Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
Thumbs up to the province for finally holding people accountable for breaking COVID-19 rules.
Last week the government introduced new fines for people who flout the rules and put others’ lives at risk for their irresponsible actions.
Imagine hosting a party in an apartment suite without social distancing during a killer pandemic. Well, this is exactly what one person did (twice) in Victoria. He was fined $2,300. The second time should have been an all-expense paid trip to the lockup. Seriously.
While COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in B.C. and elsewhere, some younger people think the rules don’t apply to them, and if they get the virus, they can just shrug it off. But the pandemic has proven it can kill our younger generation very easily (like it did a 19-year-old man in Quebec last week).
It doesn’t appear that Dr. Bonnie Henry’s nice words are having much of an effect on people anymore. People tend to take advantage when you are too nice.
No better gift
You may want to call our firefighters heroes, but they are the first people to disagree with you on that issue.
Instead, I like to call them our guardian angels.
While we are forced to run away from fire, they run towards it because, plain and simple, that is their job.
The Christie Mountain fire, which is far from over, is a perfect example of that. Lead department, Okanagan Falls, did a great job as initial response, followed up by expert mutual aid from various departments, including Oliver, Willowbrook, Osoyoos and Anarchist Mountain.
In Penticton, Fire Chief Larry Watkinson and his crew did a stupendous job (with many out-of-town departments) in stopping the fire from infiltrating the upper Carmi area.
Last Friday’s windstorm was nerve-racking for all of the residents on alert, but at the end of the day, our guardian angels saved our homes.
Many kudos go out to regional district staff, particularly information officer Erick Thompson for his well-articulated efforts in keeping everyone informed.
So, how do we possibly thank these people? We can’t give them home-baked cookies anymore (as much as they love them). But there is one thing we can do to show our utmost appreciation: Be prepared for emergencies and stay out of firefighters’ way.
See all those dead branches and pine needles beside your home? Get rid of them. This spring I filled a dozen yard waste bags with dead pine needles and pine cones. And during Friday’s windstorm I cut down a dying tree and some branches touching my house.
Like other people I was tempted to stop on the side of the highway to watch the fire, but I didn’t because I knew it would cause more congestion.
I was all set to go with my emergency kit which I had prepared last year.
These are precisely the things you can do to show emergency responders your gratitude. There’s no better gift.
