Enough already
Over the last few months, columnist and editor Carolyn Grant has, in her columns, shown an obsession with the skewing of now President Donald Trump.
We get it. You don’t like him. Frogs will rain from the sky, Plagues of locusts. The end of the civilized world, etc. It’s time to stop your personal vendetta. We’re tired of it and it does nothing to promote your credentials as a small town journalist.
Unless you’ve moved recently, may I remind you that you live in a tiny community north of the 49th parallel, a town that might benefit from your scrutiny? If you wish to broaden your perspective there are regional, provincial and national issues that require some attention.
Broadly you might draw attention to our sunny-ways leader who, as he rides his green-train on carbon tax that, when implemented could raise the average family’s grocery bill for necessities by as much as 40 per cent; a leader who is the centre of four separate government investigations, including conflict of interest. Who is saddling the next generation and the one after that, with trillions of dollars in debt. Who spends less time in parliament than any recent leader while globe-trotting and taking selfies with his adoring crowds abroad.
As one who spent his forty-three year career in the business from which you are earning your living, may I suggest you dig a little more deeply in the areas that directly affect your fellow residents. If you do, you’ll find lots of fodder for your columns.
In the meantime, please spare us your Trump tirades. Give your paying readers some rest from your vitriol, they deserve better.
Steen Jorgensen/Cranbrook
Searching together
I was delighted to see Gary’s response to my column, “Jesus Did Not Come to Die.”
First of all, I was moved by the peaceful tone of his column. It shows again that we can disagree, and do it respectfully. Gary, you have modelled a wonderful way of being. Thank you.
Secondly, Gary’s response shows that it is possible for us to interpret our faith and our Scriptures in different ways. Even the Bible has differing ways of viewing the same event. It is a thoroughly Biblical way of doing things, and we continue that way as we search together for its meaning for us today.
In one sense, Gary is right. I should have included one word in my column which might have made all the difference—and that word is “just”. Jesus did not come just to die. Jesus died, and ever since the church has discerned a redemptive significance in his death.
Jesus also came to live, and the church has also discerned a redemptive significance in his living.
Thank you, Gary. Let’s continue searching together.
Yme Woensdregt/Cranbrook
The Bulletin
“I don’t get the local paper!” exclaimed a Kimberley resident, firing me (again) with concern. I’ve often thought to speak up. Well, it’s high time to take a stand in support of our venerable Kimberley Bulletin. To avoid losing it, we must use it.
Our local rag, now in Year 85, is the Portland Cement that binds big and small fragments of community information to ‘hold together’ in print for us all. Sports to arts, birth to death, local events to tourism, pub to church, human service here and abroad — in the Bulletin we get firm foundations for knowledge about Kimberley’s life, culture and meaning. We also gain valuable insights into college, business and other activity in nearby Cranbrook via partnership with its similarly-vital Townsman.
Carolyn Grant is a champagne-taste editor in our beer-budget paper. I would match many of her editorials against Globe-and-Mail or NY Times pieces for the quality of writing. Like our many past editors (Peter Faulkner the first I knew), she also welcomes local submissions; and she has a special genius for condensing floods of detail into concise, rich articles.
Kimberley citizens! Cut out two hamburgers a month and get the Bulletin. Brain and body will benefit, while you help to keep a community-boosting local paper alive and strong.
Arne Sahlen/Kimberley
A player’s perspective
To the great city of Cranbrook and fans of the Kootenay Ice,:
For a long time now, the talk about Cranbrook losing the Kootenay Ice has become far too commonplace, as though people have given up and just expect it to happen. With the Nanaimo rink referendum coming up, it has come down to the wire, and the possibility of losing our WHL hockey team has finally cut way too close for comfort.
I would like to write to you from a perspective you might not have heard from yet – a player’s. Granted, it’s been over a decade since I last played for the Ice, but back in those days it was an honour and a privilege to play for Cranbrook. I made the team as a walk-on at age 17 because Jeff Chynoweth took a chance on me, and I wouldn’t be where I am today in my career without him. Many players can say the same. Back in those days, this town couldn’t get enough of the hockey our team played. Stepping onto the ice in front of a few thousand cheering fans every night inspired all of us to be the best players we could be, whether we won or lost that night. We succeeded because your attendance supported our motivation and our attitudes. At every level in this game, it really is the fans that drive the players, and none of us professional athletes would have a career if it weren’t for those people who continue to support us for better or worse.
The players love this town too. Many come back to visit old billets, vacation here, even move here. For a few of us, Cranbrook has played a bigger role in our lives than we ever thought it would. I met my wife here, we bought a house here, we spend our offseasons here and want to raise our family here. And I’m not the only player who has. But, without the support I received when I played here, it would likely be a different story.
Complaints about not attending games because the Ice “aren’t winning” are pretty off-base if the players are denied a motivating fan environment. A lost game is a disappointment (trust me, I know), but a number on a scoresheet doesn’t need to take away the social or entertainment value of cheering through a tough game. Don’t send the message the players deserve to be abandoned because they are struggling. Those players need YOU. They need support from every family, every age group in our town. I understand that ticket prices are a major factor, but even for lower prices to succeed, the people of Cranbrook need to be on board first and foremost.
I would like to challenge the entire town to attend at least ONE game before the end of the season. Go and support your team and let the players know you support them. Remember how fun it can be to watch the Good Old Hockey Game with your friends. Teach your kids it’s important to support your local team, even if it means you can only afford to go once in a while. Remember that those players give back to this town, too and deserve the best support they can to succeed.
In return, I myself will do whatever I can for the Ice to stay local. As time goes on, I also look forward to giving back everything this town has given to me over the years. All I ask is that the good people of Cranbrook find it within themselves to give the current players the same support they gave to us back when players like Colin Sinclair, Nigel Dawes, Igor Agorunov, Jarrett Stoll and myself were on the team. We never forget where we got our start, and neither will the players out there today. If we can keep the Kootenay Ice in Cranbrook, we all win. Without it, our town stands way more to lose than just the team.
Adam Cracknell, Dallas Stars
Kootenay Ice Alumni, 2002-2006
