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Letters to the editor for the week of August 30th, 2012

Share the road
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Steve Cukrov photo www.shutterstock.com

I have a message for all the road bikers out there; please use your common sense.

Firstly I would like to preface this letter by saying that I have no issue with road biking in general, and that a good portion of the road bikers I see are generally not the issue.

If you want to go flying down the highway with no protection but spandex, and some Styrofoam on your head, two feet from cars and trucks going well over 100km/h please be my guest.

There are, however, a not-so-small percentage of bikers out there who seem to be indifferent to the world around them. For example the other day my wife and one-year-old daughter came home to Pemberton and (my wife) was fairly flustered by the fact that a couple of road bikers going the opposite way had decided to swerve in front of an 18-wheeler and force him into oncoming traffic.

My wife (and child) where forced to slam on the breaks and swerve over to the soft shoulder to avoid being hit head on.

How would the bikers have felt had it ended differently?

Not a week ago we were all heading over the Duffey when we came upon a group of five to six bikers hanging out in the middle of the road following a blind corner. We were forced to swerve into the lane for oncoming traffic (fortunately there was no one there).

And just a couple of days ago I was driving a large truck with a 30-foot trailer fully loaded down with thousands of pounds up the Callaghan Valley road and a biker decided, without looking, to swerve right in front of me when I was less than 10-feet behind him.

These are only a few of the incidents that I have witnessed this summer, let alone the last many years driving this highway. For some reason this is considered completely acceptable and I don't understand it.

Let's put this in perspective, imagine your child and a group of his/her friends saying to you, "Hey mom/dad me and my buddies are going to walk to Whistler today. We will be right on the side of the highway, every once in a while one or two of us is going to step out into traffic without looking and we are never going to be more than a foot or two from the white line." What would you say to that?

So why is it OK for a group of adults to do the same thing?

Please remember it is not just your life you are risking— there are other people, families and children on the highway. Just ride smart. Thanks.

Josh Livermore

Pemberton

Hello Whistler!

My name is Alexandre and today I turned two days old. Lying here in my crib in Squamish General Hospital I just wanted to tell you all how excited I am to be coming home soon to start my life as a Whistler kid.

My parents moved here two years ago from Australia, and if the last nine months are anything to go by I'm going to love Whistler as much as my mum and dad do.

As a passenger I've already had a taste of skiing and snowboarding, biking, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, disc, whiffle and real golfing! I've even been inside that really cool Hemloft cubby house.

I didn't really like mum jumping into to the icy waters of Alta Lake in the early spring, but she assures me it's good for our immune systems.

My dad swears all the fresh air, clean water, salmon, wild berries and good organic Pemberton produce are to blame for me getting to almost 10lbs and giving my mum a hard time in my move from womb to Whistler, but she thinks it might have had something to do with that five litre container of pistachio Lucia gelato Catherine Horn made specially for us all.

Whatever it was I was really comfortable inside and didn't want to budge.

Finally the men and women in goofy looking green suits decided to come in after me and the game of hide and seek was over. It's been fun here at SGH because all the staff is really friendly and funny, but my nieces were telling me last night all about the cool stuff to look forward to back in Whistler.

I like the sound of making friends at playgroup and daycare, swimming at Meadow Park, playing in the Olympic plaza tree house and riding in the Chariot. But I really can't wait until I'm old enough to join the Whistler kid's ski and bike groups. I'll be beating mum and dad down the hills in no time!

See you all around!

Alexandre David Steffens, Whistler kid since 26th August 2012, dad Mark Steffens and mom Belinda Hughes

Lego creations

The 16th Annual LEGO Building Competition at the Museum was yet another fantastic event, thanks in large part to the community that helped make it possible.

The Museum would like to extend a huge thanks to our judges, the local businesses who donated prizes, and of course, all of our competitors and their families!

This year's theme was "Design Your Ultimate Whistler Hideaway." We saw some great creative creations including a barge with a floating tree house (guarded by a dragon of course!), a house for a robot builder, and a mansion in outer space!

Big thanks to Keith and Jessica Reed, Jeremy Postal, Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden, Lush Whistler, Whoola Toys, Ziptrek Eco Tours, Whistler Eco Tours, The Adventure Group, Canadian Wilderness Adventures, The Old Spaghetti Factory, PureBread, Prior, The Great Glass Elevator Candy Shop, The Body Shop, Hatley, Armchair Books, Fun for Kids, Cows, Meadow Park Sports Centre, and LEGO.

This event is always a lot of fun for us, and we hope it will continue well into the future!

Robyn Goldsmith

Whistler Museum and Archives Society

Time to say thanks

I cannot put into words how truly amazing and life changing the staff who make up Meadow Park Sports Center really are, but I will try my best.

I am going into my second year of university, as a graduate of Whistler Secondary, and this is my third year as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the centre.

We are so fortunate as a community to have this versatile facility and the many programs it offers. We should really make use of it all because it is here for us!

Working at Meadow Park Sports Centre has kept me involved and connected to the community, whether it be the greetings each day from the regulars, or sharing my love of swimming with local families through instructing.

I would like to say thank you to everyone I have worked with for all that you have taught me and for the support I feel when I walk into work everyday. A special thanks to Jon Pollard and Stephanie Askwith for everything you do for the staff and the hard work you put into keeping the aquatic area of Meadow Park such a great place.

I leave Whistler and the Sports Center with a bittersweet feeling of moving on. My heart will always be glued to this amazing place and the fellow lifeguards that I have become such close friends with. I advise the youth to really recognize and appreciate the tight knit community you live in: where help is always around the corner, a smile is always returned, and opportunities are forever endless.

Dream big and be proactive in the community because it is something you will look back on and never regret. Keep living it up Whistler!

Thanks so much. 

Alix Arcalean

Whistler 

See you next season

The Whistler Roller Girls would like to express their appreciation to the following local businesses that made our recent fundraiser possible by donating their services, time, prizing and venue: Pan Pacific and Dubh Linn Gate, Nicklaus North, Bounce, Spicy Sports, Coast Mountain Shirt Co., Rocky Mountain Soap Co., Hempire, Southside Diner, Earls, Old Spaghetti Factory, Dups, Whistler Bungee, DJ &E and XL Audio Visual, Jenna Fox, Mike Wilson and the GLC Crew, the Oracle, Backroads Whistler, Garibaldi Graphics and Love is in the Hair.

The WRG had a great first season of bouting and hope the community has enjoyed cheering us on! Our goal is to bring flat track roller derby to Whistler and funds raised will help us with uniforms, practice venue rentals and expanding our league.

Thank you Whistler for supporting your local roller derby!

Derby Love from the Whistler Roller Girls!

Theresa Yu (a.k.a. Kitty Konniption), Whistler Roller Girls

Whistler