Remembrance Day
As my research, A Record of Service, can be found on the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives’ website, I can assure you that I have the utmost respect and appreciation of the work and sacrifice that our men and women provided in World War II. I am glad that they, along with their World War I counterparts, were duly remembered this past Friday, November 11 at Dwight Hall [“Honouring heroes,” November 9].
However, two things distressed me about the service.
First, it was excruciatingly Christian: the prayers, the stories, the hymns, et cetera. Certainly, not all those who signed up here and elsewhere throughout Canada and abroad (for surely they are remembered as well), were Christian. Men and women of many faiths fought in Europe, Africa and Asia. I would have preferred to have been part of either a truly ecumenical or non-denominational service of remembrance.
Second, the service appeared to focus mainly on World War II with a nod to World War I. Unless I was distracted for a moment, I didn’t hear mention made of the Korean War, or the various important peacekeeping missions that Canada has participated in or our most recent conflict in Afghanistan. At least the latter was clearly acknowledged by the Powell River branch of the Royal Canadian Legion with its display in Town Centre Mall.
I was impressed by the number of young people who attended on Friday but they must be encouraged to honour and remember all those who have served and those who have died no matter where or when or what their creed.
Lee Coulter
Maple Avenue
Voters should research
I would like to acknowledge the Peak for publishing, last month, a picture and article on the local Liberal Party executive [“BC Liberals elect new executive,” October 12]. Now I can be sure who not to vote for on November 19 as a number of these people happen to be on our own City of Powell River council and one, David Formosa, wants to be mayor.
Why on earth would we re-elect these people who appear to be marching to their master’s orders—the neo-liberal government in Victoria? These are the people who cram smart meters down your throat without regard to due process (through the BC Utilities Commission); disregarding the wishes of the UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities), with no consultation with the public at large and at a huge cost—approximately $1 billion. Now that’s democracy.
These are the same people who rush to privatize everything, let the big boys get away with taxation murder (Catalyst Paper Corporation) and rip apart our fabulous backcountry (Plutonic Power Corporation, GE, Island Timberlands, Western Forest Products, Brookfield Renewable Power). Many people are trying to make this place into a tourist and environmental showpiece while some on our council want big industry and big government to continue to steamroll over an uninformed public and continue to pillage and plunder the backwoods.
As a member of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Council of Canadians I implore voters and prospective councillors to get on these organizations’ websites and you will understand why many of us support Powell River Water Watch Coalition. We must keep our water, no matter in what form, public.
W. Geoffrey Whitaker
Hammond Street
Simple solution to many issues
Solving all the long running problems of Powell River could be summed up in one simple move: purchase one of the decommissioned ferries from BC Ferries and tie her up at Willingdon Beach Park.
Maybe, Queen of Saanich, built 1963; Length over all 130 metres; breadth 23.9 metres; draft 3.6 metres; GT 9,302 tons; approximately 6,700 kilowatts from two MAK 8M551AK (installed 1982); service speed 19 knots; 1,825 lane metres; passenger capacity 1,672; Lloyds class.
Installation of solar panels, geothermal heat pumps, and other so-called green power sources (including tidal power) would mean the engines could be removed and sold to offset capital costs. Or run the engines to utilize the 6,700 kilowatts of power (maybe even selling some to the BC Hydro grid). Ongoing maintenance would be paint and zincs.
Install one of the old ramps from Saltery Bay or Gibsons and the 1,825 lane metres (32,955 square feet of parking deck space) could be used for fire engine, ambulance, staff parking as well as storage of PEP (provincial emergency preparedness) First Response and disaster relief gear. The more than adequate upper deck space (also 32,955 square feet multiplied by the number of decks) would become the new earthquake-proof library, city hall offices, regional district offices, school district offices, and museum for local and cultural, forestry, and maritime histories, or condos with a commanding westerly ocean view.
And the three best parts: Willingdon Beach remains a vacant lot [“For all to enjoy,” November 2]. The moorage on a 422-foot vessel will go a long way to pay down the North Harbour remediation. At long last Powell River will have a ferry moored here every night.
A multi-purpose solution indeed. Aye aye.
Roger Whittaker
Nelson Avenue
Help save our Resource Centre
For the past four years, 4752 Joyce Avenue has been the home of Powell River Community Resource Centre (www.prcrc.org). The centre has been funded by grants from the provincial government and that funding is now uncertain [“Centre at risk of losing funding,” September 28]. With the help of volunteers from the community, the centre delivers knowledge and services to everyone in Powell River but it is the disadvantaged who need and use it the most.
The hot soup served at lunch might be the only meal someone eats that day. There are computers with free Internet access, the only access most clients have. Donated food is free to take home and clients can get referrals to other agencies including legal advice. Gardening lessons and demonstrations in the community garden behind the centre help people grow some of their own food. Donated clothing is handed out, free haircuts and cooking lessons are provided. Clients are taught basic cooking skills which can significantly extend their food dollars. All these offerings are desperately needed but there is one thing that matters more than anything else. The centre is the only place where anyone can go and feel welcome and always be treated with dignity and respect.
If the centre closes people will have nowhere to go; loitering will become a problem. People will not have anyone to explain their legal rights and how to work within the system. As a result petty crime will escalate. Ignoring the needy leads directly to increased costs for all levels of government. The centre is the most cost-effective method we have to deliver needed services to those with nothing. Poor people are not poor by choice. They do not have the resources or ability to lift themselves out of poverty. Therefore it behooves us to show compassion and try to meet the needs of those who cannot provide for themselves.
Please support the centre by contacting your MLA Nicholas Simons from his website at www.nicholassimons.ca or visiting his office at 109-4675 Marine Avenue and declaring your support for this innovative and necessary program.
Doug Webb
Cranberry Street
