COLUMNS: Share the good stuff now

March is finally over. I thought it was going to last forever, especially after that cheeky snowfall on Friday.

March is finally over. I thought it was going to last forever, especially after that cheeky snowfall on Friday.

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My mother always let everyone know she didn’t want flowers at her funeral, she wanted them while she was alive to enjoy them. Along that same line, when I listen to eulogies at funeral services I always hope the deceased heard the good words when they were alive. Like my mother and the flowers, I’d prefer to have the good stuff now.

With that in mind, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to comment on my receiving the Joe Marten award. Hearing the good stuff now was the icing on the cake for my 15 minutes of fame.

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Attended the film Beauty and the Beast with two young granddaughters and really enjoyed it but I preferred the Beast to the wimpy-looking prince he turned back into. Is this an age thing?

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There are so many issues on the agenda for the upcoming provincial election it’s hard to say what the hottest items will be. Health will be high on the list, the shortage of hospital beds and seniors care among the concerns. Cariboo Chilcotin voters surely worry about social issues, but the health and sustainability of our natural resources are matters of concern too (jobs and all that). Forestry and mining will be, agriculture should be. Water is the one natural resource that is impacted by all the other activities. Remember a few years back when city council wanted to privatize our water system? People objected — loudly — so it didn’t happen. All has been more or less OK on the water front since, at least in the city, but water generally is getting more attention what with the Mt. Polley spill and the seemingly never-ending push for the controversial Prosperity Mine. Of course BC Hydro has many British Columbians worried and so it should.

Maude Barlow from the Council of Canadians, an activist in water issues, will be at the Gibraltar Room Monday evening for a discussion of BC’s water issues. She will be joined by Xeni Gwet’in Coun. Marilyn Baptiste and Jenny Howell, co-ordinator of the community’s Water Wise Program.

Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune.She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.

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