Cityѻý position on RVs inconsistent
Dear Editor:
I really have to wonder about the competence of the City of ѻýѻý planning staff.
To recommend against the year-round operation of an RV park that currently operates seasonally makes no sense.
They state: “It would preclude future use of agricultural lands, as it would permanently convert agricultural land for non-agricultural use.”
Guess what, these 10 sites are already removed from agricultural use. They do not magically transform into gardens from November to March.
They further argue: “Recreational vehicles and specifically CSA-Z241 Series Park model trailers are not recognized as dwelling units as per the ѻý Building Code.”
I am confident the tents and ramshackle structures people are living in all around ѻý do not meet the code either.
I could understand limiting the number of spaces taken out of the seasonal rental pool may be a valid consideration, but the rest of the arguments are just smoke.
Gord Marshall, ѻý
Slow down and watch for bikes!
Dear Editor:
I would like to warn the red taxi that blew the red light at Duncan and Atkinson going west at about 10:30 last Tuesday, if l had not seen you out of the corner of my eye and braked you would have broadsided me.
Just a reminder to slow down and watch for bikes.
Terry Taylor, Penticton
This is far from beautification
Dear Editor:
If Penticton City Council thinks they are beautifying Penticton, think again.
Take a drive around the northern part of Penticton and notice all the big boxes they are building.
These “Big Boxes” may be functional but they are “ugly” and they only benefit the developers, real estate and mortgage brokers.
Cram us all together and make sure there is no “green space” or “parking space”.
Judy Preen,Penticton
NDP drops ball on food supply
Dear Editor:
Re: “ѻý could become a food superpower. Instead, we are losing entire crops” by Evan Fraser (Vancouver Sun, Aug. 8).
You would think with the typical NDP government overreach and knowing whatѻý “best for the people” they could have seen this coming. They supposedly are leading the charge to mitigate effects of climate change, yet they really dropped the ball on food supply issues.
Premier David Eby and his crew should spend more time on safe food supply rather than safe illegal drug supply. One leads to prolonged misery and death, the other gives life and sustenance.
He could start by charging someone with filling the void left with the failure of ѻý Tree Fruits.
Greg Snider,Creston
Olympic Spirit is harmony
Dear Editor:
Food for thinkers.
The Olympic Spirit is a beacon of harmony that should be seeded in all nations.
Stay well.
Joe Schwarz,Penticton
Bogeyman is real and imaginary
Dear Editor:
Early one morning, when I was beginning to awaken, I felt like a scuba diver emerging from the shadowy depths and drifting upward toward the waterѻý glittering surface.
My mind insisted on keeping my eyes closed.
For a minute or so I imagined the air wafting over my face was a sea breeze, but knew it was coming from the bedroom window fan.
Nevertheless, memories from my childhood were conjured up.
Although details were hazy, I could see my young self snuggled in bed with the sheet pulled up to my chin.
My older brotherѻý empty bed was on the opposite side of the room.
His wall was decorated with numerous large posters, which were promotional advertisements for popular singers in the 1950s. He had ‘pinched’ them from an audio booth in a music store.
The soundproof booth was equipped to allow a customer to listen to a record before deciding whether to purchase it or not.
On my side of the room I could see two strings running across the ceiling and down the far wall. One end of each string was attached to the toggle of a light switch and the other end, to the head of my bed frame.
I had installed the pull strings to enable me to turn the ceiling light ‘OFF’ or ‘ON’ without having to take the chance there might be a ‘bogeyman’ under my bed.
When my brother and I had been little kids, our mother would tuck us into bed and frequently warn us to go to sleep or thebogeymanwould get us.
Thatѻý a memory impossible to forget.
When I finally opened my eyes, the remnants of those images scattered like airborne dandelion seeds in a windstorm.
For a short time I stared through the whirling blades of the window fan. The sky was bright blue and cloudless.
Reluctantly, I decided it was time to get up. For a fleeting moment I was tempted to look under the bed before putting my feet on the floor.
Thatѻý when my thoughts turned to the countless number of children who have to contend with real livebogeymen and the evil they embody.
Most adults become desensitized to violence, but far too many children must cope with having their innocence ripped to shreds.
The daily media attests to that.
Lloyd Atkins,Vernon
Inflation hurting so many people
Dear Editor:
I wonder about the industries and companies who created the inflation that has hurt so many people with issues regarding buying food, paying rent and mortgages and buying gasoline.
When Justin Trudeau talks about his concern for Canadian residents, we are facing very tough reductions in new businesses setting up and personal and business bankruptcies.
I guess he doesn’t realize that when people save money to start a business and it fails those people usually have personal guarantees on the business loans that will take a long time, if ever, to repay.
So much for “his people”.
Rob Ingram,Summerland
Failed by the judicial system
Dear Editor:
I would like to inform the public about Defamatory Libel.
Defamatory is unjustified injury to anotherѻý reputation and Libel is anything malicious or damaging to a personѻý reputation in a written or printed form.
It is one of the rules included in Bill C13, enacted March 10, 2015 but ѻý Crown Counsel does not want to follow due process in such a case.
It uses excuses such as what is in the best interest of society and whether a conviction would be possible, totally ignoring the psychological damage it has done to the victim and by association, the damage done to the victimѻý children.
The courts are supposed to uphold the current laws of Canada, but apparently put their own interpretation of what those laws mean.
Furthermore, a decision not to allow due process contravenes the victimѻý constitutional rights to Life, Liberty, Physical and Psychological Safety guaranteed by the Canada Act of 1982.
It is illegal for magazines and newspapers to disseminate defamatory libel, but according to ѻý Crown Counsel, it is acceptable for a perpetrator to do so to his victim without fear of being held accountable.
I can confidently make this statement because I have been trying for the past seven months to have such a case indicted.
Also, Attorney General of Canada, Arif Virani has proposed an “Online Harms Act”, an amendment to Bill C63, that contains rule No. 6: “Content that foments hatred” which would apply to this case, but has not been ratified as yet.
There is something drastically wrong with our judicial system that protects the perpetrator rather than the victim.
Changes must be made to the handling of Adult Cyberbullying cases by making the process more efficient so the victims can receive justice without the frustrations of jumping through useless hoops.
Instead of worrying about perpetrator rights, more focus should be placed on protecting the victimѻý rights!
May Taniwa,West ѻý
Put in a call to Crime Stoppers
Dear Editor:
I haven’t kept a record but I’m guessing that at least 75% of the people that I have talked to about this subject say that there is corruption somewhere.
You can’t have this much bad happening and no one trying to stop it without corruption.
It defies common sense to know the foundation of a brand-new six-floor apartment building is damaged in September 2023 and no one stops the source of the damage.
The damage continues to get worse and the residents of the building have to be evacuated.
Eventually itѻý not safe for anyone to even enter the building.
Here it is, August 2024, the residents are still evacuated and still the source of the damage has not been stopped.
Someone knows something.
The number for Crime Stoppers is 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). You can contact them and you can be anonymous.
You don’t have to know the whole story. If enough people with a little bit of knowledge call, maybe they can put the pieces together and see the whole picture.
Call Crime Stoppers and tell them what you do know.
Donna Thomson, ѻý
Coverage unfair to valley teacher
Dear Editor:
Re: Penticton teacher faces disciplinary action - article by Keith Lacey (July 31).
I am writing to comment on the above article dealing with events involving my son, Miko McGrady that occurred some 16 to 18 months ago.
The subject of the piece was a consent resolution agreement reached in July 2024 with Acting Commissioner for Teacher Regulation Donnaree Nygaard with respect to those events.
None of my critical comments relate in any way to the Agreement. Rather they relate solely to the above article.
The piece is a news article, and not an opinion.
The article went to some lengths to describe events that occurred as long ago as 2010 -- 14 years ago. But what the article did not do was include any response or comment from the subject of the article, Miko McGrady, nor did it include any response or comment from any of his colleagues, nor from other parents of his students.
In addition to advising, and litigating on behalf of journalists, I have taught journalists for many decades.
One of the most important principles to be followed in writing and publishing any story is that the story be fair.
That is a central piece of journalismѻý ethics and is best expressed on the Canadian Association of Journalists website in the following way:
Fairness
“We strive to give those who are publicly accused or criticized the opportunity to respond before we publish those criticisms or accusations. We make a genuine and reasonable effort to contact them, and if they decline to comment, we say so.”
If the journalist writing the piece for the Herald, or any of the journalists credited with the story in the seven or eight other media throughout British Columbia republishing the story, had contacted Miko McGrady, or any of his colleagues, or any of the parents of the many hundreds of students he has taught over the course of his career, a very different picture would have emerged.
Throughout his career as a teacher, and currently during his postgraduate studies, he has been recognized as an exceptionally talented, committed, and hard-working teacher – despite these errors.
Miko is part of three generations of family employed as teachers in public education, including both parents, who have taught or are teaching in schools ranging from pre-school to university.
I can speak for all of them in saying that despite these errors, we are very proud of Mikoѻý 27 years of dedicated work as a teacher.
Leo McGrady KC,Vancouver
Deep thoughts on climate
Dear Editor:
As I read another shuttle is about to launch, is it us laypersons who are really responsible for climate change or is it the tons of rocket fuel that is ignited while it is leaving the atmosphere? Just a thought.
Bill Rogocky,Kaleden
Government should step in
Dear Editor:
Given how essential ѻý Tree Fruits is to the fruit-growing industry in the Okanagan, wouldn’t it make sense for the ѻý government to temporarily acquire it and pay for its operation?
It could resell it to the private sector once it has been restructured.
Rebuilding a destroyed industry is a lot more expensive than saving it in the first place.
If itѻý true for banks, itѻý true for fruit growers, too.
Jonathan Stoppi,Saanich
Children need to learn how to behave
Dear Editor:
Re: “Penticton teacher faces disciplinary action” (July 31).
I find it appalling that a teacher is being disciplined because he wanted a disruptive pupil removed from the classroom.
What is wrong with the school system these days?
As a grandmother with several grandchildren, I feel that child should have been sent home and the parents reproved for not teaching their child some manners and how to behave.
Pixie Marriott,Summerland