A bouquet to Terry Farrell for once again raising the Maple Pool issue. Even the new mayor of Saanich has found that changing City Hall is not all that easy – and he fired the city manager! We should cut the new councillors and CVRD directors a little slack. They have been indoctrinated with legalities and overwhelmed with budget information. They have been saddled by questionable, expensive, decisions by previous councils and CVRD board. Change will take some time. Let’s have more of your COMMEN-TERRY on the issues facing councillors and directors. It is no easy job, deciding priorities.
Bright smiles all around Courtenay Elementary School thanks to three local dentist offices that provided dental kits to kids in need. Thank you to Dr. Colleen Clancy, Driftwood Dental, and Shoreline Orthodontics for the cute kits for kids. While looking at your Jan. 29, 2015 paper, my eye spotted an article titled “Group urges CVRD for action on homelessness” by Scott Stanfield. One paragraph really got me thinking; it stated: “Studies estimate costs to provide services for one homeless person are about $55,000 per year.” It caught my eye because I live across the street from the homeless shelter on Pidcock Avenue. It just so happened that my T4A slip had just come in the mail (that day), so I thought I would check my net income from the provincial government. My income net pay for the year – 12 months – 365 days – was approximately $10,000. So I figured I’d see how cheap of a date I was for the government. It worked out like this: Homeless person, $55,000 a year; disabled guy, approx. $10,000 a year. Homeless person, $4,860 per month; disabled guy, $960 per month. Homeless person, $156 per day; disabled guy, $32 per day. Maybe I should move across the street. They get cable, meals prepared, laundry done … I’m not trying to be a smart apple, but I see on TV where you can clothe, feed, educate and put a roof over the head of one little Third World orphan for one dollar a day.
Thank you to the Comox Valley Community for making Family Literacy Week a wonderful event, and thank you to Raise-a-Reader, Success by Six, Comox Valley Lifelong Learning Association, Vancouver Island Regional Library, Thrifty’s, and Starbucks for funding and support. As well, thank you to Laughing Oyster Books for providing a Family Literacy Day discount, and Zocalo Cafe for offering free hot chocolate for Family Literacy Day participants. If you were not able to attend Family Literacy Week this year, be sure to check it out next year – you’ll be glad you did!
Perhaps you know the two young men who were enjoying fishing in Puntledge Park on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 15). They were certainly well geared up. They may have even told you they had a good time. If you know them, please let them know that I went into the park on Monday and cleaned up the fishing line and lead weights that were left littering the beach and under the bench in the park. I support recreational fishing 100 per cent, but I cannot understand how someone who is suppose to value a resource can so casually pollute it.
I went for a hike in the Cumberland Forest on Sunday and came across two of the burned out lantern shells that were released on Friday night. I thought it was ironic that a village that prides itself on its environmental consciousness has no problem releasing dozens of lanterns into the sky only to have them land wherever.
Went for a lovely walk around the estuary this glorious Sunday morning warmed not only by the sun but also by a wonderful breakfast at The Hog and The Hen, the former Oh-So Yummy cafe, in the Comox Valley Inn. I had been pleased to find the setting brighter and warmer and my food, even better. Adding the intelligent conversation with the lovely and lively Christina, the server, it made for a perfect way to start a day in the Comox Valley. It’s much quieter at The Hog and The Hen for the first hour or so in the morning too from what I understand, something else I greatly appreciate.
To all the women and businesses that have donated mastectomy bras and prosthetics towards my breast cancer donation drive for the women of Mexico, may you be wrapped in pink ribbons and showered with pink rose pedals. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Anne.
When is something going to be done about the excessive speeding on 20th St. off Willemar, towards Cumberland? This short, very straight road has become a regular speedway, especially with pickup trucks. No large trucks allowed on this road, well no one bothers obeying this sign. Speed bumps would help considerably. The corner on 20th and Cousins is another hindrance. Only half the people bother to come to a full stop. It is extremely difficult to see traffic traveling down 20th St. Brake noises carry on all day because of close calls. There needs to be a four-way stop here. From 4 p.m. on many folks traveling this road are pedal to metal, especially pickup trucks. What is the point of putting counters on the street, if nothing is done about the problem, even when you now know what the traffic amount is like? I cannot remember the last time we have seen the RCMP traffic patrol on this street. Come on City of Courtenay it would be nice to see this ongoing problem dealt with before we have a major accident!
It was A nice change to see the positive letter from Mr. Keyes on his pleasant experience in dealing with the CVRD planning department, and their professional approach to his development project. He also recognized Area B Director Rod Nichol, for Rod’s hands-on approach. ”I see why he achieved a landslide victory in his district”. Yes, Mr. Nichol is setting the standard for Comox Valley political representatives! He is living up to his motto ”let’s govern together”.
On Sunday and Monday, while checking the news, it was very clear the international and Canadian press had a lot of say about the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian men, by I.S.I.S. Lots of condemnations here and abroad. However, we didn’t hear that much about the over 70 beheadings the Saudi government carried out last year. We didn’t hear much about how many people in opposition to the Egyptian military have been killed in the past 12 months. Worst of all we haven’t heard that much about the 1,200 murdered/missing Canadian First Nations women. All we have is our prime minister saying at his year-end interview, ‘it wasn’t on his radar.’ So if 1,200 murdered/missing First Nations women aren’t that important to P.M. Harper why are people in the Middle East so important to him? Is it because they aren’t First Nations? Is it because they aren’t women? Is it because they aren’t members of his church? Is it because he doesn’t care that much about Canadians? If P.M. Harper spent as much time and money on finding out who murdered these Canadian women, as he does fighting foreign wars, we would have a lot of murderers behind bars instead of a continuing number of dead Canadian First Nations women.
