STUDENTS NOT HAPPY WITH SNACK CHANGES
Editor:
The rumours of pop being taken out of the drink dispenser had been buzzing around the halls for weeks.
Well on Tuesday, October 23 the pop finally came out of schools across British Columbia for good. I asked many students that attend Osoyoos Secondary School what they thought about the pop coming out and the results were mostly all negative.
I would figure about two-thirds to three-quarters of the student body in Osoyoos are not impressed.
Not only are most of the students upset about the pop coming out but now the price of juice has increased by twenty- five cents.
How does the government expect its future adults to start healthy eating habits if it was to raise the cost? I personally think that if they had taken pop out of the machines that at least the prices would decrease slightly.
I do not understand why the price of juice and even water go up; it is still the same juice and water as last year.
Not only are most youth here in Osoyoos in disagreement about it but think about how much money the companies that make the pop have lost.
Another thing; as of September 2008 all schools in B.C. have been issued to take all unhealthy food out. As of next year kids will have to be ready for food such as fruits, vegetables, sandwiches, regular milks (no chocolate or strawberry milk) and all the cheese sticks and macaroni and cheese will be taken out.
It seems fair to the students that they should get on the way of eating healthy but it also seems unfair in some ways. Telling us that the school will serve only healthy food seems odd if you let the kids still bring it to school.
I think that more kids would try to sell it from their lockers and it would create more problems for the school. Over all everything has two sides to it and I think that the teens will benefit from it but they also could rebel against it.
Kirsten Hathaway,rnOsoyoos
OSOYOOS TIMES-January 23, 2008
RURAL VOICES NOT HEARD ANYWAY
Editor:
I have read with interest the letters to the editor some of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) area directors sent in to the various local papers, asking for publicrnsupport to remain as a separate entity versus being part of a single Regional District.
They express concern over the potential loss of the rural voice in a larger, singular regional district.
I would like to pose a question to the residents of the RDOS as to how they feel they have beenrnrepresented to date by this board.
I went online at www.RDOS.bc.ca to do some research. I counted the total motions made at RDOS corporate board meetings for 2007 and came up with a total of 443 motions put on the agenda for consideration.
Out of these a total of seven failed to pass. Out of these seven, two were re-worded and passed, one was to add another meeting so only four bylaw changes actually failed, that gives arnpercentage of less than one per cent where the motions were defeated.
In addition individuals who wrote letters to Mr. Ashton, RDOS Chair, expressing their concerns over Mr. Perrie, Area Director F, changing the composition of The West Bench Water Advisory Committee (WBWAC) were told their letters never made it to the Board's Agenda underrncorrespondence.
Instead the letters were put into the RDOS Board's Reading File because the letters did not specifically state that the writer wished for them to be brought forward at the Board meeting.
I would like to ask why would someone take the time to write to the Chair of the RDOS if the intent was not to make their letter public and discussed by the entire board.
Are letters not a serious form of VOICING your opinion?
I have had the pleasure of attending numerous RDOS Board meetings in the last year and personally witnessed where residents of Area H sent a letter to the Board protesting the appointment of certain people to an Area H advisory committee. The Area H Director got visibly upset at another director's mention of the discord that had occurred when Mr. Perrie had donernsomething similar and she stated that she had the final word on who would sit on that committee and that she was exercising that power.
I am paraphrasing this conversation, but I feel these incidents show the power that the Area Directors have and the lack of involvement the remaining Board members have in regards as to what occurs in those rural areas.
From my personal experience dealing with the RDOS I was told by Chair Mr. Ashton that it is the Area Director's prerogative to make the terms of reference for committees under their guidance and add voting members as they see fit and that there is nothing the Board can do as they do not intervene in an Area Director's decisions.
The facts support this.
If you were to do as I did and actually look at the minutes, you would see that very few directors ever vote in opposition to another director's motion.
I however disagree with Mr. Ashton because if the Board does not have any power in these decisions then why does the Area director have to bring the motion to the RDOS BOARD to be passed?
I know that the Board DOES have the power to refuse the Area Directors requests but instead chooses to merely act as a formal rubber stamp for whatever Area Directors bring forward.
I personally do not know if an amalgamation of the three Regional Districts would be better or worse than what we have at present, but I strongly feel that presently there is no representation of the rural VOICE at all.
Remember when you vote for your Regional Director they have a tremendous amount of clout at the RDOS Board level. So however this proposed amalgamation plays out be very careful who you vote for to represent you at this level of government because from my perspective theirs is the only VOICE the RDOS board hears.
P.S. If you wish to sit in on the next governance review meeting on the future of the Regional Districts it is open to the public and is being held in Kelowna, January 31st – RDCO office, 1450 KLO Rd. – 10:00 a.m.
Theresa Nolet,rnPenticton, B.C.
OSOYOOS TIMES-January 23, 2008
