The courageous Kelowna nine
Dear Editor:
Re: Kelowna councillors unanimous in support for big pay raises after all (Apr 16)
Kelowna councillors Ron Cannan, Gordon Lovegrove, Mohini Singh and Rick Webber voted against the whopping pay raises during the first and second council meetings on the subject. (March 25, April 8).
I鈥檓 wondering why the four councillors changed their minds and voted for the raises during the third and final vote. (April 15)
(At the April 8 meeting, council voted 5-4 in favour of an amendment to the council remuneration adjustments. Mayor Tom Dyas praised the council鈥檚 鈥渃ourage鈥 for passing the raises.)
In the April 16 Courier news article, Kelowna city clerk Laura Bentley is quoted from her email: 鈥淣o members of council raised their hands to vote in opposition to adoption of the council remuneration bylaw. The draft minutes reflect a unanimous vote.鈥
Unanimous: being of one mind; agreeing completely.
So it appears the Dyas-led council will now join the ranks of other famous people, groups and forums:
鈥 Number One (William Riker, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard鈥檚 First Officer)
鈥 The Dynamic Duo (Batman and Robin)
鈥 The Three Musketeers (Athos, Porthos, Aramis)
鈥 The Fab Four (John, Paul, George, Ringo)
鈥 The Dionne Quintuplets (birth order: Yvonne, Annette, C茅cile, 脡milie, Marie)
鈥 The Six Friends (Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, Ross)
鈥 The Seven Dwarfs (Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy)
鈥 The G8 (the political forum that ran from 1997 until 2014: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States)
鈥 The Courageous Kelowna Nine
Who knows, perhaps the city council鈥檚 unanimous vote will eventually begin trending on X (formerly known as Twitter), with users flocking to the hashtag #CourageousKelownaNine.
Any member of Kelowna city council who is thinking about or planning to run for council again in the October 2026 municipal election should reflect on the words of celebrated American poet Robert Frost: 鈥淗ave courage and a little willingness to venture and be defeated.鈥
David Buckna
Kelowna
Skyrocketing out of control
Dear Editor:
Re: 鈥淚t鈥檚 time we turn off the tap,鈥 by Lynn Crassweller (letters to the editor, April 17).
Lynn Crassweller, I could not agree more with you on how all our inept politicians are failing and lack the foresight and fortitude to deal with the drug addicted.
The situation is skyrocketing out of control and needs citizens to get the tough messages across to the those who refuse to admit that enabling those who cannot exist without drugs is not working. Pure madness.
Paul Crossley
Penticton
Trump suffers the seagull virus
Dear Editor:
Unfortunately many of the U.S.Republican Congress must be stricken by Trump鈥檚 unIque Seagull Virus.
Even in a boisterously squawking flyby, the Congressmen rarely miss their mark on their constituents.
Stay well,
Joe Schwarz
Penticton
One might say a fairy tale
Dear Editor:
On April 16, the Herald letters page carried a remarkable headline: 鈥淩eservations on fairy are unfair,鈥 it declared, sending me into a state of shock. Who or what could possibly impose reservations on fairies? Fairies are meant to be free. Ditto for sprites, elves, leprechauns and gnomes.
Of course it was a spelling mistake, fairy instead of ferry. Unfortunately this is a regular occurrence in the Herald, a self-inflicted wound that detracts from the paper鈥檚 credibility.
Hiring a proofreader would help, but I doubt that would sit well with David Radler, the Herald鈥檚 parsimonious owner. Another oversight possibility is the Herald鈥檚 nominal managing editor, James Miller, who claims to be a journalist but is not.
Miller is a glad-handing municipal politician who should devote himself full-time to the betterment of the Herald, his primary employer. He has clearly convinced himself that he can be simultaneously a journalist and a politician, but that鈥檚 an illusion. One might say a fairy tale.
If, like me, you subscribe to the Herald, you should be disturbed by this state of affairs. A Herald subscription is expensive -- and growing more so -- in return for which I expect a quality product with an emphasis on local news and analysis.
Often the Herald delivers. Joe Fries is a first-rate reporter; Mark Brett, recently retired, was a talented photographer and feature writer; Dan Walton has done some solid feature pieces.
But on the other side of the ledger I find all-too-frequent spelling mistakes, an excess of news from Kelowna, an often shallow and repetitive letters page, ridiculously early filing deadlines and, most important, an absence of serious analysis of local issues. This is where Miller disappoints the most.
A serious analyst of local issues would provide insight and comment on any number of local issues: bike lanes, the impact of new provincial housing requirements, the strength and weaknesses of city council, municipal staffing levels, etc. There is no end of possible topics.
And Miller?
He writes about a dead goose and his geriatric dog. I鈥檓 sure many readers like this stuff, but let鈥檚 recognize it for what it is 鈥 pablum, not journalism. And why does he not tackle critical local issues? Because he鈥檚 a cozy insider, part of the municipal decision-making team. He has compromised his commitment to honest reporting and analysis to feed his own ego and political ambition.
Shame.
Peter Maser
Penticton
Write: letters@ok.bc.ca