MOTORISTS NEED TO GIVE PEDESTRIANS A BREAKrn
Editor:
Pedestrians – Get off the Road!
That was the colorful comment delivered to me from a fiery gentleman in a red pickup as I crossed Main Street at the light-controlled crosswalk with my two young children.
Now, yes I spoke first asking, What's your hurry, my daughters and I have not even passed your bumper and you are on a move.
With respect to the man, who made me feel rather disappointed in my fellow citizens this past sunny Friday afternoon, it's not just him who seems to be in such a rush that pedestrians better get off the road!
I walk everyday around town in Osoyoos with my daughters and every day I witness pedestrians not having the right of way but rather pedestrians expected to hurry themselves off the roads.
I have yet to make it from corner to corner without an idling vehicle inching itself past us.
I would like all drivers to ask themselves, Why in such a rush?
The extra three to five seconds it would take to respectfully wait till any pedestrian has completely crossed cannot honestly add efficiency to your day.
It is unfortunate that our town cannot budget in traffic control cameras or manpower as I reckon Osoyoos could make a small fortune with this infraction alone.
However, maybe some of the resort municipality royalty should go towards monitoring the roads so the thousands of people of all ages who enjoy the heel-toe express can do so without concern.
Please, slow up, wait till the crosswalk is cleared, give us pedestrians, especially those of us with small children, the time to cross safely.
Janis Robinson, (Mother of two” three years and seven months)rnOsoyoos
OSOYOOS TIMES-February 11, 2009
WRITER TOUCHES ON HIS RIGHT TO WRITE
Editor:
The other day I was approached by a gentleman in Osoyoos that politely told me that they (so-and-so) don't like me because of my writing published in the Osoyoos Times.
Well, I politely told him to remind them about freedom of expression and freedom of the press.
Guaranteed in our Canadian constitution through the Charter of Rights, because democracy and the standard of living in the society that makes up a democratic governed mixed economy as our Canadian, entirely depends on understanding produced by research that emerges in society by free flow of information that is vigorously discussed.
In my research and in my practice, my concern is the economy's allocation mechanisms.
Broadly, the political economic systems that ration and allocate scarce resources that have alternative uses between unlimited human competing claims.
National economies are made up of the society that makes up regional and local economies.
One only needs to study the behaviour in a few local economies, to increase understanding of a national economy's allocation mechanism, and the faults, which unsolved, causes social, economic and ecological adversity.
For the past 10 years my research has included the Thompson-Okanagan, and a region in Sweden and the U.S.
Research now organized in the Canadian-Swedish IISRE Initiative, and information is available on the net, at http://iisre-institute.org/index.htm
Sustainable social satisfaction, good health, a sound environment and thus quality of life, depend on sustainable economic production, in businesses that distribute wealth in the community via employment – rather than welfare. rn
In my guise as member of the society in Osoyoos, I have addressed issues allied to economic development, some published, some not.
I have recommended the Town Council and government to do an independent analysis of the Town'srneconomic development model and to increase understanding in society.
Circles among the social and political establishment regrettably don't like that, and knowledge is easy to reject and destroy.
Any student of the history of the Dark Ages knows that it is destroyed by self-interest, censorship, and by dogma that cannot be questioned.
Ultimately the decision of economic development is a decision for Town Council, government and ultimately the voters – a test of democracy.
Kell Petersen,rnOsoyoos
OSOYOOS TIMES-February 11, 2009
