Town of Osoyoos needs a penalty ref
Editor:rnWow! Ref the Township needs an unsportmanship penalty!
The Storm is leaving town. Where is the township – running behind? Hurry up, township. Caution Storm ahead for elections.
Do candidates have any views regards to supporting our local Junior B team. I am sure many people would love to hear your views, but before you answer, I think there are many facts to be consider.
Is The Storm good for Osoyoos? Many parents have expressed they'll move here to retire, it feels like home Barry and Barry's sponsors have treated us so well. The KIHL tournaments, Mr. Dewar could bid for like; The All Star Games,The Cyclone Taylor which Barry hosted last year, then there are the Canadian Westerns. All of these are good business for the town, people need a place to stay and eat. Without Mr. Dewar's team the Aussies wouldn't come to our town for 2 weeks. Now, I am sure local businesses are very glad Mr. Dewar has the team located in Osoyoos.
Does The Storm give back to the town? One look around and you'll see the many donations Mr. and Mrs. Dewar make; the skateboard park, minor hockey and the many church groups, bottle returns goes to sponsor A Child, plus Red Cross. How much money does the township save by Dewars doing recycling.
If The Storm didn't pay for the ice to go in early, who would? Ice which used by: Canadian Youth Hockey team, figure skating school and Ref training. Yes! The Storm gives back. What does the town give to the Storm?
Rent increases and refusal to wavier a $50 cleaning fee.
Mrs. Dewar runs the best concession, believe me, since I travel with the Storm I've been to every arena.
All the arenas have a polite sign requesting that NO food and drinks be carried in, but Osoyoos Township told Sandy to take this sign down because it was discrimination against other business.
This is crazy. I bet if the township ran the concession that sign would be up in a flash or they would watch sales dive. Sandy's concession is a valuable service, so please treat her that way. Does the township want the expense and headache of running it?
Lastly, the requests for a beer garden. Wake up township, this is how other communities do it; the person holding the beer gardens are responsible for clean up or pay extra. Simple solution isn't it?rnI personally think the Township's political games send very uninviting message to all involved; fans, (Tax Payers), community sponsorship that rely on the added business in slow winter months, (economic well being of town), and the kids and parents that travel to vacation and play in Osoyoos, (Tourism).
Ref, the township deserve an unsport- manship penalty! Osoyoos Township shame on you! Catch the bus or maybe some of us voters will take this issue to the voting stands and vote you off the bus.
Carrie-Ann DambrowitzrnOsoyoos
Who are the citizens for quality controlled development?
Rumour: Developers manipulating our Community.
Fact is: No association with Osoyoos Now.
Declare yourselves. Tell the public who you are and what you stand for. Do not hide behind your anonymity.
Monica ReddemannrnOsoyoos
Editor:rnI do remember the White Sands Development, and the reason it is a desirable complex today is because of the tremendous fight the community put up to almost force Council to ensure that the building height did not completely eliminate the views of others and also to encourage the developer to construct the building to conform with the existing natural slope of the land to the water. It is good to see that our long time residents are the beneficiaries of a project that fits with the land and did not become a multi-storey monstrosity.
The history and saddest part about this transaction was the Town Fathers' lack of VISION to buy the property when offered to the Town by the CPR. The Town of Osoyoos could have kept a portion for park and public use, and sold the balance of the property to the developers of White Sands, perhaps making a small profit or breaking even. Instead, our elected officials turned down the offer from CPR. Developers purchased the land; and the Town had to purchase property from the developers to preserve access to our remaining Park, Museum, and Seniors Centre. Ironically, for this portion of land, the Town paid to the developers the exact amount that the developers had paid for the entire property. This was NOT the fault of the developers; it was lack of VISION and planning by our decision-makers.
This same lack of VISION defeated the Towns' purchase of the packinghouse property at the foot of Main Street with, then councillor, John Slater advocating a NO vote against the purchase. You may recall the negotiated sale price with the owners of the packinghouse property was $1.8M, with $800,000 of that amount to be an interest free loan for an extended period. With VISION, our council could have recognized the value of lakefront property to the town. Also, the community hall in the Community Park, that was built by the Towns' people, was torn down by Council against recommendations of their own official committee. This turned the Park over to ill-mannered transients and equally ill-mannered geese. No Community Hall, no people, so what we got is what you see!!rnMarlene Lipps and her band of seniors thankfully saved the Seniors Centre from the Town Fathers' demolition crew and the Museum still survives, but is neglected by Council. Some tall trees and a couple of coats of paint would ease the eyes and do some justice to the wonderful heritage inside. NO VISION.
Also, thanks to the Friends of Desert Park who saved that park from becoming an RV park, etc at the hands of the Town Fathers'. Now we need some champions for The Storm and the Chamber of Commerce, both of which are surviving despite the Towns' neglect. Each are value added entities to the Town of Osoyoos, but get thoughtless treatment by the Council.
As for Carole Youngberg's comments – of course development is good and creates jobs. However, development that serves the needs of our local community should be added to the focus. We need a Mayor and Council who will work with the community and the surrounding area to search out development that provides year-round, well paying jobs to our young families; provides housing these families can afford; and provides assisted living homes our seniors can afford and that meets their needs.
Development will bring change, but we need a Council with VISION and the willingness to work with all sectors of the whole area to bring change for the BETTER, not just for the sake of change. We are at a critical stage. We can keep the attributes that make Osoyoos special, or we can sell them off to the highest bidder. We can all enjoy Osoyoos, or we can cater to a special few.
Go to the All Candidates Meetings; ask questions about our past and the candidates VISION for the future and cast an informed vote for Osoyoos!rnVirginia Cook
Osoyoos
Editor:rnI am a volunteer on the board of Destination Osoyoos (DO), the agency that has been mandated by the Town of Osoyoos to carry out tourism and business development activities on behalf of Osoyoos.
It appears that recently this newspaper has been targeting Destination Osoyoos in an attempt to tarnish its reputation. Using a newspaper to manipulate rather than inform your readers is disrespectful to them, and it diminishes your publication's credibility. It would be helpful if you could tone down the rhetoric a bit, report both sides of an issue and allow the reader to develop his or her own well-informed opinion.
DO board members are not paid one cent for our work there. We all live in Osoyoos. We are your neighbors. As directors our not-so-secret agenda is our mutual desire to give something back to a community that we feel lucky to live in.
The staff members who keep DO functioning are some of the hardest working people I have ever met, and are remarkably effective in getting the job done with so few people. They too want to give back to their community.
It is particularly important for all of us to keep the lines of communication open in a small town like ours – it benefits everyone to be able to distinguish between fact and rumor. I encourage people to telephone the Destination Osoyoos office to get the facts if they have questions about something they have read or heard.
Alison Anderson-GilmourrnOsoyoos
Editor:rnI read Carol Youngberg's October 26th Letter to the Editor with interest. Development brings opportunities. I say – who are the opportunities for? The developer? The real estate agent? The builder?rnThere are two sides to the issue of development; there are many, many people who cannot benefit from the current type of development occurring in Osoyoos. Unbridled development drives up the price of all real estate in our town, putting it out of reach of modest and lower-income families and young people just leaving school. Where do these people fit into the future of Osoyoos?rnWhere will young people get the kind of jobs they need to be able to afford the price of housing we now have here in Osoyoos? Our real estate market prices are beginning to rival big cities. We have high real estate prices, but hardly any high-paying jobs are being created.
Are any of the developers coming forward with plans for affordable housing? No. I see $500,000 condos on the shoreline. But where are the high-paying jobs that will allow next year's graduates to stay and buy a home in Osoyoos?
The following is a list taken from the Town of Osoyoos web site of the top ten full time employers (2004) in Osoyoos:rn1. School District # 53rn2. McDonaldsrn3. Canada Customs and Revenue Agencyrn4. Town of Osoyoosrn5. Sagebrush Lodgern6. Shoppers Drug Martrn7. Detailed Maintenance and Repairrn8. Holiday Inn Sunspree Resortrn9. Smitty'srn10. Osoyoos Credit Unionrn10. Osoyoos Home HardwarernPaul McCavourrnOsoyoos
Editor:rnThe Osoyoos United Church Dorcas Ladies once again would ask the good folks who leave us all the many good items for our Thrift Shop, please bring your donations when the shop is open.
There are many scroungers who roam around our corner and we are not getting the benefit of all the saleable items left here. Please help us – not the looters.
Our shop is open Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 noon to 3 p.m. and Thursday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
We are most grateful for the support of our community. Your support allows us to do many good works here in Osoyoos and around the world.
Your Thrift Shop Volunteers
Editor:
In my letter about the advertising paper's interview with Michael Ryan, of Osoyoos Now Society, I stressed it is about issues not persons.rnApparently, that was not shared by an upset and angry person that called and warned me for addressing issues in Osoyoos. I have sympathy for the caller, but it is not possible to address social economic and ecological issues without some members of the social and political establishment taking it personally and retorting, and especially not when money is at stake.
I have worked in countries where intimidating phone calls would be a concern, but I am not losing any sleep in Osoyoos. The caller will not prevent me from, in good democratic order, addressing social economic issues, and invite discussion with an open invitation to the caller.
To offer the caller some perspective, as any student of European history of the Dark Ages and of Chinese history, and in modern the thirties Germany and China will know, tragedy occurs and exists in many places around the world today. New ideas and knowledge are easily stifled and destroyed by dogma that cannot be discussed and questioned in a community.
Osoyoos is prime example of why democracy depends on freedom of opinion and expression and the freedom of the press, and not stressed only in the constitution. It also depends on a press that lives up to the constitution and shows an overriding responsibility to the community it serves, rather than to its owners, advertisers and political and special interest groups.
I don't have any political agenda, as the caller accused me of, because politics cannot be understood without the use of natural and social science.
Therefore I stick to science and practical experience, logical truth and ethical action, and leave politics to others. I stick to my concern for man-made government and democratic failure including economic development models and policies that usurp economic and ecological realities causing irreparable harm to the community.
My membership in Osoyoos Now has both a research purpose as well as a concern for the community. I don't know anyone in the leadership of the Osoyoos Now society.
My question is does the Osoyoos Now Society movement indicate that the present generation in Osoyoos is starting to develop responsibility for the social economic and environmental challenges posed by the social economic and ecological problems at home and globally.
If not, may I say then that Osoyoos Now deserves to whither on the vine. Our society and Osoyoos do not need more non-profit societies. Osoyoos and society at large needs good government that meets its role and accountability to society, that which is not the private sectors task, including up-to date modern economic development models and systems.
Ultimately, as my time would allow, I will be glad to discuss social economic and ecological issues with people in Osoyoos Now, as well as with angry callers and anybody else. I trust the foregoing explains why I say, Osoyoos support your local weekly Osoyoos Times get involved in the real issues.
Don't let promotion camouflage the issues, and most importantly, discuss issues not persons. Instead of making angry phone calls invite me out for a beer, I may even pay, and let us discuss the issues.
Kell Petersen
Osoyoos
