REFUGEE FAMILY THANKS PEOPLE OF OSOYOOS

Osoyoos Baptist Church Pastor Phil Johnson has forwarded the following letter to the editor from the Nyarza family of seven siblings who moved to Osoyoos three weeks ago as refugees from Sudan.

Editor:

[b]Dear Brethren in Osoyoos, Oliver, Penticton, Kelowna, Vancouver and all over British Columbia “[/b]rnWe are not able to express our heartfelt gratitude for your welcome and your many donations from many places to help us start our new lives in Canada.
For this, may Almighty God continually bless you with heaven's blessings and with the human joys. May you live to enjoy your grandchildren for the love you have shown to us. The Bible tells me Love is the greatest of all. (1 Corinthians 13:1-13).
May God bless you with Happiness and with the Joy of the Lord. May God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you a rich peace that fills your hearts and minds.
We want to give our special thanks to John and Sue Cooper and their gorgeous daughter, Elizabeth Cooper. To Liz, for having a heart of kindness and sympathy for us, and to John and Sue, for having the confidence and trust in their beloved daughter to take the step of presenting our need to the community.
We also want to thank the Congregation of Osoyoos Baptist Church for following the command of the Lord in the Bible to help the poor, the suffering, the orphans and widows/widowers, both spiritually and physically. The Lord says, It is better to obey than to sacrifice.rnWe would like you to have confidence in us, that we won't let you down or disturb you. Our desire is for a quality education, as education is the key in enabling us to communicate with our community and lead lives of self-motivation and self-reliance.
Dear brothers and sisters, we give thanks to God for your faithfulness to God, because of the wonderful way your faith has grown and because of your growing love for each of us.
We close by saying, May you all live long, rich, full lives and Long Live Canada!rnThank you,

The Nyarza FamilyrnPeter John, Joice, William, James, Zechariah, Charles, VictorrnOsoyoos

— (OSOYOOS TIMES — Jan. 24, 2007)

[b]SHOOTING OF GEESE PROBLEM IN OLIVER TOO[/b]

Editor:

I am a resident of Oliver. Our family and business has been affected by this goose culling as well ['Goose cull in town hits houses with birdshot and falling geese', Osoyoos Times, January 10, 2007].
Nothing bad is said about what is going on in Oliver.
I have been charged with disturbing the hunt as many strangers stood at my property's edge shooting geese. I was hit with shot. I had it hailing down around me more than once. The shot in our apples almost cost us a contract worth $40,000 a year. No work can be done on the farm when this is happening, as it is dangerous.
The Workers' Compensation Board has expressed that our workers cannot be working in those conditions. When I try to insure a safe workplace, I am charged with disturbing the hunt. In court the officer asked the judge for up to a $1,000,000 fine.
The RCMP don't seem to have a problem with firing weapons at or over people's properties and endangering people.
Our children can no longer play outside safely as hunters could be hiding with guns loaded. Next they will be hunting on the school fields, as geese frequent there.
These hunters do not have to let anyone know they are there hiding with guns loaded. This is just too much to ask. I do not trust them and they should never be allowed to fire weapons at moving objects with any possibility of a mistake.
All this risk so they can kill some geese using this method.
This is an outrage and both the RCMP and the Ministry of Environment should hang their heads in shame for supporting these activities. How dare they put my family and business at risk.
What can people do about it when it is supported by the very people that are entrusted to protect us?

Ian MounseyrnOliver

— (OSOYOOS TIMES — Jan. 24, 2007