Re: Sister cities partnerships costly endeavours – except one (Letters, May 11)
Ms. Dear, through her letter, has provided a wonderful opportunity for the Sidney Sister Cities Association to further inform the residents of Sidney and the Peninsula of our activities at no cost.
Tomorrow, May 17, commencing at 6:30 p.m., our monthly general meeting will be held at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre and the centre’s director, Angus Matthews, will be our guest speaker. The meeting will provide a wonderful opportunity for Ms. Dear and the public in general, not only to visit the centre and enjoy its unrivalled attractions but also to learn just why the SSCA members so enjoy contributing, through our sister city partnerships, to life in Sidney and on the Peninsula.
Understanding why Sidney town council and the citizens of Sidney and nearby area – since 1984 when Sidney was sistered with Cairns, Australia; since 1996 when Sidney was sistered with Anacortes; and since 2008 when Sidney was sistered with Niimi, Japan – have strongly supported SSCA activities at very little cost, would clarify why the SSCA through its support of such Sidney and Peninsula incentives as the Town of Sidney calendar, various art and artist exchanges, student exchange visits, retention of the Sidney-Anacortes ferry route, and the Sidney and Anacortes summer and Christmas parades, joins so enthusiastically with many other volunteer community organizations and ventures to attract visitors and businesses to the area.
A huge burden? Thankfully, to our knowledge, Ms. Dear’s letter to the editor in no way represents the views of this wonderful, welcoming and hugely supportive community.
Bob McLure
president, Sidney Sister Cities Association
