Jan. 7 — “Time and time again we’ll hear from people who say, ‘I’ve lived here in the Comox Valley for 50 years, and it never floods’ or this never happens or that never happens.” Coun. Jon Ambler.
Jan. 12 — “I personally am sick of the hijacking of our resources of B.C. by privatizing-mad governments and gutless Supreme Court judges who give out injunctions to every pillaging, polluting, privatizing logging or construction company that asks for one.” Betty Krawczyk.
Jan. 21 — “We have huge volumes of water; we just need to capture it. The land will be totally irrigated with our own water.” Brian McMahon, about the Kensington golf course in Union Bay.
Jan. 26 — “We always have to be cautious looking backwards as a way of going forward.” Marty Douglas, about forecasting the housing market.
Feb. 4 — “He’s been a phenomenal contributor to the community and the world as a Rotarian, that’s for darn sure.” Robert Buckley, of Citizen of the Year Bent Harder.
Feb. 16 — “The ferries should be reduced, if not eliminated. It takes a lot of work to live out here — but that’s a choice.” Hornby Island resident Robert Gee.
Feb. 18 — “Politicians have to realize sometimes the housewives have the wisdom where (they) only have the knowledge.” Lorna Clark, upset about radiology misdiagnoses.
Feb. 23 — “It’s too late for me, but it’s not too late for the next young woman who goes in there, and there are too many of us who slipped through the cracks.” Florence Smith, upset about a mammogram misdiagnosis.
Feb. 25 — “He’s always had the guts to stand up for moderation, and I think when you’re a moderate you’ve got to be twice as tough as the normal person because you’ve got to stand up to the lunatics on the right and the lunatics on the left.” Mike Holland, about Ujjal Dosanjh.
March 2 — “It was a very sad day yesterday. A lot of people told me it felt like a funeral yesterday.” Owner George Kacavenda after the Lorne Hotel burned.
March 11 — “Candy’s dandy, but liquor’s quicker certainly applies here — having it so close to everything, especially low-income housing, I think it’s just wrong, and I won’t support it.” Coun. Murray Presley, opposing a casino application to increase liquor capacity.
March 18 — “I didn’t even know who the other members of cabinet were until I went to the swearing-in ceremony.” MLA Don McRae, about being named agriculture minister.
March 25 — “So the next time you are bent over to plug in the vacuum cleaner, pause for a moment and reflect on the fact that this is the position that BC Hydro and the B.C. government have adroitly manoeuvred you into.” Terry Burt.
March 30 — “This is not for our generation. It is for our young people — so they can flourish.” Chief Ernie Hardy about an agreement in principle reached in the K’ómoks Band’s treaty negotiations.
April 1 — “When they’re helping patients, they’re working with the aftershocks and working on patients at the same time.” Comox Valley paramedic Ryan Thorburn, describing post-earthquake conditions in Haiti.
April 13 — “It’s going to be a very tough campaign. They’re going to tell lies about us and we’re going to tell the truth about them.” Bob Rae, about how the Liberals would wage a federal election campaign against the Conservatives.
April 15 — “Often, leaving is the most risky time for someone. Women are afraid to take that risk.” Heather Ney, describing the plight of abused women.
April 29 — “Ronna-Rae will be a voice for the North Island in Ottawa — not the other way around.” Jack Layton, campaigning for NDP candidate Ronna-Rae Leonard.
May 13 — “There’s a huge bureaucratic overburden that really sucks the money out of the health care system.” John Cummins, criticizing B.C. health care.
May 25 — “Support in good times and bad was available from
Sister Pat. She lived with a strong faith, moral conviction and was available 24/7 to aid many in their time of need.” St. Joseph’s Hospital CEO Michael Pontus about Sister Pat Macauley.
June 15 — “I don’t see many happy seniors any more. The HST was the last straw for many of us.” Gwyn Frayne, reacting to Adrian Dix campaigning against the HST.
June 22 — “If you want to have a store you can walk to, it has to be close to where you live. It’s going to be loud. People are not entitled to silence.” Coun. Jon Ambler as Courtenay council approves a new Thrifty Foods store.
June 24 — “It’s visual pollution … but it only lasts for five weeks, every three years. That’s a small price to pay for democracy.” Coun Tom Grant of Comox about campaign signs in municipal elections.
July 1 — “When we sing together, it’s like two fighter pilots — we fly in tight formation and always know where the other guy’s wing is.” David Crosby, of he and Graham Nash.
July 13 — “It’s going to have its controversy, regardless of where it’s built and when it’s built. But at some point, we’ve got to get beyond that and flat out do the right thing.” Mark Middleton, about a proposed homeless shelter in Courtenay.
July 20 — “I didn’t like the idea (of him going overseas), but he said to me, ‘If not me, then whom?’ and my worry was then mixed with pride.” Maureen Eykelenboom, recalling her son Andrew, killed while serving with the Canadian military in Afghanistan.
July 22 — “They felt the chemo would never catch up. I fooled them.” After a surprise visit from the Tour de Rock cycling team, Mike Jackson commented about how he beat cancer and proved his specialists wrong.
July 27 — “We’ve had it with little dweebs running around this town
with knives because they don’t have enough balls to stand up and fight.” David Denton, after his son James was stabbed to death.
