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HAVE YOUR SAY: Comox Valley water rates must be fair for all

Last chance for input on CVRD water meter rates that will see large increases in water bills for many rural residents with water meters!

Last chance for input on CVRD water meter rates that will see large increases in water bills for many rural residents with water meters! Many CVRD residential customers will see much higher rates/surcharges than Courtenay or Comox and commercial, strata customers on the same water system. Attend the meeting in the CVRD boardroom Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. Phone 250-334-6056 to confirm attendance. Meters are the only way of allocating consumer costs, but rates need to be fair! Let's make sure it is fair to all customers.

It's understandable that the BC Liberal government would cancel the fall session of the B.C. legislature. After 12 years in power, with the same boring questions from the same NDP opposition, why bother? Likely, Jordan Bateman from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation will help them address the embarrassing BC Ferries executive bonuses and the ineffective ferry board of directors. It should be sorted out by January. After 12 years of inaction on addressing the ongoing, looming, B.C. skill shortage, what difference would a fall sitting make, anyway? B.C. has and will continue to import foreign skills, while the opposition NDP remain silent and lost on the implication for opportunities for British Columbians. Probably the decisions on the northern gateway and Vancouver oil tankers have already been made, so why face a fall debate on these issues? Likely the same with LNG. Does it really matter if sessions are cancelled? B.C. governance is on cruise control and has been for some time — the growing debt is clear evidence of lack of management.

Please, no more. Merville Grandmothers have had to set a cutoff date and are unable to accept fabric donations after Sept. 20. We have received more than enough! The Merville Grand Mothers issued a request for donations of unused fabrics from your sewing storage. Your response has been overwhelming and the MGMs are going to be measuring and folding the materials right up until the sale date, Nov. 2, at St. George's Church Hall. More details to follow. A big thank you to everyone who sorted and brought in all the fine fabrics. Your generosity has ensured a really exciting sale with many bargains. Your contributions guarantee a successful fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation and our African grandmothers. Also thanks to our newspaper, for eliciting this amazing community response.

Interesting that the conservation officer says the two-week garbage pickup in Cumberland bear country is not in the best interests of discouraging bears from foraging for ripe food, in garbage cans. Also interesting the the the Village administration says it is not a problem, because complaints have dropped off. Hopefully the complaints will be be the only thing that drop off. Perhaps a weekly pickup in bear season would resolve the issue. It would not fill the landfill any faster than the two-week pickup.

Thanks to the generous and enthusiastic support of the Comox Valley community, the Comox Valley Sock It To ‘Em Project’s first Sock Sale Day at Zocalo Café was a sellout. The subsequent September sale days are cancelled. Well over 100 pair of socks will now be bought to be distributed to the homeless by the Care-A-Van, Comox Valley’s volunteer Mobile Health Care Unit. Are you an experienced sock-knitter who would like to donate some of your time to knitting a pair or two of socks for this worthwhile ongoing project? Get in touch with project organizer Roberta DeDoming at annaplace@uniserve.com or 250-703-4731. On Facebook: Comox Valley Sock It To ‘Em Project.

It is September again with fabulous weather and I note many families from all over the Comox Valley enjoying the beach at Goose Spit Park . But "no beach fires now," say the CVRD directors. Since 2010 they have banned beach fires in Goose Spit Park (Item 10 of Bylaw 103) after Labour Day (first Monday in September). The park attendant we hire to make sure no one does anything naughty in the park is still there and happy to get paid for doing very little in September. But families are not permitted to have beach fires except in Joe Walker Park (25 km from Comox) in September and October. Fires are OK there every month actually. But no beach fires now in Goose Spit Park. Can the chair of the CVRD board please tell the people what is wrong with beach fires at Goose Spit after Labour Day?

I am responding to the editorial "Weed woes worry mom." Since a major car accident in 1997 that broke my back and caused massive damage to my jaw I continue after two back surgeries to suffer daily with chronic pain. Then five years ago I was diagnosed with carcinoma cancer. Given only a 10-per-cent chance for survival. The side-effects from chemo and the radiation damage meant having stints put into the superior vena cava. Due to this I cannot take any over-the-counter medication for inflammation or pain. I can only take heavy narcotics that may give some form of pain relief but nausea, pain and and a stoned lethargy are still what they leave me with. I fought for years to get my right to grow marijuana for health benefits. Marijuana has given me back a big part of my life. I juice the leaf and eat the buds for pain relief. I have more energy, calmer thinking and a healthy glow to me. To have been able to replace the heavy narcotics for this has been a blessing to me and my family sees that clearly. Marijuana has many healthy proprietors to it and is a green leafy plant. To lose the right to grow and produce this healthy plant when used correctly would be devastating for.

The school year is starting out well for the lucky students at Courtenay Elementary School. With the help of Costco and the Kiwanis Club of Courtenay, new school supplies have been provided to our kids. Thanks for the giving spirit and teamwork.

Eureka Support Society is a resource program supporting and employing people with mental illness in the Comox Valley. Eureka Support Society is a federally registered charity (8997 43181 RR001) and gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Courtenay and United Way Central and Northern Vancouver Island. The Society acknowledges ongoing support from locally owned businesses and individuals.

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Do you have somebody to praise or something you have to get off your chest? Have your say by submitting to editor@comoxvalleyrecord.com. Please focus on people's ideas rather than speculating about their character. You can also get a written submission to 765 McPhee Ave., Courtenay, B.C. V9N 2Z7 or fax to 250-338-5568. If you wish to talk to the editor, phone Mark Allan at 250-338-7816, 2309.