THE TIMES THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012 ❘
LETTERS
❘ A9
Find the money at the YMCA Editor, the Times:
What is new with Abbotsford City Hall today? Approval was made to give $17.5 million tax dollars for the YMCA to open a pool and recreation centre on the old hospital site and Albert Dyck Park will have a cable wake-boarding facility and pay parking. Personally, I am amazed that our council feels it’s OK to pass these types of things without much public input, particularly because we are still whining about costs incurred and mistakes made in recent projects which did not allow much public input. There may well be a lack in public recreation in the city but there is no lack of private facilities, which the city has licensed, who will be competing with the YMCA. I simply would like our mayor and council to be more open with their plans, have more respect for my tax dollars and be more sensitive to what is truly needed, prioritize expenses like infrastructure, say a new police building, and stop blowing my money on private business ventures which may or may not be a benefit to the community, but will not be a benefit to my municipal taxes. Anne Graham Abbotsford
Council, put your pride on the shelf Editor, the Times:
So they passed it. Moved the proposal onward and upward, until they can pass the final decision to give away an obscene amount of our money to a private business enterprise. With just 72 hours notice, Abbotsford council ‘granted’
TO INCLUDE YOUR LETTER, use our online form at www.abbotsfordtimes.com, contact us by e-mail at letters@abbotsfordtimes.com, fax to 604-854-1140 or phone 604-854-5244. Letters must include first and last names and your hometown and should be fewer than 200 words.
us the right to speak to them about the YMCA proposal. This was the first public hearing, though they will suggest that we could have come to the budget discussions held in the library. Almost no one in Abbotsford was aware that a cool chunk of change was about to be given to the YMCA. Nor was this held along the lines of a genuine public hearing, in that there was no adequate notice given. The first announcement, (last Friday) of this meeting, said this would be our last chance to speak to the giving away of our money. The public has yet to have a first, genuine opportunity to do that. The details available to us, and to the council, are incredibly vague, but people asked enough questions to elicit some clarity. The Y is in it for profit. This is not all about an altruistic organization that will swoop into Abbotsford and cure all our social dysfunction for free. The Y is asking to be tax exempt. The Y will be in direct competition with day care, housing, fitness clubs and other health-related providers, and who knows what else, since real data is missing. Other non-profits have been begging for more money from the city, (and many worthy groups go hungry). What they beg for is peanuts compared to this lavish, multi-million gift
Santa in the Park
Santa Claus will be at Fraser River Heritage Park in Mission Dec. 9 from 2 – 4 p.m. for his annual Santa in the Park visit. He arrives in a fire truck and will chat with individual children and pose for photos. Kids can also enjoy some cocoa while they wait. See www.heritagepark-mission.ca.
Thomas Swift craft sale
Dec. 7, from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Dr. Thomas Swift Elementary hosts its 16th annual Christmas craft fair, with 20 vendors, a raffle, bake sale and cake walk. Proceeds go to their playground fund. Swift Elementary is at 34800 Mierau St., Abbotsford. 604-853-7730.
Santa Paws pictures
Dec. 8, from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., get photos of your pet with Santa, at Homestead Nurseryland, 31888 Marshall Rd.,
council wishes to bestow on the Y. Council was given a list of other Canadian cities. No other city has given such a huge amount with so little in return. Why is this council trying so hard to ram yet another massive expense onto the taxpayer, with so little information, and so little time for the community to speak to this? Gerda Peachey Abbotsford
Maybe the problem isn’t on the page Editor, the Times:
After reading Walt’s letter (Front page ‘porn’ makes him burn, Times Nov. 29) regarding our paper supposedly turning to porn promotion, I had to write. I am a working single mother and have no qualms or negativity towards the ladies playing lingerie football. I only wish I had the confidence to play myself! As for these photos causing great harm to marriages, what a joke! The only thing that causes harm to marriages, or any relationship for that matter, is poor judgement, dishonesty and poor choices. If you, sir, cannot seem to control your own person and not be faithful, respectful and true to your “dear wife,” then might I suggest you turn your eyesight from the front page of any newspaper, and rather look inwards. Deanne Temple Abbotsford
Community events To list an event hosted or sponsored by a non-profit group in Abbotsford or Mission, upload it to our website: abbotsfordtimes.com, e-mail a succinct description of the event to events@abbotsfordtimes.com, or drop off at 30887 Peardonville Rd, Abbotsford. Abbotsford. Minimum $5, all proceeds go to Elizabeth’s Wildlife Centre.
Pancake breakfast
Dec. 8, enjoy a pancake breakfast from 9 – 10:30 a.m. at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, 8469 Cedar St., Mission. Cost is by donation.
Gingerbread house décor
Dec. 8 from 2:30 – 4 p.m., learn to make and decorate a gingerbread house, for ages 12-18. To register, drop by Mission Library, 33247 Second Ave., or phone 604826-6610.
Humanitarian fundraiser
Dec. 8 there is a fundraiser for Stacy Richard for an 1 1 – c o u n t r y h u m a n i t a rian mission, 7 p.m., Jubilee Hall, 7989 Bradner Rd., Abbotsford. Live music. Buy tickets $15 in advance at www.brownpapertickets. com/event/295411, call Stacy at 778-908-8691 or Lynda 778-908-8690 for details.
Autism support party
Dec. 8 from noon to 3 p.m., the Fraser Valley Autism Society has an AGM and a Christmas party for families dealing with autism, at
Spend summer inside . . . for safety’s sake Editor, the Times:
Front page porn makes him burn? It’s not often that an article I come across motivates me to send a response but I found myself compelled to respond to Mr. Friesen’s Nov. 29 letter where he calls a front page picture in the Nov. 20 Abbotsford-Mission Times “pornographic.” I have lived in Abbotsford for over 25 years and over that time, I have seen many front page headlines and pictures. The picture which Mr. Friesen felt compelled to “burn,” and which took hours for him to erase from his mind, was nothing more than a photo of a Lingerie Football player in her uniform. She wasn’t posing, she was merely in the middle of a play and her photo was taken. If a mere glance at a photo of a lingerie football player in uniform required Mr. Friesen to use the tools he learned in his Valiant Man course so as not to succumb to impure thoughts, then I would suggest Mr. Friesen stay indoors during our spring and summer months as he may come across young women dressed in their summer clothes, which includes shorts, tank tops and even bikinis if at the beach. I would like to suggest to Mr. Friesen that 99.9 per cent of the male population in Abbotsford wouldn’t jeopardize their marriages or moral codes by acting in undesirable ways by simply glancing at a photograph, a photograph of a Lingerie Football player in her uniform. N. Gratton Abbotsford 105-32868 Ventura Ave., Abbotsford. See www.fraservalleyautism.com.
A Straiton Christmas
Dec. 9 from 2 – 4:30 p.m., enjoy an old-fashioned Christmas party at Straiton Hall, 4698 Sumas Mountain Rd., Abbotsford. You are invited to join Straiton Community Club, family registration is $20 for the year, otherwise $5 per child. Party has a visit by Santa. You must be pre-registered. Call 604-852-4278.
Evening story times
At the Clearbrook Library, 32320 George Ferguson Way, Abbotsford, on Mondays, until Dec. 10 from 7 – 7:30 p.m. for children aged 2 to 6 years. Wear your PJs and bring your stuffie to this special story time. 604-8597814 ext. 229.
see EVENTS, page A15
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