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Whistle is a-blowin'
September 1, 2010 12:10 PM	Like

Editor, Sir;
Oh, oh. That damn train whistle. Dayton & Knight (exalted engineers) report Queen Charlotte is only $580,000 short over the grants and the loan of $900,000 to complete the water project. Costs for the loan folks have seen added to their taxes and to their utility charges. CAO (chief executive officer) Bill Beamish says we are not over budget. True, as the last bit of money has not yet been spent. The last bit of money is $132,000 and the cost to complete is $712,000. Mmmm. Seems there maybe is not enough cash to complete?
Well, maybe parts of the project need not be completed, Mr. Beamish stated. Such as the berm/control at Stanley Lake which is now about something under $300,000. Hey! That's a saving! So why was a road carved out to Stanley Lake? Well, because the engineers studied the monthly water flow of the Honna and concluded the Honna could be a water supply if the water flow were regulated with a berm/control at Stanley Lake. Good for fish and good for the people wanting water. But now the berm/control may not be required. We're waiting for a reply from the fish. The fish may not be happy. Therefore I'm wondering where might come the $580,000 to complete the last stages as originally termed.
Mr. Beamish has said the money will come from the water reserve being reduced to the minimum allowable and from the general reserve "as planned". Wasn't planned. Nothing in the original budget from Dayton & Knight (exalted engineers) noted anything other than grants from the provincial government, Coast Sustainability Trust, and Gwaii Trust. These grants covered the budget costs Dayton & Knight stipulated.
Well it is costing more and costs must be met. The water is good and we have to pay. Wonder how those folks not on the water supply feel about general reserve monies they've contributed toward being spent to cover water supply costs the engineers underestimated and the mayor and council have been mum about while they search frantically for other funding.
And, why are the mayor and council not open and forthright? Jiminy, there are less than a thousand people in this village - we can't be honestly open with one another?
Ron McKee
Queen Charlotte

Can missing
September 1, 2010 12:11 PM	Like

Editor, Sir;
My garbage can went wandering. Not sure where he went but on Friday morning, when I went down to the bottom of my driveway, I noticed that only his life-partner was still there, nestled deep into the tall grass, hidden behind their tree, like always. They were a matched set, you see. Tall rectangular thick black plastic "industrial" garbage bins with a "Scepter" logo on their sides. I would leave their tight-fitting snap-on lids off during the week when they were "resting" and then slugs and leaves could explore inside them. Friday mornings, 8 am, was action time and they would proudly get pulled out of their cozy spot, and put to work, holding my garbage and waiting at attention alongside Highway 16, lids firmly on.
The two of them were awesome together, standing back to back, supportive even in the worst weather, defending their innards from ravens and bears alike... and now there is only the one. The Sole Survivor, pining for her identical life-mate. There's too much room now in their protective grassy hollow for just one. And she would not be compatible with a regular green cylindrical garbage can, oh no.
I am not sure how far my missing garbage can went - he's only got two little black plastic wheels on his lower side which wouldn't take him far... so perhaps he hitched a ride. I did take the car out for a spin, scanning other driveways along Highway 16 but alas, to no avail. He was not anywhere in the Tlell area that I could see. So I am asking for your help, all you people who put out garbage, please keep an eye out for my walk-about garbage bin. He's tall, dark, and distinctively handsome (also has a "Scepter" brand mark on his side). He has left behind his identical garbage partner who is lonely and is eager for his safe return. If you find him, he can be returned to his home, at the bottom of my driveway, 44074 Highway 16 in North Tlell, no questions asked. Thank you.
Sophie Peerless
Tlell

Concerned and appalled
September 1, 2010 12:11 PM	Like

Editor, Sir;
Upon visiting my sister, Shirley Longboat, for my uncle Reg's chieftainship, I was appalled by the way she has been forced to live in this day and age. The Skidegate Band Council has been stalling (going on 13 years this October) to hook her up to the village's sewer and water system. The last council that was in told her that she would be hooked up last April. New council is now in office and it seems that it has been put on the back burner again!
I thought Haidas are supposed to be a proud nation and look after their people. Yet my sister is being treated like an outcast and being forced to live in third-world like conditions.
Her water runs low every summer, not low, she runs right out of water and does not have water to do daily normal things such as: having a shower, washing her dishes, flushing her toilet, brushing her teeth or even having a nice glass of water, that everyone else in the village takes for granted.
Her sewage tank is getting very old and sometimes seeps through the yard causing ghastly fumes and smells. This is not a very healthy environment for her family including her little four-year-old granddaughter who loves to spend time with her Nuni.
While I was there, she said that because of her being on a septic tank that I could not flush the toilet paper. Now this is absurd, since this is a normal daily function that everyone else does not even think twice about doing.
I give every reader one notion to even think how long they would even try to live in these conditions and I tell you that they would not last.
My sister has been feverishly waiting to get some help and I can only hope that getting this story out to the public that it will help my poor sister get the water and sewage system she so badly needs.
All the people who live on the same road did all have septic tanks but the band council hooked them all up to the main sewer system except for my sister. I just don't understand why they would literally bypass her when these conditions are very unhealthy.
Sheree Soloman
Nanaimo

Our editor's opinion

New ferry route could be just the ticket
September 1, 2010 12:12 PM	Like

Numbers are down for BC Ferries in the north, even with two beautiful boats and the most gorgeous routes in the whole world. It's pretty convenient too, on summer Thursdays and Fridays, when the Skidegate boat connects with the Port Hardy boat.
Assuming, of course, that anybody from here goes to Port Hardy any more. Most islanders get off the ferry in Rupert and start driving, even if they are going to Vancouver. There are people who drive around although their final destination is Port Hardy. Really.
There's a few reasons for this. One is that you pretty much have to take your car to Hardy, because the schedule makes it so inconvenient to take the bus. The ferry gets in at 11 am and the bus departs at 8 am, so you'll have to spend a day and night in Port Hardy, eating in restaurants and renting a hotel room.
But it's not cheap to take a car to Port Hardy on the ferry (never mind a camper, RV or truck). In fact, once you add up the cost of taking a vehicle from here to Port Hardy, plus cabins and food aboard the ferry, it's usually cheaper to fly.
Wing on down to Vancouver, rent a car or even better, take the Canada Line downtown and get right on with things. Hard to beat for efficiency.
For choice, however, we'd still like to go by sea. If only we could ride past Port Hardy and on down to Tsawwassen - at a reasonable cost - how wonderful that would be.
In the spring, BC Ferries floated an idea for a ferry route on the North Coast from Vancouver. North Coast municipal leaders rejected the proposal - for many good reasons, including a possible loss of jobs based in Prince Rupert - but it may be worth taking another look at.
There are three big boats running north of Port Hardy in the summer. BC Ferries would propose a new service only if they perceived an under-utilized capacity on the boats. Recognize, too, that the corporation funds their whole fleet on a handful of profitable runs between Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
There are large numbers of people who cruise on those floating hotels through the Inside Passage directly to Alaskan waters. BC Ferries would like a slice of that action and we might like a chance to go home even without going to Alaska.
If no-car routing is good for locals, it's just as attractive to tourists. Haida Gwaii is so fascinating that all of it could be a World Heritage Site instead of only SGang Gwaay Llnaagay. From Gwaii Haanas to Naikoon and everywhere in between, this is all one big destination. Everybody knows about us and we're on everybody's bucket list. Too bad it's so hard to get here! There are lots of tourist facilities here. A quick grandmother survey of friends and neighbours who've put their tourism money where their mouth is didn't find a single person who didn't want more tourist traffic.
Think of the convenience of boarding the ferry in Tsawwassen and getting off in Skidegate. If Ferries can shuffle the load around for mid-coast ports at 3 am on winter mornings, they similarly leave the through-passengers aboard in summer too.
So in summary we've got the world-wide interest, we've got the attractions, we've got the facilities. All we need is a chance to ride on a ferry that goes from Vancouver all the way here.