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Trail maintenance brings high praise

As a frequent user of area park trails I would like to express my appreciation for the work done by the various municipal and Capital Regional District staff to maintain these trails.

I am especially appreciative of the CRD staff who maintain the 10-kilometre loop at Elk/Beaver lake and the Saanich staff who maintain the Cedar Hill golf course perimeter trail.

Both are in excellent repair though nature does its best to undo their work each winter. Thank you.

Dan Ehle

Victoria

Thanks to Art Gallery of Greater Victoria

I live directly across from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and have witnessed every single Paint-In they’ve had: I wish them many more.

Sure, there are minor inconveniences, but it’s only once a year! Not only does it highlight the work of the AGGV itself, it promotes a sense of community.

It allows working artists to show both their works and their techniques. It allows people to purchase art works from the artists themselves. The list of benefits goes on and on, as far as I’m concerned.

Personally, I’m thrilled to meet the artists stationed in front of my home. I had the Bonsai Club, Richard Hunt, and Victor Lotto this year, and that’s what I felt I’d won in such a gathering!

I quite see that the idea of a park setting is a lovely one, but think of the damage done by that number of people trampling — all at once — over a confined green space. Here, they do no damage whatsoever to the road.

Any litter that was left was picked up mere hours later by volunteers. As for the verge — well, the city gave up on my block of it years ago, so it can hardly look any worse.

And it was a real joy to see such a remarkably large and diverse crowd out on such a perfect day, thoroughly enjoying each other and the beauty they found around them.

My thanks to the staff and the small army of volunteers who made this year’s event such a success.

Patricia Kidd

Victoria

Hate Moss Street crowd? Try living in James Bay

I had a good chuckle at the letter that complained that Moss Street was shut down by the City of Victoria for one day a year. One day!

The correspondent should move to James Bay, where we are forced to accommodate almost every marathon, race, and any other event that the city cares to dump on us.

Crowds, noise, and congestion is par for the course; and negotiating the maze of closed streets would make the most experienced lab rat weep. There seems to be no thought of sharing the burden with other areas of the city.

Uplands, for example, with its quiet shady streets, would be ideal for a marathon. And don’t get me started on the almost daily invasion of thousands of cruisers, the numbers of which increase every year.

One day! I am so envious.

Ian MacDonell

Victoria

Surrey policing decision goes against democracy

It appears that Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has decided that his wants and desires are more important than the wishes of Surrey voters about who will provide Surrey with police services.

In the municipal election, Brenda Locke’s primary issue was that, if elected, she would halt the transition to Surrey Police Services (SPS) and retain the RCMP as the police force. The majority of voters elected her mayor with that mandate.

Now, Farnworth has ruled that the city did not show the RCMP are up to the job and stated the “SPS is the only path forward to ensuring the safety of the people of Surrey.”

The RCMP have provided Surrey with exemplary police services for many decades and were blocked from staffing vacant positions during the transition and the nine months Farnworth needed to decide to ignore the wishes of Surrey voters.

It seems what Surrey wants only matters when voters there agree with Farnworth’s wishes, and he has promised legislation to ensure that no other city or municipal government can deny his wishes. This is not how I was taught democracy is supposed to work. It makes me seriously question my past and future decisions about voting NDP.

Michael Day

North Saanich

Need more firefighters? Here’s an idea

I wonder how many protesters who participated in the Fairy Creek logging blockade are volunteering to fight the fires threatening our forests?

Paul Martin

Victoria

Looking for humanity? Spend time with dogs

I don’t live in Saanich so I’m not affected by their absurdity. But I have been around long enough to state that I never cease to be amazed by the humanity in dogs.

In turn, politicians never cease to amaze me in their stupidity. And we claim to be the superior species.

Scott Clark

View Royal

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