March 18, 2004
Mary Mary quite contrary
What in the world were you thinking
You want to get this thing* passed - in a hurry - in a hurry
So....ten thousand dollars (of taxpayers money y'all claim you're being
responsible for) for a referendum - will not be a worry
- will not be a worry!
While our city spends, I'll bet 35 mil
Oh, I am sorry but we are up over 50 million dollars.
...while services to taxpayers get cut big time and city employees lose their jobs.
Where does $10,000 savings matter in that budget?
I repeat Mary, Mary quite contrary, you have the old and familiar quote: "forge ahead in spite of the people" attitude.
Sorry we will not accept that anymore.
Ruth Coss
White
Knight
By Mike Staves
July 26, 2003
As the white knight mounts his charger and gallops off into the battle, with right and righteousness on his side, we wonder who will gain from the war of words.
Councils very own “Designated Hitter” having removed the gloves,
speaks out against the mistreatment being foisted on City taxpayers by the
Regional District without any form of acknowledgement that the City finds
itself in its current position primarily as a result of its own actions. City
Council was questioned, in advance, on the advisability of investing in the 5th
floor roof alterations before the library lease was negotiated. They should
have known that this was unwise after the mess they made of the Gold’s Gym
lease.
In my opinion the “Mayor in waiting” exudes a manufactured form of
outrage, because he has voted for numerous “arrangements” with the CRD. He
was there when the CRD closed their Quesnel office and cozied up to the City
by sharing office space. (Note that the manpower required to accommodate the
additional workload, is part of the reason Quesnel needed additional office
space in the first place).
And lets not forget that the financial model, which justified the
expense of the new digs, included not a one-time payment of $100,000 from the
library to cover roofing expenses, but an annual lease of that amount.
“The Teflon heir” hopes the public has a short memory regarding his
involvement in these issues and is creating a disagreement between the City
and the Regional District as part of his platform for the next elections. If
he plays this right, he will either be the voice on council who stood up to
the Regional District and put a stop to their games, or the white knight who
restores peace to the conflict he has generated. Who speaks so overpoweringly
against divisiveness? Does he not realize that the war of words he has created
is divisive, creating a wall, which will prevent future joint City/CRD
opportunities?
Where is our current Mayor in all this? He can make it clear that DH
does not speak for the entire council and make a clear statement on the issues
of the library and the PSL funding as well as other unresolved issues between
the City and the CRD. He was elected as a consensus builder. How will City
Council build consensus through negotiating in the media? How will the Mayor
build consensus while allowing individual councilors to undermine the
negotiations through the press? How are the citizens of the area better served
while the politicians on both sides are engaged in a verbal war? Why would the
most senior politicians at the City and the Regional District allow this to
happen? I call on council and the CRD to take the unresolved issues to the
negotiating table and find solutions that will enable our entire community to
grow.
April 30, 2003
Letter to Editor
In Canada, we have two major
cultures that are of a “higher order” than racial or ethnic background.
The Urban and Rural cultures make up the entire picture that is the Canadian
mosaic, and both are equally important to the smooth and efficient functioning
of this country. Where these two “higher order” cultures collide though,
is in thought, how we view the world, and how legislation affects us.
Many years ago, I was participating in a rally at Williams Lake, to call attention to the C.O.R.E. process. This process would have seen the urban people of the lower mainland placing their wishes for more parkland on our resource-based economy. Urban values were threatening the existence of 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, and Quesnel, but in true Cariboo-Chilcotin fashion, we stood our ground. We stood nose to nose with our urban friends and we did not blink. Because of our determination and perseverance, we negotiated a “Made in the Cariboo” solution, the CCLUP. We showed our urban friends that the Cariboo-Chilcotin is more than a place……. We are a people, united.
Our
rural culture is again under threat by the urbans. The Electoral Boundary
Commission has proposed to dissect the Cariboo-Chilcotin, giving our geography
to the neighboring ridings, and our vote to the lower mainland. This issue is
so important that, as President of the Canadian Alliance, I stood shoulder to
shoulder with my counterparts from the Federal Liberals, the NDP, and the
Progressive Conservatives. As a team, we dropped partisan politics and stood
firm for the Cariboo-Chilcotin. We had determination. We had perseverance.
What we needed was an objection to be filed in the House of Commons by April
17. The objection never came because our M.P. Phillip Mayfield felt, “it
could be worse”. Our representative blinked.
Sometimes
you cannot just turn the other cheek and pray that everything will turn out
right. Sometimes you have to roll up your sleeves, stand shoulder to shoulder
with your people, and nose to nose with the problem, and above all, do not
blink.
James
Bast
150 Mile House
March 31, 2003
WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?