'THANK YOU OSOYOOS'
Editor:
We, the Mathieu family would like thank the Osoyoos fire department for trying so hard to save our home.
A very special thank-you to Tina Louise Wellner, from Victims Services, for taking such good care of us.
To Pam and Teunis Vankalkeren, for their hugs and support immediately after the fire.
To Mrs. Nazaroff and Mrs. Gehringer and everyone at the Osoyoos Secondary School for their fundraising dinner, and everyone who came out to support.
Thank-you to Jamie and Jill from Unity and BiBo for their fundraising on our behalf; you are truly special people and are in our hearts.
To Mr. Schulting and the Senior Girls soccer team for helping and supporting our daughter, Michelle.
And last but not least, to the community of Osoyoos; thank-you so much for your support, hugs and kind words.
We have a wonderful community and we are overwhelmed by your kindness and generosity.
Mathieu Family,rnOsoyoos
OSOYOOS TIMES-August 13, 2008
DESERT PARK, THE TOWN AND THE 'CART BEFORE THE HORSE'
Editor:
Re: Desert Park & the Cart Before the Horse!
Once again, the Town of Osoyoos has put the cart before the horse, or should I say the boat trailer before the horse?
Recently, the Town Councillors and Mayor deemed it necessary to find a temporary location to park boat trailers ¦ so, they decided that the Desert Park outdoor horse arena was the ideal location.
There was NO discussion or plan on how they would organize and run such a trailer park ¦ no talking to the Motel/Hotel Association nor to the best of my knowledge, the Director of Recreation, who was supposedly looking after Desert Park and was trying to implement horse use of the facility.
July 3rd, someone gets the bright idea to haul in recycled garbage wood chips with metal pieces (nails, wire, etc.) to cover the puncture vine infested arena, hoping to find a cheap method to control the dust that may incur with the great number of trailers to be stored!
Well, it took almost two weeks (July 3 to July 16) to spread the garbage ¦ then two days (July 23 & 24) to have people comb the arena with metal detectors to pick up the debris.
Now, who is going to look after this trailer park (open and close the gates)?
Who is going to enforce the new bylaw that trailers are to be off the street from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. and who knows about this by-law?
There is No signage along the highway indicating tourists must NOT park their trailers during these times and that there will be a $25 fine!
Since the closure of the garbage strewn arena to horses I have seen ONE trailer parked on the grounds ¦ July 31 to Aug. 2, a total of three days with the gates wide open ¦ therefore no need for an enclosure such as the riding arena!
I would like to ask, and I never get a straight answer from many of the Councillors and Mayor as to, Why are the Town and Osoyoos taxpayers having to locate parking for the hotel and motel patrons?
Could the answer be ¦ poor planning by the Town?
And, when I ask about the cost factor ¦ putting down the garbage, and removing it by Sept. 1 (middle of another long weekend), I was told it was only TIME ¦ well, time is money and it did cost a great deal to be used by ONE trailer to date.
The policies and behaviour of our Town leads me to believe there is NO thought, plans, communications, nor ramifications of their jump-the-gun endeavours.
Again, I must say ¦ Putting the cart before the horse!
Gail Hochsteiner,rnOsoyoos
OSOYOOS TIMES-August 13, 2008
TOWN NEEDS TO DO MORE TO CONSIDER THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS
Editor:
Re: Town Needs To Do More To Consider The Needs Of Tourists
So Mr. Eastbury thinks we should cater more to the tourists.
Well, maybe, then again, maybe there are more important people in Osoyoos who should be considered “ like the permanent residents of the town.
If we ignore for a moment the business people who thrive on the money, just what are tourists doing for the average Osoyoos resident?
Consider some of the 'joys' of living in Osoyoos in summer: (a) the traffic; (b) the lack of parking; (c) having to step over out-of-town youngsters and their dogs who have appropriated the sidewalks; (d) tourist season grocery prices (just one example: bananas $.67/lb in Penticton, $.77 in Oliver, and $.88 in Osoyoos “ $.57 in Osoyoos last winter); (e) creeping along on an inadequate two-lane 'highway' while some tourist ahead of you 'counts' the cherries on the trees in the orchards; (f) trailers (boat, utility, holiday, etc) parked along main streets blocking traffic; (g) listening to the noise from Rattlesnake Canyon if you live anywhere in the vicinity; (h) etc., etc.
Also mentioned is the lack of entertainment for tourists in Osoyoos.
Is the writer implying that there is more during the winter, which disappears when the tourists arrive in summer?
I hope he isn't.
There isn't much in winter either.
The complaint that when people are at the beach in summer they don't visit anywhere else is unjustified.
It seems to me, a permanent resident, that town council is already solving this problem very
efficiently; within a few years, at most, beach property will have been 'developed' to the point where there may be no access to the lake.
I think the Canada geese are already beginning to 'suffer.'
As for: horse racing, casinos, speed boat racing, Rodeo Drive type stores, very upscale restaurants, super chic sidewalk cafes, wine bars, night clubs “ this little town is not Palm Springs, nor Las Vegas.
The few restaurants to be found here are barely surviving through the winter; race tracks are not profitable even in many large centres, casinos require a little more money than the usual tourists to Osoyoos bring “ and who will support them in winter?
As for wine bars and night clubs, does a small town of a few thousand unsophisticated souls really want these?
To really put the environment of Osoyoos in proper focus, just remember that if you get sick after 5 p.m. you'd better call an ambulance or have your spouse drive you to Oliver or, maybe even further, to Penticton.
There is no walk-in clinic or other medical facility after 5 p.m.
And if you are a senior with medical problems you'd better move out of town to somewhere nearer medical facilities.
Never mind that Osoyoos does not cater to tourists “ it doesn't even provide for its own residents.
When they've done that I'll be first in line to agitate for more entertainment for the tourists.
Bill Watamaniuk,rnOsoyoos
OSOYOOS TIMES-August 13, 2008
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