What does it take?
That is always a question for anything, but this is a question about those that live in coastal towns and on Vancouver Island, and is about BC Ferries [“Commissioner okays fare hikes,” October 3]. Just what does it take to motivate people? With the recent 12 per cent fare hike (small routes could be higher) and less service, just what does it take?
What does it take to motivate all the city councils and regional district chairs involved to actually have serious talks with the government—to band together, to join forces and show the citizens themselves they are not in this fight alone?
BC ferry commissioners travelled around and asked all the communities serviced by BC Ferries questions. It was a farce, it was a joke, it was just to steer the attention away from the real problem, the Coastal Ferry Act and the government that put it in place. Our Premier announced literally millions of dollars to widen the roads leading into Vancouver, but offers nothing to those that go past it, nothing but allowing fare increases.
I sit here just thinking, what does it take? Obviously not enough. Enjoy your fare increases, people.
Rob Tremblay
Cranberry Street
Sitting on a dock
I’ve been fishing off the Wharf at Westview for the past few months [“Street vending,” September 21].
At first I was catching some juvenile cod and even a juvenile salmon. Then the seals showed up. Now not even a perch can be caught. Seals hover over that breakwater until they’ve cleaned it out.
Many times I’ve heard people talk about how we are going to tap that tourist artery passing through on their way somewhere. That Comox ferry terminal is our front yard. It should be like the sticky paper you put out for flies. You want to entice them enough for the children to raise their heads from their iPods long enough to see someone catching something. The candy should be at eye level. ‘’Dad, we wanna go fishing.”
What do parents want after a long drive? Well-fed children and a moment of peace for themselves. “Maybe we could let them go fishing, get some dinner and catch the next boat.”
How much would it really cost to recycle some old school buses, pull the guts out of them, seal-proof the windows and sink them along the breakwater and wharf? Apparently there is a company based out of Sechelt that barges gravel as far as California. Once the gravel is emptied, I wonder how many buses could be loaded onto one of those empty barges and brought back up to Powell River. The artificial seal-proof reef could create habitat for the local flora and fauna, give them a chance to flourish. At the same time it could entice people to get out of their cars and stay for a while, instead of just sitting in their cars waiting for the next boat, playing with their electronics. Every time I’m asked what’s biting, I just tell them only the seals.
Chris Harnett
Marine Avenue
Fitting location for library
I wonder if there is enough room in the Oceanview School building for a new Powell River Public Library [“School morphs into learning hub,” October 3]? Seems to me that having a library surrounded by three learning centres might be a good idea. It might just save a little money in the meantime.
Dennis Brown
Highway 101
