With two granddaughters involved in 4-H, I spent some hours at the show last weekend. The family were camped at the stockyards, that’s a big part of the event. Sunday night was dance night. While visiting the relatives, I heard great gigglings coming from the neighbouring camp where a number of young ladies were dressed for the dance wearing outfits made from plastic seed bags. Struck me as appropriate recycling.
The show and sale is a huge event and my hat is certainly off to the parents and supporters who make it happen.
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The announced changes in ICBC have irked many motorists, but critics should have a look at why the Crown Corporation is making the changes.
1.) Too many of us are lousy drivers. We crash into someone or something about 960 times a day, and we expect to be well-compensated for any resulting damage no matter who’s at fault. If accident-prone drivers have to pay higher insurance, they have only themselves to blame.
2.) The former government saw ICBC and BC Hydro as cash cows and grabbed over $1 billion in “dividends” from the two to fluff up provincial budgets.
This put them both in debt. ICBC’s share was reported to be $480 million from 2014 to 2017. The public insurance company was intended to benefit motorists, not boost general revenue.
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Last week Apple became the first company in history to reach a $1-trillion valuation. Only 15 countries are worth more. I have no idea how many zeros are needed to write $1 trillion in numbers, but Professor Christoph Frei of the University of Alberta explains it by comparing dollars to time. One trillion seconds is 32,000 years.
To spend $1 trillion, you would have to spend $33.8 million every day for 81 years.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.
