The 2010 Olympics

Governments are wrong to be in the “gambling” business — lotteries, casinos, etc.

The winter Olympic bid was a big gamble, given the fact we were well into a bubble-ecobnomy before the games were awarded.

I made a statement to the roving Sooke News Mirror reporter/photographer, at the time the games were awarded to B.C. several years ago, that the priority was wrong and the money should go to serve the majority not the few.

Now, there is a financial crisis and now a $100-million of taxpayer money will be used for some of the construction which will be at considerable risk.

This financial storm is far from over, the games could still be cancelled.

Remember, the Montreal Olympics fiasco? The lies, deceit and all the phony numbers are still fresh in my mind. Millions of dollars were unaccounted for and the cost over-runs staggering.

Winter Olympics in the Pacific Northwest could be at risk for lack of snow or too much snow, or the factor of fog. I can still remember the World Cup ski races cancelled at Whistler because the fog hung around for many days. However, the financial situation could trump everything at Whistler. Gamblers need luck.

Alan Brenda

Sooke

Great production

We just got back from the matinee performance of The Emperors New Clothes. The production is colourful.  The audience and performers were obviously enjoying themselves.

The chorus of villagers and children are having fun. Congratulations to all of the cast and crew. Treat yourself and your family to an evening with the Stage West Players this week

 Rosemary Jorna

Otter Point

Not tired of shelling out

I live at Sunriver and took my children out “trick or treating” on Halloween, it was fantastic and the atmosphere was amazing.

The homeowners who wished not  to participate were very obvious with no decorations or lights, we, along with  everyone else I noticed, respected this and left them in peace.

I personally was happy to see so many well behaved, polite and superbly dressed children at my door. I felt proud to help promote such a fantastic safe family orientated place to live.

I hope everyone around enjoyed the fireworks that every household in our cul-de-sac happily donated towards. Merry Christmas.

Rob Roe

Sooke

Please pull over

I think it is about time to bring up the subject of ‘slow, to excessively slow’ drivers on the Sooke Road. I am not writing this letter to offend anyone, just trying to find a solution to a growing problem.

There is nothing more frustrating than trying to get somewhere on time when you get stuck behind drivers who are travelling up to 30 km under the posted speed limit. That is not just on rainy days, but on any given day, sunny or rainy, day or night.

There are two solutions to this problem. The first one is one we will not see for many years, and that is to make Sooke Road into four lanes. The other solution is for the slow drivers. Please pull over and let others get by. It only takes a few seconds to pull over and this could save several minutes to others. Part of driving is to be looking in your rear view mirror. When you look in your mirror and see an endless stream of vehicles behind you and none in front of you, and then look at the speed you are doing and clue into that, maybe you should be a sport and pull over. There are several wide and safe places to pull over and let traffic by.

Unfortunately, these slow drivers do cause road rage. I remember driving down the Oregon/Washington coast and I was impressed with the law there. You must pull over and let traffic by when you are holding up three or more vehicles. It is illegal to hold up traffic. What a great solution. I wish that law was in place here. We all have to share Sooke Road and, until something is done about the road, if we could all be a little bit more considerate to others, we are going to need to get along.

L.L. Ruttan

Sooke

Good move by council

It’s unfortunate this will not be published until after the election, but I feel compelled to thank the outgoing council for its decision to allow Mazzoni and Associates to complete the new Official Community Plan on our behalf.

There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever, this was the right decision for Sooke and, after witnessing the November 10 meeting of council, I feel I must point out a couple of reasons why.

Number one is to abandon the process at this stage, with all of the money and public input already invested, would not be unlike buying your dream-car, making payments on it until it is 75 per cent paid for and then, cancelling the insurance, dousing it in gasoline and setting fire to it in the garage attached to your dream home.

The second reason, less obvious to some, I believe people come in three sizes: small, medium and large.

Small people talk about other people and will go out of their way to cause problems for and to try to discredit anyone who endeavors to “think outside the box.”

The medium-sized folks, or identifiers talk about things and problems and they are important people, because we cannot solve problems when we are unaware of their existence.

The third group with the fewest members, the large people, are the ones who talk about ideas or solutions to problems, and are the people without whom the rest of us would not be able to enjoy our lifestyles — they provide us with innovation.

I have had the honour and the privilege of working with a few large people and I have to say Felice Mazzoni is without doubt one of the giants, and I have absolutely no doubt our 2008/2009 OCP will be a document with enough muscle to help Mayor Janet Evans and her new council to first recognize and then begin to realize the dreams of the people of Sooke and to get us back on the road that will lead us to where we would like our town to be.

Dana Lajeunesse

Sooke

Making it clear

In response to Katharina Gustavs’ very informative letter (Nov. 12, 2008) regarding the earthen walls of our house featured in the Oct. 29 issue of this newspaper, I would like to clear up some misconceptions.

The interior walls only are made of rammed earth, a very dense material intended to act as a heat sink, moderating against extreme temperature swings. These walls are also reinforced to resist earthquake loads.

The exterior walls are more accurately called “light clay.” This type of wall is often made with straw and clay, lightly compacted between moveable forms. In our case, we used wood chips (planer shavings andsawdust) which were locally available for much less cost than imported straw. When finished with natural clay and lime plasters, this type of wall is a “breathable” assembly, which allows the slow diffusion of water vapour, as so clearly, clearly explained by Ms. Gustavs.

No, the wind does not whistle through our walls! The exterior walls combine natural materials to both insulate and moderate temperature and humidity, safely enclosing a healthy home.

Thanks to Jim Sinclair for an otherwise excellent article about our natural home building adventure. I hope others are inspired to consider alternatives to conventional modern building practices.

 Keary and Judi Conwright

Otter Point

Sidewalk construction begins

The District of Sooke is pleased to announce that G & E Contracting Ltd. has started the construction of sidewalks on Ayre Road.

During the course of construction, access along Ayre Road may be reduced. To ensure public and worker safety, we ask the public to please respect all construction signs.

If you have any questions regarding this project please contact the District of Sooke Engineering Department at 250-642-1634.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Al Fontes

Acting Director of Engineering

District of Sooke