Editor:
Nobody died yet!
Since November, 2009, BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) made a change of its policy for the ambulance service in Osoyoos.
This situation was a subject presented in Osoyoos Times issues several times in the period starting at that time.
The last was the report and the evaluation of the service done last month by the Director of the BCAS with a conclusion that the ambulance service after November, 2009, had a slight increase of the response time (no ambulance standby in Osoyoos) to over eight minutes.
I was surprised that nobody reacted to the increase of time delay in ambulance, which is over the limit when brain damage or death occurs.
The conclusion and statement of the Director was “NOBODY DIED YET.”
Rather strange evaluation, do they wait until somebody will die and somebody will sue local government for allowing such a situation in Osoyoos?
The Council Members declared that “IT IS TOO COMPLICATED” to take some action and our MLA John Slater is also silent to it.
It seems that saving $50,000 is more important than expenses in millions to pay for short widening of the road north of Osoyoos, which nobody needs urgently.
I am surprised that residents of Osoyoos are not concerned to this dangerous change of the policy and are silent.
Our paramedical staff in Osoyoos expressed enough concerns about this policy change in the past.
We all should express our interest in safety of living in Osoyoos by contacting representatives of the town government and B.C. Government requesting to change the policy.
Ivo Tyl,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 2, 2010

SEARCHES WITHOUT WARRANTS LEAD TO LOSS OF FREEDOM

Editor:
I see from last week’s paper that the town’s safe premises bylaw has been declared unconstitutional.
That’s very good news for the law-abiding citizens of Osoyoos.
I was appalled, however, that our mayor Stu Wells thinks the B.C. Supreme Court made the wrong decision.
Obviously our mayor does not believe in freedom from search and seizure without a warrant.
This is a tenant of the Canadian way of life.
If we extrapolate his thinking then any citizen could answer the door to any municipal, provincial or federal employee and must submit to a detailed search of their house.
What could be more dictatorial than that?
I wonder where the mayor learned his lessons about freedom and democracy and the rule of law in Canada.
Stopping drug production is the correct thing to do.
But, it must be done within the rule of law and not by removing freedoms of Canadians.
Look at Homeland Security south of us to see where government-legislated loss of freedoms takes you.
David Eastbury,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 2, 2010

SOME IDEAS TO FREE UP ROOM IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Editor:
Re: Council meetings
About 20 per cent of the meeting space is for public seating.
Two large desks are for water councillors who don’t vote or talk and when there, seldom stay for the duration.
Two large desks are for the town manager and the assistant.
The manager could give his short discussion of the town’s activities from the podium.
The assistant takes the minutes which consist of less than 10 per cent of the discussions and that could be done from any corner or later from cable TV and net video or just skipped altogether.
The assistant does control the projector that nobody can see or read.
So scrap that too.
This projected info is available in the handouts or from the town website.
One more large desk is used for those handout documents, taking up even more audience space.
Move that desk outside the entry door.
Council and Mayor have five large desks that could easily be cut in half and still be plenty big.
Savings – seven-and-a-half large desks and the projection equipment could be removed making more room for the townsfolk.
Now council is talking about changing these meetings to the afternoon, instead of 7 p.m.
So only the retired and the unemployed can attend.
The way the economy is going we’ll need the extra space.
Doug Pederson,
Osoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 2, 2010

A SOLUTION TO THE PESTICIDE PROBLEM?

Editor:
Re: Local pesticide levels can kill, deform amphibians: study
If the study had determined that endosulfan  reduced the effectiveness of Viagra, it would be off the store shelves in the South Okanagan by the end of the month.
Ernie Crey,
Chilliwack

OSOYOOS TIMES-June 2, 2010