A NOTE OF GRATITUDE

Editor:

My name is William S. Nyarza. I was just a child of fifteen when I found myself running away from my home country because of civil war. What took place was great violence on civilians; both my parents and older sister were killed, but I and my six siblings managed to survive this violence.

A thirty-one-year-old woman, who was from the South Okanagan, came to Kenya in 2005 as a researcher with Care Canada to work with Care Kenya. My family met her in that year in the refugee camp.

Her name is Elizabeth Cooper. My elder brother asked her to look for potential sponsors in Canada. Then she told us, I can't do that because I'm a student, but I will try to talk to my parents to see if they can find a sponsor for you guys.

She went back home to talk with her parents, who then approached the Osoyoos Baptist Church to support our family to come to Canada as new immigrants or permanent residents.

In the year 2006, my family received a letter “ a Canadian form for sponsors. We were, at first, reluctant to consider Canada. We knew nothing about Canada, except what Elizabeth had told us. But we trusted her and decided to move to our new country.

Then my family agreed to share our story because Elizabeth Cooper was now the heroine to the Nyarza family. And we are so happy as a family that Elizabeth, her parents, Pastor Phil and the congregation of the Osoyoos Baptist Church made such an effort for us!

Every member of my family, including myself, Peter John, Joice, Zechariah, James, Charles and Victor will remember gratefully, as long as we live, the kindness and generosity of those individuals above, as well as those businesses and townspeople who have demonstrated their generosity and thoughtfulness to us, now rebuilding our lives.

William Nyarza, on behalf of the family,rnOsoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-April 2, 2008

PARK CAN ONLY GO AHEAD IF MAJORITY SUPPORT IT

Editor:

Some questions have been asked in regard to my position on the proposed national park for the South Okanagan-Similkameen area.

To date, my staff and I have worked hard to help facilitate a fair and transparent process during the feasibility phase of the proposal.

Last summer we met with people representing those for and against the park, in addition to Parks Canada officials.

As a result a steering committee was formed with representation from both sides and Parks Canada.
This resulted in public meetings in Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos and Keremeos last November, where the public had an opportunity to ask questions of Parks Canada and state their views “ for and against “ in an open format for all to see and hear.

If the concept of a national park is to go ahead, it must have the support of the majority of citizens in the affected area.

An immediate priority is to address the concerns of the Okanagan Nation Alliance, which has worked diligently to propose a collaborative framework to the Provincial and Federal governments for the feasibility and evaluation processes.

Parks Canada, in its recent newsletter (Winter 2007/Spring 2008) continues to try and address a number of other concerns that people have raised.

It says that the process has a way to go before they are ready to present a report on the feasibility study.
A social and economic assessment of the proposed park's impact and an environmental assessment are also yet to be completed.

One of the striking points of the November series of public meetings was that almost all who attended were united in their fierce love of the beautiful landscapes, wildlife and nature surrounding their communities.
Their approaches on how to ensure its future differ, however, and that is the challenge faced by Parks Canada, and in the end, all involved.

Alex Atamanenko, MP,
B.C. Southern Interior

OSOYOOS TIMES-April 2, 2008

'UNIQUENESS' OF MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE AND LIFESTYLE SHOULD BE MAINTAINED

Editor:

Re: RDOS ruling on Ferguson/Scheffler applications.

When both applications for subdivision were denied, few community members expressed concern of inconsistency in the decision making at the RDOS board level.

I think it is important for the public to be aware of the fact that a major residential and village development are in progress at Anarchist Mountain.

This has greatly impacted government and local authorities, creating a challenge for the rural OCP committee, Area A director and the RDOS board.

No doubt there is some difficulty in satisfying the needs of Regal Ridge developers and small privately owned property owners.

As a resident of the Anarchist Mountain area, it is my hope that the uniqueness of the landscape and lifestyle be maintained with minimum effect on the environmentally sensitive region of the South Okanagan.

Naga Terada,rnOsoyoos

OSOYOOS TIMES-April 2, 2008rn