Opinions
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| Editorial |
The state of snow plowing along 3rd Avenue near Marie Sharpe School has raised questions from residents about the city’s snow removal priorities.
In a sharply worded e-mail to the Mayor’s office today, 3rd Avenue resident Kim Herdman called the state of the street and the plowing thereof “atrocious”. She describes herself as “astonished at how little care is given to the safety of the students".
In this photo supplied by Mrs. Herdman, she describes “…only minimal plowing in the middle of the street thereby making a narrow street even narrower and thereby increasing the danger… especially when it is bus pick-up and drop-off time...with parents parked on one side and buses on the other and kids crossing here and there.”
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| Editorial |
Edited by Michael Toay
Do you ever dream of being liberated from your cell phone for a few days? The Internet? Television? How ‘bout all three? Do you wonder if you could stand being 'disconnected' from the world?
This past weekend my family and I decided to travel to Barkerville for their Victorian Christmas event. Not only did we 'disconnect' from the world, we 'reconnected' with each other.
(Photo: Kyan on a sleigh.)
Big bird action at Scout Island
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Submitted by Jenny Noble
Our resident birds have provided a lot of excitement over the summer.
Observers have watched both long-eared owls (seven babies) and ospreys raise chicks from fuzzy little wads to novice flyers. Our 'nestcam' recorded tree swallows building their nest, laying and hatching eggs, feeding babies (a lot!) until they grew so big that the nest box seemed ready to burst. Once they found their wings, they never came back and that was the end of our spying.
We’re really grateful to BC Hydro for the osprey platform they provided last year. They noticed some adult ospreys checking out power poles across the channel, and that can be fatal if the birds fly into power lines. Hydro workers installed orange fibreglass triangles atop poles on the RC Cotton site to deter the ospreys from unsafe perches.
The simple, but always-popular, scone
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By Alison Sutherland-Mann
Red Seal Chef
Last weekend I was out of town, I ventured into the city, downtown Vancouver actually, to cater to the cast and crew of a movie production. My youngest daughter was a producer for this production and she calls me when she needs food, so this my third movie set adventure. It really is quite fascinating and very tiring on a movie set, there is always something going on!
The 'green room' is where the actors get make-up and hair done and just hang out waiting for their call to action; it is also where we set up tables with food. (It is a huge room, so the food is separate from the mad rush!) But, the point is we have a front row seat to all the behind scenes action, it can be very exciting -- this last production had an animal handler with a tarantula. This is a great way to empty a room by the way. I did not realize how many people are really afraid of spiders. Don't get me wrong, I watched from afar, but they are fascinating creatures. My daughter gingerly held the eight legged little star, but the photos taken at the time tell the tale, she looks terrified. As I said, I was watching from a distance, so I remain brave and composed I did not test my boundaries.
Alert on possible new phone scam
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By Bev Boyle
On Wednesday, Williams Lake resident Shelby Green got a very strange phone call from a telemarketer saying they could have a technician come into her home and test her water for her. She is listed in the phone book by her maiden name and first initial only so she was confused as to how the woman addressed her as ‘Shelby’. The woman did not identify the company she was with.
Shelby noticed there was a number on the call display, googled it and it came up as a private name for someone in Abbotsford. Shelby called the number and it went to voicemail. A few minutes later, the woman called back and when asked what company she was with, she gave a company name that was not listed in the directory.
Vegetable Miso Soup and a 'bucket list'
| Editorial |
By Alison Sutherland-Mann
Red Seal Chef
Well, you know what they say: 'scratch that off my bucket list.' I have always had a running list of things I want to do in this life, but have always called it my 'Life List' and I have done all right taking things off my list. So when I participated in the Saturday Oliver Street Farmers Market, it was another thing I have wanted to do--and finally did!
