Easter is all about renewal of spirit and a fresh look at ourselves and an appreciation of what we should be grateful for, you know, like for life itself.
So happy Easter, or is it hoppy Easter, and it certainly looks like spring is here which in itself is worth celebrating.
So get outside and enjoy it…..
…..and speaking of getting outside and enjoying ourselves, the community is about to vote on a proposed sports complex at Okanagan College.
If you enjoy reading the letters to the editor section of the newspaper, which I know is most everybody, then you know there’s plenty of opinions on the matter from both sides of the equation.
And, by the way, we will get in as many as we can before April 6 but there’s only so much space, and time, until this Saturday so if you haven’t written to us already…..
…..however you can still debate with your neighbour the pros and cons of the proposal at length but I encourage you to do your civic duty and please vote. Another thing to celebrate is the fact that we live in a democracy where everyone gets their say about the future of this community.
But that right is meaningless if you don’t exercise it. People’s participation in democracy is on the wane of late and I think some of that is due to cynicism about the political process, that our votes, and our voices, don’t count for squat and the politicians just do whatever they like, or at least whatever their pollsters and advisers tell them to do.
Although that is far too true at the federal and provincial level (especially Ottawa where our representatives have so little power that representing us seems like a token gesture at best, but vote anyways darn it or they’ll really think we don’t count for anything), the civic level is the most accountable of all.
They are the ones we see on a daily basis and the ones that make the local decisions that directly affect our day-to-day lives, not to mention taxes.
They are also the least paid of the three levels of government by the way, with shorter terms of employment, no pension plan and usually take way more grief than their counterparts in far-off Victoria or Ottawa (although it should be stated that all politicians take far more than their share of grief for mostly trying to do their best on our behalf).
Anyway these local representatives have got together (which is amazing in itself in these parts historically) and come up with a plan that addresses several ongoing and longtime recreational and athletic deficits in this community.
It’s a track, an athletic field, bleachers, changerooms, a natural field and more, all on an accessible, practical, beautiful site next to Okanagan College, which also happens to boast one of the best views on the planet.
And did I mention we can have the land for $1 a year for 40 years?
Yes, it costs up to $7.5 million to build but I look it as an investment in our future, in our youth, in our health and well-being and in our vitality as a community, including proudly hosting feel-good and relationship-building events like the B.C. Summer Games and seniors games and track meets and football playoff games and…..
Some say other sites would be better but I’m not sure where.
Coldstream Ranch was rejected, mostly due to NIMBY, Kin Track is slated for an arena and ball fields if we ever see that day come, Marshall Field has decent fields and a poor parking lot with even poorer road access (and it’s taken years to get that far) and Polson doesn’t have room and is apparently a passive park – this is our chance to have a first-rate facility in a community starved for one.
Of course that’s just one man’s opinion, complete with my own biases and agendas, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyway.
I welcome you to agree or disagree and I know you have your own good reasons for doing so as well. However, no matter how you feel or which way you are going to vote in the referendum on Saturday, I encourage you to exercise your democratic right.
It’s your community, it’s your future, it’s your right. So do it.
—Glenn Mitchell is the managing editor for The Morning Star
