Having recently suffered an eye injury requiring a trip to Vancouver, I was dreading the cost, especially the price of gas.
If gas cost $1.43 in Salmon Arm and even in Blind Bay (where it is usually cheaper), this would be one expensive trip. Imagine my surprise when I topped up in: Kamloops – $1.32.9, Abbotsford – $1.32.9. Heck, gas was available in Vancouver at $1.45.9 (a mere two cents higher than Salmon Arm).
Taking a different route home, we saw gas in Lake Country at $1.37.9 and in Vernon at $1.35.9. Hmmm, eight cents cheaper than Salmon Arm. Prices must have dropped since we left – wrong! Isn’t all Vernon gas trucked from Kamloops to Vernon through Salmon Arm? Mayor Cooper and council, if you really want to encourage tourism, there is a simple solution.
Conduct a corporate branch search of those numbered companies owning local service stations and publish family name owners – all corporate branch information is ‘public.’ I can assure you, prices would drop. Alternatively, I would like to bring a private motion in chambers to change our city name to ‘Slammin Arm’ !
Ken Smith
