Brave woman helped deter two pit bulls
My wife, Judy, and I want to thank the brave lady who stopped her car on an isolated part of Tatlow Road in North Saanich in the afternoon of Oct. 21 in order to distract and deter two pit bulls from attacking us.
Powerful-looking, big jowled, wide-chested and almost overly muscled, they were closing in on us as they circled us in a team-work, wolf-pack fashion in the middle of the road with no other humans in sight.
Both in our mid-70s, and both recovering from major surgery, we were helpless and very scared. Major back surgery at Victoria General Hospital 14 days earlier left me very vulnerable.
Countryside walks were prescribed as good medicine. Never in our 30-plus years of walking on Tatlow Road did we have cause for concern.
Our heroine lady figured things out immediately as she neared the scene in her vehicle. By honking her horn and opening and closing her door over and over again, she was able to partially distract them. She showed true bravery when she got out, made herself bigger, and then, by yelling at them at the top of her lungs to go home, she got their full attention so that we could escape, slowly but surely.
Thank you, brave lady!
Thanks also to the Capital Regional District animal control officer for his immediate and thorough investigation and follow-up. Turns out the owners were visiting down the road a bit and had let their two pit bulls out on their own to roam the countryside without any restraints.
Dave Byron
North Saanich
Politics in B.C. no better than in the U.S.
There were two letters of interest regarding the recent election which made me muse about our disgust with American politics and why we think we are any different.
The first stated that “The court effectively found that fixed election dates were not legally binding.” But the court didn’t find that written contracts were not legally binding.
The second stated that “The voters in B.C. will reward you again if your integrity holds fast.” If flouting his commitment to his colleagues by breaking a written contract that he would absolutely not do just exactly what he did do is holding fast to any semblance of integrity then I have no understanding of the word.
We all know that politicians even here in Canada bend the truth and make promises they know they cannot keep. But that is before they are elected.
After they are in office, to negotiate a contract to hold power while all the time having no intention of abiding by it if it no longer suits their desires is down right dishonest and should never be condoned, let alone rewarded.
Jack Trueman
Brentwood
Intellectual elites are a hard sell
The script for Andrew Wilkinson’s outcome could have been written when he took on the leadership of the party.
The electorate (left, right or centre) simply does not relate to “intellectual elites”; even more so when they come across with a persona of educational and occupational superiority.
It just doesn’t resonate well and sure didn’t here!
John Stevenson
Victoria
Does not matter when the ballot is counted
Let us not allow the superficial indignation of so many voters and editorialists regarding when ballots are counted under our mail-in option.
No one’s vote is changed from when they cast them and they have done their part no matter when the ballot is counted.
They must understand the reality that in many ridings the outcome is determined by the 400 or so people who get behind the party nominee at the constituency level.
Victoria’s outcome is pre-determined. So let’s not expand the weeping.
Max Miller
Saanich
A question about Conservatives
In a quick look at the voting tallies, so far, it appears the Conservatives ran candidates in 18 ridings, and in at least 10 of those ridings the results could have been significantly different without them.
How do they pick which ridings to run in?
Paul Ellegood
Courtenay
Take more time, get some exercise
Re: “Bike lanes mean more time in cars,” letter, Oct. 24.
I empathize with the letter-writer and his problems with getting to the Save-On Foods in his car with bike lanes delaying his turns.
However, it may be possible for some facing similar problems to get a bit of exercise by using a bicycle or tricycle to do their shopping, or for others, the purchase of and electric or hybrid plug-in might be a good way, long term, to avoid putting as many greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
A bit more time travelling to and from the market could slow down our frenetic pace and expectations somewhat.
After all, as a generality, it is that which is in good part responsible for the climate problem we are in. The search for convenience and speed just brings a variety of more self-made problems and less relaxation as witnessed, for example in hunter-gatherer societies.
Glynne Evans
(A non-cyclist)
Saanich
Sun must set on B.C. Liberals
Depending on one’s perspective, I have either been blessed or cursed with a highly retentive long-term memory.
While many doubtless bask in the massive win by the B.C. NDP, I can recall two economic train wrecks that were inflicted on British Columbians, in the 1970s and again in the late 1990s, by previous NDP governments. I watched from afar while living in Alberta.
I look at the recent B.C. electoral results and have no rationale basis for optimism that the same will not occur once more given the carte blanche the NDP now has to govern with its massive plurality. Promises of profligate spending and past track records give me no comfort as to the economic future of B.C..
Unquestionably, the B.C. Liberals, an oxymoron in name, ran an inept and uninspired campaign headed by a lacklustre leader. The time has come to bury the B.C. Liberal Party and relegate it to the archives of history. It is a tired amalgamation of old parties that have dissimilar views except to believe they are the real opposition to the socialist persuasions of the NDP.
The time has come to look to a new party with new players and contemporary views that can present a real alternative to the NDP. Some will doubtless say that can’t be done.
However, if one casts their eyes to what ensued in Saskatchewan with a new provincial party expounding more contemporary and innovative thinking and without the baggage that came with the former provincial Conservative and Liberal parties, you see a province that has created something of an economic miracle given the position that province found itself in just over a decade ago.
Disband the B.C. Liberals and think seriously of a real alternative – and look for B.C. counterpart to the Saskatchewan Party.
James P. Crowley
North Saanich
Please, John Horgan, make people wear masks
Premier John Horgan should start fresh by seeking the support of Dr. Bonnie Henry in mandating that all folks in B.C. be required to wear a mask when entering public and government facilities and especially frequented locations of food outlets, drug stores, restaurants, all retail outlets – no exceptions.
Without doing so, I believe our pandemic numbers will continue to escalate.
Allan Mactier
Sidney/North Saanich
Bring back the E&N for commuter traffic
It is worth noting that most negative replies on the topic of the E&N Railway came from residents in Victoria. The effort is to transport workers FROM the north of the Island in commuter trains TO Victoria in the morning and back up in the evening, not the other way around!
The rail system should also be used to transport heavy freight loads. Passing long multi-trailer trucks by car on blinding curves during rain or snow storms is scary.
Finally, the section between Ladysmith and Cassidy, through the Oyster Bay community has NO secondary bypass to go around an accident.
There is one rail track and one double-lane highway with a solid concrete mid-section. Everything stops during an accident.
Commuters, on the train, would travel by the road-closed area. Freight by rail would also lessen the load of traffic on the road.
George R. Weiss
Ladysmith
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