike strips hoping a few flat paws would be a deterrent.
Yet, I have failed. Last Sunday I found the head of a petunia crushed at the bottom of hole made by the paw of a dog whose owner doesn’t care. That said, I just wanted to remember the flower.
Doug Barr
Whistler
Douchebag Redux
YOU: Walking the Valley Trail between Alpha and Rainbow Lakes Saturday at 3:35 p.m., blithely ignoring warning signs and public safety.
ME: Riding behind my friend in the opposite direction on an open, flat stretch. Some 50 metres after passing you a dog quite unexpectedly jumps out of the brush on our side of the trail. My friend swerves to avoid it and brakes hard. I see him braking and start to brake; that’s when the dog I don’t know is there — your dog — runs between his rear tire and my front. I have a nanosecond to react to avoid killing the dog; hammering the brakes I stand the bike up on its nose and fall straight down on my head with nothing to break the fall. I knock myself out, coming to with a split helmet, glasses broken in half, ringing ears and blurred vision. I’ve also smashed and scraped my right shoulder, back, hip, knee, elbow, wrist, and hammered the base of my left hand and pulled my left quad. No broken bones but hours in the hospital in a neck brace and many x-rays later I leave with a sweet concussion and rekindled awareness of Whistler’s severe dog + idiot problem.
YOU: Did not apologize and had the nerve to suggest my friend and I could have avoided your unleashed mutt.
ME: When I find out who you are — and I will — I intend to present you with a bill for a new helmet, a $500 pair of glasses and whatever physiotherapy for my neck and shoulder is going to cost. Thanks for a great weekend.
Leslie Anthony
Whistler
Gems proposal a jewel
Just a quick note to let you know that I am fully behind the proposed Gems Private School in Pemberton. This is a fantastic project that should be supported on every level. What a wonderful opportunity for this community! The jobs this school will create through its construction and ongoing operation, not to mention an inflow of new families here bringing cash to the community, will bring huge benefits to this valley. My family and I wholeheartedly support this private school being built in Pemberton.
Dean Linnell
Pemberton
A slippery descent
Thanks to G.D. Maxwell for touching on the often misunderstood
subject of Peak Oil. This letter may be of interest to those either unfamiliar
with or unconvinced of this particular phenomenon.
Firstly, Peak Oil does not mean that "we are running out
of oil." It simply means that global oil production reaches a
"peak" after which it begins a terminal decline. Whether it's the
production from an individual well, a field, a region or the planet itself, the
pattern is the same.
The problem lies in the fact that we are at or near this peak
and no manna from heaven energy source — as G.D. put it — is
forthcoming, nor are the existing alternative energies scalable to current
levels of consumption — even if they are actually efficient.
How do we know we are near the peak? Consider a few hard,
cold facts: Global demand has increased seven fold over the last 50 years due
to population growth and industrial expansion and continues to do so. Worldwide
consumption now stands at 85 million barrels a day.
Finding oil also follows the "bell curve" pattern of
production and its peak has long passed, in 1965. Since then, despite intensive
exploration with advanced seismic technology, companies have found less and
less fields of decreasing size.
The exception to this is the recent discovery of fairly large
off shore fields, but the numbers here are equally sobering. Actual access to
the oil in these fields is a minimum of six years from the time it was
discovered and their crucial flow rates are predicted to be about 400,000
barrels per day — a fraction of what demand will be in 2014.
The other big indication of impending peak is the
"depletion" of already producing fields around the world. Over 50
countries have now passed their individual peaks, including major producers
such as Norway, Mexico and the North Sea. In the last few weeks, numbers from
the first quarter of 2008 of the world's second largest producer, Russia, show
a drop in production. All of this depletion must be accounted for before any
increase in demand can be met.
Yet another factor has emerged in the form of declining net
exports. Well-endowed countries with rapidly expanding economies are demanding
ever-increasing amounts of their own oil. This has resulted in decreased
exports to all the net importers around the world.
So, what does all this mean? It means that at some point in the
not too distant future (most experts agree on a date of no longer than 2012)
demand for this crucial resource will no longer be able to be met. That is the
time that oil products such as gasoline, diesel and furnace oil begin to get
truly expensive.
And it will hopefully also be the time that our community
leaders begin to take into account the undeniable facts about Peak Oil in their
decision making processes. Perhaps we can move away from such shortsighted
projects as $100 million open air refrigerators that a few hundred people might
slide down, towards more far sighted, truly sustainable practices based on the
need to use less energy more wisely.
Percy Abraham
Pemberton
A pair of beauties
On behalf of the Board of Whistler Youth Soccer Club, I am pleased to announce that the two club scholarships for Whistler high school grads are now named after the co-founders of the club, Andree Janyk and Bob Calladine.
Andree always seems to have her name in the papers. Locally, it’s usually because of her four terms as school trustee, but now internationally it’s because she is the mother of superstar ski racers Britt & Michael.
More recently, she is known as the organizer of the extraordinarily successful Provincial A High School girls soccer championship a couple of weeks ago. She has been a certified ski instructor and coach for about 35 years and was a national ski team member herself.
What is not so well known is that she was apparently the first girl in Canada to play in what was then a boys only sport, many years (OK, decades) ago down in West Vancouver. Her passion for soccer kept her going as the Whistler Club President for a decade.
Bob Calladine also gets a lot of press coverage. A few years back he was named Whistler’s Citizen of the Year and just recently B.C. Sports honoured him as “Community Sports Hero”. He too has skied for Canada, and has been a professional ski instructor and coach for even longer than Andree.
Bob was Andree’s alter ego in everything to do with soccer in Whistler. Bear sightings on the fields were most likely just Bob doing his thing with the lines, mending the nets, patching the turf and tending to the equipment. He served as Vice-President of the club for about a decade.
Together these co-founders of the WYSC have raised soccer’s profile in Whistler and beyond. From a start of just a few kids we now have over 300 who play the world’s most popular sport. Thanks to these two outstanding, passionate volunteers the “Beautiful Game” in Whistler is thriving, and it is most appropriate that their names be attached to the club scholarships for grads. (Congratulations, by the way, to Eleanor Messeguer and Casey Eunson, this year’s recipients).
Peter Shrimpton
Whistler Youth Soccer Club President
