Dear editor,
Thanks to M. Machum for submitting a well-thought-out letter to the editor on the Dyke Road Gas N Go fiasco and I want to add 10 additional thoughts to this wonderful letter.
1) You're right; hundreds of people feel let down.
2) You're right; this project should have been voted down years ago.
3) I agree; it should never have been allowed to get started at all.
4) You failed to mention no laws have been broken, bribes given or even a hint of misconduct by the Procter family in concluding this deal.
5) As do you, I remember Mr. Procter stating in a interview, "If you don't want it, buy the property, but so far, no one has called."
6) You fail to mention the Procter family has endured the most heinous, abusive, outright bullying conducted towards adults and children this Valley has ever seen. Check the file at our RCMP office, or look up the restraining orders.
7) Your letter failed to ponder the outcome of this situation if cooler heads had prevailed. Constant attack almost always leads to a complete lack of negotiation, arbitration and/or resolution.
8) Your letter mentioned a collective buyout — outstanding idea, which shows common sense, which leads to common ground, which leads to people negotiating to reach a common goal.
9) To achieve No. 8 (your goal), you can't include the new chapter of the Comox Sierra Club because their mantra is to destroy through attrition (see No. 6).
10) You have a great idea. I hope you will become the Light of Hope to get this mess cleaned up. Grab it by the horns. Pick up the phone. Find out what it will cost. My organization will help in any way we can and stick with you until it's concluded. We can also bring many more groups to the table for you to direct in a dignified manner.
We believe in your cause. We believe in saving the estuary. We can bring thousands to the cause and hundreds of businesses and would enjoy the privilege of doing so.
But we will never support any cause that allows children to be threatened, spit on or swore at because of a family business.
Steven Baird,
Comox Valley
Editor's note: Steven Baird is the managing director of Street Smart Kidz Canada.