THEFT OF MENTAL HEALTH FUNDRAISING MONEY ANGERING
Editor:
To the Editor and the members of the community:
I wanted to bring to your attention some very disturbing news which recently happened in our community and has greatly affected the consumers of Bateman House and all other mental health consumers in our region.
On May 6, 2008, the consumers of Bateman House held a yard sale and BBQ with karaoke as entertainment.
This was held in conjunction with the annual Mental Health Week.
Some of the Mental Health staff helped us to do this.
The day went great and a good time was had by all.
On our next Bateman House day, as a program, we all helped count and roll all the moneys that were made and had been donated.
Because we had not been able to switch our signing officer at the bank yet, the money was placed in care of one of our workers and locked in a secret spot in a locked box.
Much to her surprise she received a phone call informing her that someone had found it and broken into it and stolen all of our paper cash.
We figure it was around $350 as we had our craft program money and painting money in there also.
No coin was taken as it is quite heavy but the bag was broken.
This worker immediately got in touch with me to inform me.
It saddened me greatly as mental health consumers work very hard for any money they can in order to do special things.
Through the year we rely pretty much on bottle donations.
This money may not seem important to some, however, for us who don't get some opportunities due to limited income, it means a lot.
We were planning a camping trip but now are not sure if we can go.
We were going to help one of our consumers get her ID as hers had all been stolen but don't know if we can afford it now.
Also, if someone needs a medication and can't afford it or a pair of shoes, etc., we would help them out.
But now, with $350 taken from the Interior Health building which is locked and secured unless someone is there, really saddens me as I figure if the alarm did not go off, then it is likely that staff was in there.
There is no Mental Health staff in on the weekends which narrows things down a bit.
I am just so angry that if it was an employee of Interior Health, do they not make enough money and benefits that they have to steal from the poor.
It is my hope that the person or persons involved will either step forward returning all monies or at least replace it secretively to a space nearby so we can do what we needed to do with our hard earned money.
We worked hard for this and we are all upset.
I would like to ask the person who did this to really stand back and take a good look at what they have done and how they have affected the consumers in our region.
I only named three or four things but there is so much more.
Do you really think you needed it more than us?
I know that God holds the answer to that.
So please think about it and consider bringing our money back to us.
Sandra Roos, President of Consumer Council, Bateman House
OSOYOOS TIMES-June 11, 2008
GOOSE BELONGS ON FARM, NOT IN NEIGHBOURHOOD
Editor:
And so the rancour surrounding Mr. Haynes' pet goose rages on.
Ms. Schofield's assertion that there is only one complainant is incorrect and possibly an attempt to malign a certain person.
There are in fact, many others, including myself. And we have a great deal of evidence!
Mr. Yanor was kind enough to weigh in with his opinions and his letter also has some inaccuracies.
Mr. Haynes' pet is not a snow goose.
Nor is it a graceful swan.
It was bred as a market animal and belongs in a barnyard, not a residential neighbourhood.
Mr. Haynes' sense of entitlement to keep a goose as a pet implies that anyone who quits farming can move into town dragging along a menagerie, claiming them to be pets.
What's next? Pigs and goats? Cattle?
Mr. Yanor goes on to say there were dozens of wild geese that visited Peanut Pond last fall, not the hundreds he credits me with stating.
But the record clearly shows that I said a large number and as a well-equipped photographer, I have many photographs taken through a telephoto lens that clearly shows the hundreds of wild geese that Mr. Yanor denies, with Mr. Haynes' pet at the centre of the horde.
Mr. Yanor writes that my objection is specious, because Mr. Haynes' pet didn't dirty my environment and was a graceful, benign presence.
Mr. Haynes' pet made a habit of roosting, not on its owner's rented property, but on the much more accessible lawns and patios of the Peanut Pond condo complex, where it would hold court with its wild cousins.
There was a substantial increase in the amount of fecal matter on our lawns and patios compared to that in recent years before the arrival of Mr. Haynes' pet.
The goose seemed to favour one patio in particular, fouling the patio beyond reason and posturing aggressively when the resident tried to evict it.
There are credible witnesses and well-documented and dated photographs to support this claim.
From this perch, which is right under our bedroom windows, the goose would often launch into one of its loud and abrasive nocturnal rants.
Hearing one of these performances leaves little wonder why the Scots use these creatures to guard their distilleries.
Of course, Ms. Schofield, Mr. Haynes and Mr. Yanor et. al. didn't hear anything, their bedroom windows being on the other side or end of the pond.
It would be fair to suggest that the goose would be welcome if Mr. Haynes was a responsible pet owner, limiting its range and cleaning up after it, but that was never the case.
Would Mr. Yanor be of the same opinion if the goose took up residence on his trailer porch, defecating up to three pounds per day and hissing menacingly every time he tried to open his door?
It should be pointed out that the H5N1 strain of avian influenza has been found in Canada goose populations throughout the world.
The virus is spread primarily through fecal contact.
If the scientists are correct, there is need for concern.
More information is available online by simply entering (Canada geese avian flu) into your web browser or Google bar.
Any person who chooses to communicate with me for rebuttal or dispute can do so by calling the number below.
Craig The Philistine Phillips,rnOsoyoos, 485-7029
OSOYOOS TIMES-June 11, 2008
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