Snowfall clouds city’s vision
To the Editor,
A couple of months ago the taxpayers of Port Alberni were given visions of a boulevard on Johnston Road with trees running down the center median, etc.
The idea was presented to make it a shopping friendly strip.
Ironically, one snowfall and the sidewalks were left to those on foot to try and stay erect navigating them.
Furthermore, since the snow did not ‘disappear’ quickly as in most times, it ended up being snow covered ice.
If the city cannot afford to remove and maintain snow/ice covered sidewalks, allowing customers to shop the stores along the route, leaves one wonder.
Maybe some of that hot air could be used to melt the snow?
Selkirk McPhail,
Port Alberni
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Who is keeping track of generosity
To the Editor,
Re: Why are so many hungry in our city, Editorial, Dec. 8.
I’m going to play devil’s advocate for a minute here: could it be the generosity of folks living here is being taken advantage of?
Is there anyone monitoring who is utilizing the food bank, and all the many other services offered? Is it possible that because something is “free” it simply encourages people to take advantage?
We need to think about it for a minute—where is the incentive to get off welfare, social services, handouts at the food bank, hot meal locations, school breakfast plan, and lately hot food plan for kids to take home after school?
I would rather see some of this generosity turn into a Civics lesson where folks can attend to learn ways to make life better for themselves and their children; after all, it was their choice to have children, why then does society have to “help raise and feed them.”
I don’t say all folks could be abusing the system; I would simply like to see alternative ways to “fix the problem” so that the big hearts in town are potentially not taken advantage of.
I think overall people want to work for a living; the parents of my generation surely made it work for us.
Theresa St. Jacques,
Port Alberni
