A6 www.wltribune.com
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 Williams Lake Tribune
VIEWPOINTS
• Publisher Lisa Bowering
• Acting Editor Angie Mindus 250-392-2331 ext 243 editor@wltribune.com
Free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad. - Albert Camus
Cumulative impacts
B.C. property assessment
nvironmentalists are constantly accused of being “against everything.” Some are, but it’s easy to discredit what you don’t want to hear, and actually few Greenies oppose resource extraction, what they don’t like is the extracting processes. Given the wonders of today’s technology, industries should be able to find ways to dig up, cut down and drill for stuff without causing significant environmental or social damage. They don’t do it because they don’t have to. Instead of setting high standards and enforcFrench ing them, governConnection ments generally Diana French aid and abet the destruction. No one is really looking at the big picture, no one is adding up all the parts. It’s like the world is a big apple, everyone is taking bites with no concern for the end results. *** Two events in Prince George this month focussed on B.C.’s northern resources, forestry, mining (coal, metals and minerals), oil and gas, and the proposed Site C dam. The first event, hosted by UNBC with funding from BC’s Oil and Gas Commission, dealt with the cumulative effects of resource development. The point was to show that unless planned for, or mitigated in some way, the effects and impacts of resource developments (bites) can cause irreversible changes to the land and all that live on it. The solution is to have governments and the different industries working together with researchers and communities to take a holistic approach to minimize unanticipated outcomes and learn from past mistakes. Tomorrow the provincial government is hosting a Natural Resources forum with Premier Clark as the main attraction. I believe Mayor Cook is attending. This event promotes the development of resource industries. MLA Mike Morris is quoted as saying resource sectors can no longer work in silos by themselves, they need to collaborate and work together, looking at jobs and trades, and the skills that are needed. And perhaps take a peek at cumulative impacts? Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
any of you have already received your BC Assessment notice in the mail. This annual process conducted by BC Assessment is completed in order to provide local governments across the province the most up-to-date assessment base for property taxation. The process of determining your property assessment value is objective and independent. Appraisers determine individual property values based on local real estate sales and several other characteristics of your home. The Cariboo MLA Regional District Musings and the City of Williams Lake Donna Barnett use this information to determine the total tax base for the upcoming year in preparation of the annual budget. Of course, your property taxes fund many local-level programs such as parks and recreational services, fire, police, and transit services. These are services we use every single day and improve the quality of life in the Cariboo. Whether you live in a rural or urban subdivision, we all pay our fair share of property taxes to ensure that local services are well funded and can continue to meet the needs for residents. In our region, most property assessment changes were between minus five per cent and plus five per cent showing that property values were relatively stable. However, at the end of the day our local governments will make the final determination of property tax rates payable this year. If you have specific questions regarding your assessment notice, contact BC Assessment directly by calling toll-free at 1-866-valueBC (1-866-825-8322) or visit their website at bcassessment.ca. You can also visit the Cariboo BC Assessment office at Suite 202 – 350 Barnard Street in Williams Lake. On a final note, I would like to personally congratulate Pioneer Log Homes on their new reality TV show Timber Kings on HGTV. It is so great to see Williams Lake and one of our local businesses showcased nationwide! Donna Barnett is the Liberal MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin.
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Our Viewpoint
Measures of kindness No amount of kindness offered is too small. I don’t know where I saw that, but it must have been on a poster somewhere in my travels around town, or in between school and the arena recently. I’m not one to surround myself with positive mantras but this one seems to have really stuck with me. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we were all a little kinder –– not letting ourselves be led around by our egos and insecurities? North Shore Search and Rescue lost a man last weekend who seemed to lived his life while spring boarding from one act of kindness after another. Tim Jones died Sunday after collapsing while hiking down from a rescue cabin on Mt. Seymour. His passing is being felt around the province, even here in Williams Lake. He was the spokesperson for most search and rescue operations at the coast and it was apparent through his time in the media spotlight that he cared deeply for those he helped. Reporters cried while reporting on his death this week and Premier Christy Clark issued a press release marking his passing.
It’s fair to say I think we’d all love a send off like that when it’s our time to go. But we can’t all live our lives so grand, and I personally know many individuals deserving of praise for their acts of kindness in our community. Like the residents of Horsefly Lake, members of the South Cariboo Search and Rescue, staff at the Animal Care Hospital and Pacific Coast Airlines who all worked together in December to save the life of one injured juvenile loon. Or, the staff at the Wildlife Rescue Association at the coast who nursed the fragile bird back to health over several weeks. We heard yesterday that Interior Roads offered up a huge act of kindness in recent days by plowing several kilometres of packed snow to help out the Peter family who have been snowed in for some time. The Tribune’s own reporter Monica Lamb-Yorski went the extra mile and offered up her own act of kindness by listening to the troubles of the Peter family, when many others wouldn’t, myself included. So, I guess it’s true — no act of kindness is too small. Let’s continue to test that theory, shall we? - Angie Mindus, Williams Lake Tribune
A politically independent community newspaper published Fridays by: Black Press Group Ltd. 188 North 1st Ave., Williams Lake, B.C., Canada V2G 1Y8 • Phone (250) 3922331 Fax (250) 392-7253, emails editor@wltribune.com or Lisa Bowering Angie Mindus Gaeil Farrar Greg Sabatino classifieds@wltribune.com, view our web page at www. Assistant Editor/ Publisher Acting Editor Sports Editor wltribune.com. Community Editor The Williams Lake Tribune is a member of the British Columbia Press Council, a self-regulatory body governing the province’s newspaper industry. The council considers complaints from the public about the conduct of member newspapers. Directors oversee the mediation of complaints, with input from both the newspaper and the complaint holder. If talking with the editor or publisher does not resolve your complaint about coverage or story treatment, you may contact the B.C. Press Council. Your written concern, with documentation, should be sent within 45 days to B.C. Press Council, 201 Selby Street, Nanaimo, B.C., V9R 2R2. For information, phone 888-687-2213 or go to www.bc.presscouncil.org
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