Barter caution for businesses
In response to the Viewpoint article “LETS do it without money,” September 21, I would suggest that anyone running a business be very wary about the bartering business.
Revenue Canada differentiates between helping your neighbour and swapping your business services for in-kind returns. If your business neighbour washes your windows and you pressure-wash his storefront, both services are considered business income for tax purposes. On the other hand, if you mow the grass in front of your neighbour’s house and he paints your fence, that has no tax implications.
Go to this website for clarification.
Jim Rose
Poplar Street
Headstones in disarray
I want to commend the residents of Powell River for their beautiful mausoleum-columbarium [“Burial options expand,” March 31, 2010]. It is a credit to your town.
I was raised in Powell River and my parents lived there for over 50 years. My mother passed away in 2010 and our family decided we wanted her ashes interned with our father’s buried remains in the Powell River cemetery.
To my dismay, when I went to see the cemetery this summer, I observed that many of the headstones were sunken, tipped and in disarray. I felt it was so disrespectful of those who gave so much to their town and are now passed on.
The care and appearance of a town’s cemetery is a good way to judge the fabric of the people who live there. I am sure that the people of Powell River would like to know their cemetery is well cared for. I hope that this disrepair of the cemetery can be corrected and the next time a visitor comes to see it, everyone can be proud of it.
This is a very important matter to me and I hope it is to the residents of Powell River as well.
Diana Kineshanko
Surrey, BC
Smart meters—a partial solution
According to Bill 23-2008, a municipality must take action when it learns of something that could be harmful to its residents. It must notify the minister of health or take immediate action.
We trust this has been done by City of Powell River mayor and council, and council has voted down a proposal for a moratorium on the matter of smart meters by a substantial margin [“Smart meters roll out,” September 21].
Perhaps council could show us the evidence that these “smart meters” are safe. I am not convinced Dr. David O. Carpenter, a Harvard Medical School trained physician, and founding dean of school of public health at the University of Albany, states “We have evidence that exposure to radio frequency radiation increases the risk of cancer, increases damage to the nervous system, causes electro sensitivity, has adverse effects and a variety of other effects on different organ systems. There is no justification for the statement that smart meters have no adverse health effects.” He adds, “An informed person should demand that they be allowed to keep their analog meter.”
The World Health Organization declares the non-ionization radiation of the kind emitted by smart meters as a class 2B carcinogen, the same category as DDT based on cell phone brain tumour studies.
Let us err on the side of caution. After the installers have gone on their way, you can cover the meter with aluminum foil on the outside and on the inside wall of your house. The meter will still record the kilowatt hours you must pay for, but the shielding might protect you from about 90 per cent of the radio frequencies radiated. On the outside, leave an air gap in the shielding to avoid overheating, or use aluminum screening.
We must protect ourselves and loved ones and no one should try to stop us.
Norm Hutton
Duncan Street
More help required for cyclists
I would like to commend the woman who recently wrote a letter to the editor about being knocked down by a young cyclist while walking on the sidewalk [“Bike lanes required for safety,” September 28]. Not only did this woman not rile against cyclists riding on sidewalks, even though she suffered a fractured wrist in the incident, but she went on to build an argument in favour of cyclists and their need for dedicated bike lanes. Well done.
As a regular cyclist, and a soon-to-be senior citizen, I too deplore the lack of bike lanes and have on several occasions expressed my views here. I have noticed recently however, that several bike route logos have been printed on some streets and would like to express my gratitude to the City of Powell River or the particular councillors who seem to be following up on their commitment to bikers.
While these indicators may remind drivers of their need to be courteous to cyclists who share the road, they do nothing for the biker.
A small portion of the road itself should be dedicated only to cyclists and indicated by a dividing line. In many places, particularly along Manson Avenue, there is, for the most part, a gravel or dirt shoulder. A mere two feet of this could be paved so that cyclists do not have to compete with either pedestrians or traffic.
As it is, an undivided road, whether it has bike route indicators or not, is still pretty dangerous for cyclists. The temptation for the biker, especially on such roads as Duncan Street and Manson where the traffic is constant and generally unyielding, is to ride the sidewalk because normally pedestrians have a softer centre than a hurtling mass of steel.
Once again, my appreciation goes to the lady for taking such a view and for pointing out that if we can spend money on boat harbours and tracks, we can afford to be less stingy with the needs of our cyclists.
Charles Macelli
Saskatchewan Avenue
