Letter To LFP From Wally Martin Re: ALC Commisioner Donation to Clr. Bateman's Election Campaign - A Conflict of Interest?

Dear Editor

Do political campaign contributions come with strings attached?

Does John Tomlinson own a condo in Whistler?

The recent disclosure that John Tomlinson of the Agricultural Land Commission provided a large donation to Councillor Jordan Bateman in the last election is very disturbing.

Jordan Bateman has clearly stated his views on the agricultural land in the Milner valley and it would appear that it is going to push the Bateman/Falcon agenda through in spite of fierce opposition from the farmers in the area. Why is it that Tomlinson refuses to stand up for the farmers? It would appear to be a serious conflict.

The timing of the Tomlinson donation, November 23 2007, is when Councillor Jordan Bateman held his fund raising raffle. Was the Tomlinson donation one of the "raffle prizes"?

I did file a written complaint with the Gaming Enforcement Branch in regards to this "raffle prizes" matter and I am still waiting for a written reply. I did receive a phone call from the Gaming Enforcement Branch and I was told that they did not want to embarrass MLA Rich Coleman since Coleman was attending the raffle as a special guest. I will again demand that the Gaming Enforcement Branch deal with this matter in the light of this new disclosure of information.

One would almost assume that if you are closely aligned with Rich Coleman, Jordan Bateman, Gordon Campbell, and the BC Liberals that you can ignore the rules. I recall Bateman describing some of these people as "heavy hitters".

The fact is that John Tomlinson will be instrumental in deciding the fate of Langley farmland by building a road through the middle of the Milner valley, a proposal supported by Councillor Bateman, that is being forced upon the residents and farmers in Langley by the BC government.

Councillor Ferguson and the previous Mayor Alberts also both received Tomlinson donations. Ferguson seems to be arguing that the truckers are more important than the farmers.

All this has generated a great amount opposition in the community. This will be remembered as a dark day in the history of Langley.

Wally Martin ...

Letter To The Editor : Pam Omelaniec's Open Letter To Councillors Ferguson & Ward

I sent the following letter to all of the local media. As yet it has not appeared in print.

" You all know me and I know you. In fact Sam and I have supported you all, in particular you Councillor Ferguson. Steve we were on your Campaign Team when you ran for Mayor so I am more than just a passing acquaintance and Councillor Ward, Sam and I have known and respected you for years.

You all know we were members of Rick Green's Campaign Team but I am not flag-waving for Mayor Green I am saying that I, together with hundreds of Langley Township residents are bitterly disappointed in the way you have been conducting yourselves and representing, we, the Langley Township electorate.

The idea of an in-your-face confrontation with an elected official with the Press primed at your side and armed with a tape recorder is abhorrent. If you try to tape a phone conversation to be used later it is not legal to do so unless you have informed the speaker of your intent and received permission to do so.

Did you tape conversations when you were planning to spend millions of our tax dollars behind closed doors. I think not.

You cannot change the November election result. In fact you are insulting everyone who voted for change in Langley by acting like we don't count. If it is your intention to carry on political sniping and causing a furor at every opportunity to score personal brownie points, I suggest you think again.

Langley needs strong united leadership with constructive criticism not a pack mentality of hyenas. How can we believe in your good judgment on issues like the one you are making on the Mufford overpass?

I urge you to have a good look at your behaviors. You may not like what you see because we the Electorate sure don't. I thought we were all pretty good judges of character but you have really let Langley taxpayers down."

Pam Omelaniec

Edited By LFP EDITOR...

Letter To The Editor From Susan Semonick Re: School Board Aldergrove Decision Right

The motions approved at the last Board of Education meeting are warranted on the financial end of things. I know from the last consultations in the Aldergrove area that a majority of parents felt they were being forced down a road that they knew little about, but had no choice. Trustee Joan Bech was in attendance at these forums.

A small group of parents who are involved in the PACs have been sold a bill of goods.

Anyone with a bit of brain knew this motion would be at the top of the agenda; that is, if we were to believe anything from the election propaganda. Even though personalities are in play here, look beyond that. You will see this is an attempt to correct how the past board has conducted business.

This was the first official public meeting of the new board since taking the oath of office. It appears that Trustee Wendy Johnson is trying to follow through on her promises. I know that that is a shock for many; however, she did top the polls with those promises.

The cost for fruitless forums, if the format stays the same, I believe is more than $10,000 an event.

I hope the best for Betty Gilbert and Aldergrove Secondary students. All we are hearing lately is about the gangs, killing, and organized crime in your area. It seems this community may be in crisis in more ways than one.

With the low mortgage rates, maybe it is an opportune time for the families to move to areas that meet the needs of their children. Or for the majority to become more visible and state what they feel would be best for the children overall.

The enrollment figures suggest there are more people against the middle school concept than there are for it. Betty Gilbert is down 81 students this year.

The trustees, when asked to attend the PAC meetings, at that point should have realized that maybe a community forum was required. It looks like Johnson is the only one that has realized this. This would have enabled everyone directly involved to be in the same room to exchange information, and to move forward positively.

Trustees Steve Burton, Alison McVeigh and Rod Ross have to realize that business practices will be more open than before, much as the Township council is now adjusting to. Financial accountability will be at the forefront of the discussions, instead of being discussed in some back room with only the clique in attendance.

Good on you Wendy, for taking the first step to improving decision-making practices in this school district. Hopefully the follow-up motions will be done with more process, and no malice towards each other.

Parents in Aldergrove, take a breath. They will not cancel your French immersion program overnight — it will still be there.

Getting an additional year to have staff trained and prepared for what may be implemented to improve the education of your children could be a godsend. It may be time to extend your listening ear to ones other than those you have been already been listening to.

The old board did practice “divide and conquer” tactics. Hopefully, the new board will practice transparency and communication as a whole before decisions are made that will affect your children. The forum format must change, to improve anything this district has attempted in the past. Hopefully, DPAC is on top of this.

Susan Semonick,

Langley

Editor’s note — A poll on The Times website, as of Friday morning, had 28 people supporting the board decision to delay the middle school, and 27 opposed. You can vote at langleytimes.com.
Editor's note: See Advance story on original Aldergrove School Board vote at this link. ...

Politico's Snow Removal Email Broadcast Messages Infuriating (Snows Die-Hard Part 3of4)

From: Maureen French
To: Mayor and Council
Cc: news@langleyadvance.com ; Aldergrove Star; Langley Times
Sent: Sun Jan 11 23:33:33 2009
Subject: LACK OF 'Snow Removal'
Just a few points that I may not have sent to all of you.

If it's decided that property taxes need to be increased to cover the increase in snow removal, that's fine, as long as snow removal covers EVERYONE who's paying taxes for it. I've paid my snow removal taxes for 2008. The excess snow removal costs for 2008 should have been taken from an emergency/unplanned expense fund for the current year. Then determine if taxes need to be increased for future years.

A further, and most important, point: I think you guys are forgetting how many essential service workers live in these un-cleared subdivisions. People such as police, firefighters, air traffic controllers, doctors, paramedics, etc. If these workers can't get out to work, who will be there to do their jobs? I am one of these workers, so don't ever complain about any airport, or aircraft delays if you aren't clearing the street for us to get out.
Does the township of Langley not have any regard for the provincial emergency standard of 72 hours? Many Langley residents were left on their own for a lot longer than that! (Only Kim Richter has addressed this. The rest of you haven't even responded to it. Why?)

If people can't get out of their driveways or streets then it doesn't matter how much snow removal is done on the main roads. WE CAN'T GET OFF OUR OWN STREET'S TO GET TO THE MAIN ONES. If I can make it out of my subdivision without any snow removal done, then I can make it around Langley without the main streets done.

It is so frustrating to see the Mayor, and some of the councilors, sending mass reply emails that don't address the problem properly. I have heard so many different reasons and excuses from the Township for the lack of snow removal; all of which are pretty lame.

Reason 1 - Not in the budget. The situation this year was an extreme circumstance that should have received some emergency or special last minute funding. If my furnace breaks unexpectedly, replacing it probably isn't in my budget either, but it still has to get fixed ASAP.

Reason 2 - Not enough equipment or manpower. There are LOTS of private contractors that would have been delighted to be paid by the township to clear the side streets.

Reason 3 - The current policy doesn't cover the side streets. When it was apparent over the holidays that residents were upset about snow removal the mayor and council should have had an unscheduled meeting to address the problem, rather than continue with their holidays and deal with it a couple weeks later. The policy could, and should have been amended. It's pretty sad how mayor and council have been blaming the engineering department, and the engineering department has been blaming mayor and council. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY. We shouldn't have to be sitting here writing emails about it after the fact, and fighting over how and who needs to fix the problem. It should have been dealt with 2 weeks ago, not now.

Maureen Pottinger
Snows Die-Hard Part 1of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 2of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 4of4 ...

Langley Councillor Kim Richter Tables Motion For Improved Snow Clearing Safety (Snows Die-Hard Part 3of4)

While other Langley Township Councillors continue to focus on defending the Langley Events Centre P3 fiasco, Councillor Kim Richter on the other hand responds with action to the single current biggest issue that Langley residents are fuming about. Unsafe snow clearing conditions in Langley Township. On December 31st, Councillor Kim Richter submitted a notice of motion that will be considered at the January 12th afternoon Langley Township council meeting. Richter is calling on Langley Taxpayers to write in and email Langley Township Mayor & Council to at least demand the seconding of her motion for discussion and ultimately to do something about the unsafe situation when many Township Taxpayers are unable to get out of their homes onto their neighbourhood side streets after 72 hours. She references the fact that many residents have been unsupported by their local government when the provincial emergency standard is 72 hours for ALL emergency response needs.

Snow clearing in the past few weeks has far exceeded this 72 hour standard for many Township residents. Fortunately extensive and long duration power failures were not a large complicating issue as well for these unfortunate taxpaying Township residents. Many, most especially seniors, were literally stranded for in excess of 72 hours unable to leave their homes or expect any reasonable support, help or even timely emergency services if needed because their immediate tertiary roads were completely impassable in many cases because there was absolutely no snow plowing whatsoever. Not even a quick and simple single plowed lane was provided even weeks after the first major snow dump!

As a long time Township resident, I remember when Township many years ago would at least plow a quick single lane up my previous rural tertiary road when we had major snow dumps. It has never been done again in the past 10 years , EVER! How hard is it for the Township to identify these especially hardship cases and plan or even respond to their pleas for support. Obviously there is no proper process in place for these people even apparently in at least exceptional cases. Surely to goodness after two weeks any Township truck with a simple front end mounted plow or at least a private local community contractor for larger or smaller Township neighbourhoods could have been provided after 2 weeks , never mind 72 hours!

This council should make sure that those taxpayers in Langley that would, were or could be stranded in excess of 72 hours should be identified and given reasonable safe access & egress after this time at minimum. So Richter is correct to say that it is unacceptable to have residents endure this hardship when we do find it a Township priority to fund another $5 million for the Events Centre, also find an extra $3 to $5 million for the Grandstand fiasco and also find literally millions for acquiring golf courses and restaurants, not to mention selling off Township park land at bargain basement prices! See Richter’s Letter to the Editor and her notice of motion sent to the local newspapers here as published in Tuesday’s Langley Advance and Wednesday's Langley Times.

Councillor Kim Richter's Letter To The Editors

December 31, 2008

Dear Editor:

Re: Township Snow Removal Policy

The white Christmas we experienced in the Township last week raised an important public safety issue that Council needs to address immediately. It is clear that the Township’s existing snow removal policy is ineffective and insufficient on all tertiary roads in Langley Township where the majority of residents and taxpayers live.

Over the past few years, the Township has experienced more frequent and longer-lasting snow periods where residents have been snow-bound in their homes for longer than 72 hours. This is unacceptable.

Both the Province and the Country have an emergency preparedness standard of 72 hours. They have consistently told people about the need to be able to survive for 72 hours without outside help.

However, what is difficult to understand and accept is the Township’s unwillingness to plow any tertiary road - period. As we have experienced in the past week, the Township’s failure to plow tertiary roads during and following snowfalls far exceeds the provincial 72 hour emergency standard.

It has placed many Township residents at risk because they cannot easily be reached by emergency vehicles such as police and ambulance, if necessary. Furthermore, it has substantially slowed down the ability of fire trucks to access properties on tertiary roads.

This is not an acceptable or safe level of service. At minimum, all tertiary roads should be plowed to at least a single lane and sanded/salted 72 hours following a snow fall, and every 72 hours thereafter, provided tertiary roads remain impassable due to continued snow fall.

Furthermore, an emergency snow response phone line should be established so that snow-bound residents, especially those needing access to secondary and primary roads for health and employment reasons, can call in and request snow removal on their tertiary roads prior to the 72 hour parameter.

The Township’s existing snow removal policy must change. This should be considered a public safety and budget priority in 2009 and all subsequent years.

I have put forward a notice of motion requesting such policy revision. I ask all Township residents who agree with me on this to send an email to mayorandcouncil@tol.bc.ca encouraging Council’s support of the motion.

If the Township has enough money in annual budget surpluses to finance a $5 million shortfall on the Events Center, then the Township certainly has enough money to put into improved snow removal for better public safety of all residents.

Yours truly,

Kim Richter.

Councillor Kim Richter's Notice of Motion

RICHTER NOTICE OF MOTION – For January 12, 2009

Whereas the Township’s existing snow removal policy is ineffective and insufficient on all tertiary roads in the Township where the majority of Township residents and taxpayers live;

Whereas over the past few years, the Township has experienced more frequent and longer-lasting snow periods where residents have been snow-bound in their homes for longer than 72 hours;

Whereas the Province and the Country have an emergency preparedness standard of 72 hours and the Township’s failure to plow tertiary roads during and following snowfalls far exceeds this72 hour emergency standard;

Whereas failure to open tertiary roads after 72 hours places many township residents at risk because they cannot be reached by emergency vehicles such as police and ambulance, and substantially slows down the ability of fire trucks to access properties on tertiary roads;

Therefore be it resolved that the Township’s Snow Removal policy be revised and amended to include the following:

1. All tertiary roads in the Township will be plowed to at least a single lane and sanded/salted 72 hours following a snow fall; and every 72 hours thereafter provided tertiary roads remain impassable due to continued snow fall;

2. An emergency snow response phone line will be established so that snow bound residents needing access to secondary and primary roads for health and employment reasons can call in and request snow removal on their tertiary roads prior to the 72 hour parameter; and

3. Provision for this enhanced snow removal service in the Township will be considered a public safety and budget priority in 2009 and all subsequent years.

Snows Die-Hard Part 1of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 3of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 4of4 ...

Letter To The LFP Editor From Gloria Stelting - Re: We Need Better Snow Clearing for Safety (Snows Die-Hard Part 1of4)

------ Original Message Follows -------
From: Gloria Stelting
To: mayorandcouncil@tol.bc.ca
Subject: Langley Emergency Response Vehicles deal with unplowed residential road
Date: Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:54:34 -0800

Dear Honourable Members of Langley Council,

Langley Emergency Response Team resources are hampered and their precious time wasted by extremely bad driving conditions on residential roads. This RCMP officer was fortunate that he only had to walk down the block to get 2 firefighters to push his vehicle free from where it was stuck in the snowy intersection at 50th Ave and 246th St. There are a large number of senior citizens on 50th Ave. Many of the residence have lived here and paid taxes for over 30 years. Any of these could easily be in need of emergency services at anytime. This RCMP cruiser was not the only vehicle to be stuck at this corner in the last several snowy days.

Please have a look at these photos. I took them on Saturday Dec 27, 2008 from my front yard. The location is visible with the street sign marker in the photo showing the On Call Firefighters pushing the RCMP vehicle.
Would not the cost of these 3 members of the Langley Emergency Response Team be better spent otherwise? One driver of a snow plow to clear the road for everyone would seem like better financial management. This maybe possible if the Langley Snowplowing Policy was review.

I would not have been able to get in & out of my residence during this recent snow accumulation without my 4 wheel drive pickup. Not everyone has these. Our traffic is single lane. We really need a flag person. Even 4 wheel drive vehicles are getting stuck in the deep snow when attempting to go off the one set of tracks. The only way to pass oncoming traffic is to locate a cleared driveway. I would ask that you direct staff to please do not send garbage and recycling trucks down our road to jam it up evn more until vehicles can safely pass each other.

I would like to note that I did personally notice the improvement in the condition of Fraser Highway in Langley since TOL has taken over responsibility of plowing it. In the late morning of Wednesday Dec 24, Highway #1 from Sumas to 264th was snow covered with traffic trying to set tracks while Fraser Highway from 264th to 248th Streets that I drove was bare and wet. However, both 264th and 248th Streets were covered in snow like Highway #1.

We need necessities like snow plowing. It is important for our safety. If we can not afford this, then we certainly can not afford luxury items like an "events center", a Township golf course and a Township restaurant. All of which TOL council and staff have spent our precious taxpayer dollars on.

Thank you for your time as you make decisions that balance out our needs for public safety and financial management.
Sincerely,
Gloria Stelting

Snows Die-Hard Part 2of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 3of4
Snows Die-Hard Part 4of4 ...

Wally's Words - Langley Tourism, Taxes, Water Forum & Sidewalk To Nowhere

Langley Tourism
It was recently revealed (report #08-166 presented to Township Council September 29,2008) that Tourism Langley spent $60,000 ( sixty thousand - yes you read it right) to create a web site. The vast majority of businesses spend less than $500 to do the same thing. This is a typical example of out of control government spending which has spiraled out of control in Langley township. We need big change at township hall to reign in spending.

Tourism Taxation
Recently Premier Campbell announced some changes to the provinces taxation for hotels. The change for inn keepers reduces the cost of a nights stay by less than 50 cents. A saving of 50 cents will do nothing to stop the bleeding of the provinces tourism sector that is now on life support. This rate of saving would take our hotel 500 years to pay the cost of the Tourism Langley website recently revealed to cost a mind numbing $60,000 We need a lot more change than 50 cents.

Water Worries
I went to this week's water forum at D.W. Poppy school. What I heard was that the new water management plan was going to cost a lot of money. The spokesperson for the Province said they would need to hire more staff. That would mean they also need more new pickup trucks. That is code for higher TAXES.The amount that will be spent on 'administration' will probably be more than to proceed with a system upgrade to connect the east and west systems and increase capacity from the Fort Langley basin. Start laying pipe now.

Sidewalk to Nowhere3 photos attached
- This image was taken Oct 23 2008 and shows hidden in the weeds the "sidewalk to nowhere" in the center of the 5 corners roundabout in Murrayville.
- The further below images 0449 and 0508 were taken 2 years ago.

Below is the letter I sent to Mayor and Council 2 years ago. It is obvious that they paid no attention to my concern of saving tax dollars and went ahead with this ridiculous project. This extravagant waste must end now. In addition, every week the township sends a crew equipped with ride on mower, leaf blowers (yes more than one) pick ups (yes more than one) to trim the sidewalks around the 5 corners. These are all private land frontages. Why are tax dollars spent to maintain private frontages?? By the way, the workmen who installed the sidewalk to nowhere told me it cost $17,000! End this waste now.

From: Traveller's Hotel
To: mayorandcouncillors@tol.bc.ca
Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2006 3:27 PM
Subject: 5 Corners

Mayor and Councillors
Langley Township

Attached are 2 photos. One is the new roundabout at 5 Corners (photo was taken on September 2 2006) and the other is in Surrey at King George and 8th Ave (photo was taken August 15 2006)
It seems that a concrete pathway is being installed across the roundabout at 5 Corners. This is a bad idea. Pedestrians are not to be walking about in the centre of the roundabout. Getting to the centre is dangerous and is sure to cause an accident. Installing any kind of pathway will be an allurement to persons and the Township will be held liable if an accident occurs. The entire centre should be planted with vegetation similar to the Surrey example.
Note the tree planted in the Surrey example. I also want to see a tree that can serve as a Murrayville Christmas tree. I have discussed this with numerous neighbours and they agree with the idea of a tree.

Yours Truly

Wally Martin
Langley...

Injector's Incredulous Inserts! - Letter To The Editor - Langley's Federal Debates So Far

LFP Editor invited Injector loved by one and all (lol) readers of LFP for his read of the recent federal candidates debate. So here it is!

OK, here are Injector's bottom line of the debates thus far by candidate:

MARK WARAWA - Conservative
Part Read from his tab-indexed party binder like a good choir boy would. Nothing new and touting the same old party line and rehash of spending to date. Claimed to have worked on many issues close to Langley, but I think the audience was left scratching to see where. Talked much about sending people to prison and being tough on crime. The funniest comment at Kwantlen last night was made by Mark during a discussion about genetically modified foods. Mark claims that broccoli is a GMF. A 20 year old study laughed out loud and asked if he was serious. Pretty much summed up what everyone was thinking. Mark was able to get his student organizers to nicely line supporters up at the microphones to only ask Mark questions. This lead to more choir practice from Warawa and the party song sheets (yawn).

RON GRAY - Christian Heritage Party
Some good points raise from a practical standpoint, but sometimes uses some hair-brained facts and statements to get his points out there. Ron claims that there is far more abuse in couples outside traditional marriage (including domestic partners and gays). When he furthered this at Kwantlen there were significant booing from the audience. He had no binder to sing from and spoke from his heart I believe. Ron claims that global warming is a myth and that the ice cap is actually expanding. He says that farms actually need the carbon that we are trying to get rid of!

ANDREW CLAXTON - NDP
Andrew is a young ESL teacher that seems like a genuine nice guy and by appearance and the way he speaks, reminds me of Robin Williams. I would say he is the spitting image of a Langley version of Patch Adams. Andrew is strong on the education and transit parts of his platform and managed to not dig into his binder. A nice guy in the wrong party.

PATRICK MEYER - Green Party
Patrick also seems like a nice guy, but as he uses long lead-ins to his answers he never seems able to give a whole response to things. He prefaced many of his answers with, "that's a difficult question" or "that's a real good question". I don't see him standing in parliament and raising a fair argument for something.

JAKE GRAY - Liberal Party
Jake is young and sometimes comes off as a cocky kid. But the more I listen to him, the more I see Jake as someone who could and would represent LANGLEY in Ottawa. He knows the subjects fairly well and doesn't require a party song sheet or adult supervision. He brought forth meaningful ideas and discussion on a host of issues. I'm starting to like this guy.

Tomatoes and other vegetables were handed out by the Kwantlen horticultural program in the lobby before the debate. I think our MP should be thankful that no one decided to create a food fight. I'm certain his arrogance and old party lines would have turned his suit into something that Carmen Miranda would have been proud of....

Stealing The National Anthem? - Letter To The Editor by Wally Martin

Dear Editor
To all Canadians

Melissa and Paul of Port Coquitlam, recent guests at Princess and the Pea B & B, were unanimous in the opinion that no person or entity had the right to attempt to exclude others from using all or part of the national anthem. As a hockey player, Paul went on to say it was disrespectful to hockey players and all Canadians to attempt to 'steal or take' part of the national anthem for exclusive use. I agree 100%. Pride of country belongs to all Canadians. Does this mean we can no longer sing the national anthem?
Wally Martin
Langley

Does Kurt Alberts Private Business Receive Special Treatment at Taxpayers Expense? - Letter To The Editor by Wally Martin

I recently viewed a web site http://www.explorelangley.com/Experience/Heritage-and-Culture/Galleries where I noted that the art gallery 'Birthplace of BC' operated by Mayor Kurt Alberts and his wife received special prominence yet the web site states there are galleries galore in Langley.

The web site is operated by Tourism Langley Association which receives tax payer money from the Township of Langley.

Why does Kurt Alberts private business receive special treatment at taxpayers expense?

Why does the private society Tourism Langley Association receive taxpayer funding when it is not accountable to the taxpayer?

Did Alberts excuse himself when funding to the society was discussed?

Tourism Langley Association meets in secret, does not have audited finances or any kind of public records and yet still receives taxpayer money? Is there something wrong here?

Why does Kurt Alberts get FREE advertising for his private business?

Wally Martin
Langley BC...

Time To Storm The Bastille - Letter To The Editor by Shane Dyson

This fall might have seen some real improvements for people in Langley and the province in general. We might have finally seen a provincial senior's advocate, minimum wages raised to $10 an hour and more protection for farm workers.

Those were some of the issues New Democrats were going to push for in this fall session of the legislature set to open on Oct. 6.

But Liberal government house leader Mike de Jong said there's no need for the sitting because the B.C. Liberals have no legislation to pass. What incompetence!

Recently, three Langley farm workers were killed and another two were critically injured when they tried to save their coworkers. Obviously, there are serious agricultural safety issues to address. De Jong, however, said, Unlike Carole James and the NDP, we as a government don't think the government should be out passing laws for the sake of passing laws. What arrogance!

This session would also have seen the Liberals called to account for their part in forest land giveaways, the carbon tax and double-digit pay-raises for high-level bureaucrats. What cowards!
Shane Dyson
Aldergrove...

How To Kill 2 Mosquitoes With One Swat - Letter To The Editor by Wally Martin

July 14 2008
Mayor and Council
Township of Langley

Re: How to kill 2 mosquitoes with one swat

Last Tuesday July 8 my wife Sharon and I spent the day in Fort Langley producing a Bridal Fair at the Fort Langley Community Hall. It was a very successful event with the participation of 100 business people and over 1,000 young ladies that attended. The day was perfect. Our attendance was up 40% from last year. The only negative thing we had was the mosquitoes. For many of the attendees it was their first visit to Fort Langley. We very rarely see any mosquitoes in Murrayville so it was a bit of a surprise for us.

I got thinking about the letter (copy attached)I wrote to council in the early spring regarding ground water in Langley. Fort Langley has too much ground water too close to the surface while the rest of Langley doesn’t have enough. The area surrounding Fort Langley is an underground lake. Taking this water would no doubt lower the water table slightly and help alleviate the mosquito problem. The Fort Langley basin is the perfect place to drill more wells.

Wally Martin
21628 48 Ave
Langley BC V3A 3M8

(Below letter written in early spring)

Langley’s Non existent Water Problem

There really is no crisis in water supply for Langley. There is a crisis in confidence in the leadership of Langley. The past few months have caused unnecessary anxiety as the population has been lead to believe there is a problem with the water supply.

There are a number of good alternatives to augment the water supply in Langley that have been advanced. These include the north shore lakes, Cultus Lake & Harrison Lake. Also more wells can be drilled in Langley. 2 other options have been overlooked. One is to build a desalination plant. The south west corner of Langley is 4 miles from tidewater. Thousands of cities around the world treat seawater to use it for drinking water. The process is simple and the distance to draw the water is close. Many cities draw seawater from much longer distances. Another alternative and probably the best is to draw water from the Fraser River. The Fraser River flows at a rate of 5,000 cubic meters per second. This is a flow rate that in one day can supply all of Langley’s water needs for 25 years. The good thing about the Fraser is the quality of the water. Fish live in the Fraser River. Living fish are always an indicator of good water quality. Needless to say the Fraser has better water than many of Langley’s wells. The fact is that Langley is already drawing water from the Fraser River. Some might be skeptical about this notion but I will explain.

Presently Langley Township pumps water from 17 wells to supply water to 85% of the Langley Township population. 38% of the Langley Township well water comes from the Salmon River well on 88 Ave at the west side of Fort Langley village. This is the best and largest producing well in the Township and far exceeds any of the other wells. It was drilled in the early 70’s and the press reports of the day were that it was a “gusher”. It also has excellent quality characteristics. The Salmon River well is a mere 60 feet deep. This well is actually drawing water from the Fraser River. A quick glance at the geology of north Langley shows that the water bearing material that supplies the Salmon River well is a one mile wide layer of sand that fills a crescent shaped basin that completely surrounds the village of Fort Langley. This crescent shaped basin is directly connected to the Fraser River like a giant pipeline. The Fraser River is also in a sand filled basin. The water travels thru the sand where it is constantly filtered. It is pumped at the well and we drink it. It is excellent water.

Many of the Townships other 17 producing wells were actually drilled in bad locations. They were drilled too close to areas where many private wells were already in existence. This has caused problems for the private wells. This is not a problem in the area surrounding the Salmon River well because it is a flood plain and no one lives on the flood plain. Langley can simply drill a few more wells in the Fort Langley basin and phase out the other wells. Additionally the east and west water systems need to be connected. It is actually quite simple. The interconnect would need to run from 232 St to 248 St. a total distance of 4 miles and Aldergrove would then enjoy the same water quality that is in the west system.

There is a cost to all of this. Recently the Township of Langley was proposing to install meters on all private wells in Langley. At a cost of $10,000 per well (a conservative estimate) that would have been $50 million dollars. The interesting thing about this bizarre metering idea was that after spending the $50 million it would not have produced one drop of water for Township of Langley residents. The above ideas I am advancing will not cost anywhere close to $50 million and they will increase the water supply.

Another good idea would be to take water directly from the Fraser River and treat it. This would be the same process that is being used to treat the lake water from the north shore. The intake pipes could be installed in such a way as to take advantage of the sand filtration under the river. Not a difficult concept.

Langley does not have a water shortage but rather has numerous viable options to choose from.

Thank you
Wally Martin
21628 48 Ave
Langley BC V3A 3M8
sales@princessbb.com
604 533 5569

NOTE From LFP EDITOR: We will post 99.9% of all Letters to the Editor prominently on LFP. For more info on WHY & HOW TO SEND Letters to LFP to publish go to this link. If you find our sidebar haloscan comments too limiting or if you wish to deliver an important message, Press Release, or Public Info we invite you to send Email letters to us at;
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...

Township Taxes Result In Decline Of Tourism & Tapping The Gay Tourism Market? - Letter by Wally Martin

(editor's note: This letter also published in today's Langley Times.)

(After reading below letter & posting comments, for the real facts and less fiction see these 3 & related previous LFP postings, ONE - TWO - THREE)

Letter to the Editor from Wally Martin,

The notion that high fuel prices will benefit the local tourism economy is a joke.
Langley residents live 10 minutes from the border and motor fuel in BC is 50% more expensive than in the US.

Every weekend there are huge border lineups as Canadians head south to escape our high taxes.
US visitors are not headed to Canada due to our high taxes.

Tourism from the US to BC is down 70%.

The premier of the province has long been an advocate of holidaying in the US and BC residents are following his lead.

The current marketing blitz that "BC is the best place on earth" is only true if you enjoy being over taxed.

BC has the highest hotel taxes on the continent and if you like that than you do enjoy punishment.

2 years ago councilor Bateman lead the charge to increase local hotel taxes by 25%. He insisted we needed 'a socialist style' of government marketing plan. Free enterprise wasn't smart enough to do their own marketing and the government needed to do it for them. He said at the time we would all thank him for that. This increase in tax has resulted in the decline in tourism in Langley as residents flee to lower tax destinations. I suppose we can thank councilor Bateman for higher taxes.

It was refreshing to know that at least some council members voted against the extra tax (Richter and Ferguson voted against the tax).

Tourism Langley recently launched a new logo. This logo is in rainbow colors. The rainbow has long been the symbol of the gay and lesbian movement. Does Langley really think it can compete with places like Toronto and San Francisco that have large gay pride events and numerous gay bars. It seems to me that Langley would be better off with a pumpkin logo or something to promote the farm. Since Mayor Fassbender and Councilor Bateman are directors of Tourism Langley I ask 'In what direction are they trying to take us?'.

The 10% hotel tax has been in affect for a year now and we are still waiting to see some tourists brought here by Tourism Langley. Where are these tourists? Are there any tourists? Are they being sent to stay with special friends and insiders? Will the experiment in socialism work?...

Letter To The Editor - Mar 6, 2008 - From Mary Hartman - RE: We Need Mental Health Clinics in BC - (Where's MLA Mary Polak?)

LFP Editor's note: Mary Hartman's letter below to us raises great issues of very much needed mental health clinics. If countries like Australia see the previous errors of their ways and now recognise and do something about this, why can not Canada or simply BC add much needed community mental health clinics. This crisis causes our front line police and emergency rooms far too much time and money. MP Mark Warawa and MLA's Rich Coleman & Mary Polak (LOL....the conversation on health advocate!) where are you on this issue? Another great opportunity (lost?) for you Mary to take a stand and be a champion, finally! You need one otherwise reconsider your political career & 'get out of the way' since you have 'not yet led but only choose to follow' & please stop wasting OUR money on basically full page baking sale ads! Read the attached link to see what Australia is now doing on this issue. They even have a poster shown here on the upper right!

The Editor,
Langley Free Press,

If the original mentally ill Canadians released from institutionalization had been treated, stabilized, housed & monitored as soon as the flood gates were thrown open, we would probably, not have the degrading situation which exists today. Instead they were left to wander the streets, lonely, sick, unmediated, unstabilized & homeless. Can we wonder why they turned to drugs with the help of dealers pouncing on the confused & helpless, becoming infected with multiple diseases & HIV/AIDS. To have these people now being arrested & jailed is nothing more than shocking. Where has the Mental Health Department been in all of these most critical years ?

To now have to treat these poor sick diseased mentally ill souls will be a very complicated process, which could have been avoided, if the grossly overpaid members of the Mental Health Department had done their work at the time of De-institutionalization, when all mentally ill should have been monitored, treated, kept on record & never allowed to become homeless or unstabilized, - &, as in Australia - given a reasonable disability pension for life, somewhere to live in a clean & healthy atmosphere, with a psychiatric nurse to visit regularly, giving medication or monitoring it's intake.

There are over 60 Mental Health clinics in Western Australia alone (see the Internet), both residential for those who have gone off medication & been collected by the Psychiatric Emergency Teams & returned for stabilization, plus walk-in clinics, where they can see a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse if worried or need help. The Canadian Mental Health Department should take note of an excellently progressive country like Australia, instead of looking towards the U.K. only for new ideas.
If most people do not agree that the Police Report is such a powerfully written document ever to come out of the Vancouver Police Department & a severe indictment of a mental health system unable to help those who need it, we should all take our blinkers off & stand up & be counted. The report demands our attention & is a vital condemnation of the province & those who are supposedly running the Mental Health Department.

To think that young policemen & women, inexperienced in the psychiatric needs of our mentally ill Canadians, who are roaming, sleeping & in mental pain on the streets of British Columbia, are being cared for with such kindness, compassion, understanding & dedication, is extraordinary. It could make one sit down & cry with shame. We should all thank these young men & women for their tireless & thankless perseverance.

The Mental Health Department of B.C. should be severely castigated & hide their heads in shame, that these young men & women have had to step in & shoulder such difficult & complex responsibilities when psychiatrists, mental health nurses ( both male & female ), psychologists & associated personnel, should be operating mental health clinics - both residential & walk- in -, over the whole of B.C. especially in Vancouver's Downtown East side & suburbs, where so many of the mentally ill have congregated, & are living in such squalor & degradation.

The graphs, showing one year in the life of someone mentally ill going through so many arrests & so little contact with those supposedly responsible for giving mentally ill people treatment, is absolutely shocking. If each arrested mentally ill person had such a graph, there is no reason why the mental health department could not do the same thing for every mentally ill person in B.C. & have them medicated & monitored regularly by psychiatric staff.

A mentally ill Canadian should not have to be arrested. There should be P.E.T. teams available - psychiatric emergency teams - able to respond immediately, pick up any delinquent who has gone off medication, take them to a residential mental health clinic for stabilization, followed by regular monitoring later.

In comparison, Western Australia, which has one of the best Mental Health Departments available today - population approximately 2 million (2006) - has over 60 mental health clinics scattered over the whole state. Perth's population is around 1& 1/2 million & the mentally ill do not sleep in the streets or walk around unmedicated, but are housed by many church groups & the government, receiving excellent disability pensions. Psychiatric nurses visit regularly & the mentally ill are encouraged to visit their Dr's. once a month.

In comparison - Vancouver's population is about 2 million & B. C. around 4 million - HOW MANY MENTAL HEALTH CLINICS ARE AVAILABLE IN B.C. OR VANCOUVER ? RESIDENTIAL OR WALK IN ? HOW OFTEN ARE THE MENTALLY ILL MONITORED & CHECKED FOR STABILIZATION ?

MARY HARTMAN
CHILLIWACK...

Letter To The Editor - Feb 14, 2008 - From Paul Richard - RE: Support Plastic Bag Phase out

Students support plastic bag phase out

Representatives of a group of environmental students from Kwantlen University College spoke in favour of the motion to phase out plastic bags in the City of Vancouver, and presented a petition to that effect.

The petition collected over 700 signatures in support of a tax to discourage the unnecessary use of the bags. While the motion does not refer to a tax, the intent of the petition is the same, said Ashley Bangsund, a spokesperson for the group. "We asked for a tax because we thought it was one of the ways to reduce the excessive use of the bags", said Bangsund, "But we support any measure, including this motion, that produces the same final effect".

The petition was created as part of a class project in the environmental program they were attending at Kwantlen. The student group, called BABE for "Bring A Bag Everywhere", quickly garnered support among the public in Vancouver as well as from SAFE (Students Active For the Environment), the environmental club of Kwantlen student association. The signatures were collected in June and July last summer, but the on-line version of the petition is still active and the public can add their say at http://ipetitions.com/petition/bringabageverywhere/

The students pointed out that billions of bags end up in litter every year worldwide, and that Canadians consume 55 million new bags per week. They added that hundred of thousand of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food.

Paul Richard, the faculty liaison for SAFE, also spoke in favour of the motion. Richard pointed out that, far from being a minor issue in waste management, plastic bags represent a huge problem. "Phasing out the bags has a huge symbolic value as well", added Richard. "People are hungry for leadership on environmental issues; phasing out the bags increases awareness of how wasteful these are, and this motion shows that our politicians can have a positive influence and restore hope in a solution."

For information contact

Ashley Bangsund 604-221-8546

Paul Richard 604-599-2556

...

Letter To The Editor - Jan 22, 2008 - From Mary Hartman - RE: Transit Too Late For Fraser Valley Lost Generation(s)?

From: Mary & Gus Hartman

The Editor,

The unveiling of the Transit mega-plan will, no doubt horrify those living in the South Fraser Valley, where the services & routes would have ultimately extended east to both Abbotsford & Chilliwack, & now will do so possibly, by 2020 - how about Hope ? The promise includes in total, for all areas,(it is presumed), 600 more buses, which will sadden many when the amount of pollution spews forth into the armosphere & may have been avoided with rail & trolley services. Why should the oldies worry about it anyway, we'll all be underground by then !

What has not been taken into consideration, is the less than far sighted appreciation of the movement of population & businesses, to the South Fraser Valley, as a result of the increasing house & suite prices in & around Vancouver, driving families further & further away. The disturbing, distressing & breaking point of the Transit Plan, is the lack of a rapid rail service to the South Fraser Valley & no hope of ever having something in the near future, even though the taxes collected in & for B.C. are for all the people of British Columbia & not just for Vancouver, the surrounding suburbs & Victoria, which seems to be the opinion of the Premier, as he splashes our money around his domain.

We, in the Fraser Valley are British Columbians & do pay our taxes ! So, how about a decent share of it ! The billions of dollars being spent for 17 days of Olympic Glory. in & around Vancouver & associated areas, won't help the people of the Valley either, what are they getting out of those tax dollars !

It would be interesting to have a sensible estimate of the cost of establishing a rapid rail transit service up the middle of Highway one, from Surrey to join the main line at Cattermole, where the Highway converges without a middle section available & then through Chilliwack to Hope on the established line, with appropriate exchanges etc. As most mayors have already stated, most traffic from the Valley does not go over the Port Mann bridge.

The future arrangements as outlined by the Translink plan for the lack of services to the Fraser Valley allow a Brass Monkey's share of the $14 billion dream. Who are we ? The lost generation ! The many oldies in the Valley who have worked hard all their lives to help make Canada what it is today should be appreciated & have their lives made more enjoyable. The younger generation living in the area & have to travel long distances to earn a living should also be considered, seriously.

Mary Hartman
Chilliwack
January 22 / 2008....

Letter To The Editor - Jan 4, 2008 - From Ed Monteith - RE: MORE PAINFUL TRUTH

----- Original Message -----
From: Ed Monteith
To: Langley Free Press
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 9:56 PM
Subject: Letter to the Editor

MORE PAINFUL TRUTH

It was indeed interesting to read Matthew Claxton's editorial in the Jan 4 edition of the Langley Advance, and to see that he, unlike most members of the township council, does not just repeat the message handed out by the bureaucrats at township hall about the very controversial water management plan.

Mr. Claxton's article shows that he has put some thought into the matter and proves this by adding a few suggestions. While I don't agree entirely with these suggestions, it does reflect the fact that there is an awful lot to discuss yet, before we the residents of this township rush blindly into something that we don't know all the facts about, and which is likely of no benefit.

Since we know and understand that the loudest objection to the plan involves the metering of private wells, I suggest we have a look at the whole well water supply scene in the township. To do this let's start with the facts that are available to us on the Langley Township web site. In 2006 township residents and businesses were sold water from the township wells to the tune of 9.33 million gallons per day! Yes, that is a lot of groundwater! There was a charge for this of $272 per year per residence, while business establishments were charged 53 cents per cubic meter. Now add to this the fact that almost every drop of the above amount of water was flushed into the township sewer system where it was treated and dumped into the Fraser River by the 82,000 or so residents who used it in 2006.

By contrast there are only about 5000 private wells in the township, and nearly every drop of water from these wells is treated by a septic system and returned to earth perhaps 100 or so meters from where it was extracted. Nature then does what it has done for millenniums. When nature does its job properly, that water can be reused. So the question is an easy one. Who's sucking our ground water into extinction?

Given the problem of our diminishing water is probably a fact, I ask everyone to think seriously about whether there is any merit in the pending water management plan, or should it be scrapped, and a new page begun. Think about how you would begin to solve it. As you do so, I hope you will see it as I do, and that is that the township itself is draining our aquifers at an alarming rate, and metering private wells will do little if anything to change that fact. It's even likely that the flow from township wells will grow as well, along with our population growth! I think that we have been led into a blind alley.

There is only one solution for both the short and long term in my opinion. That solution is to reduce our dependency on township wells, and phase in water from the Lower Mainland water sheds as quickly as we can afford to do so. If we don't take this bull by the horns, the situation will only worsen. I urge all township residents to watch this issue very carefully. It is my opinion that poor judgment on the part of some members of council, could easily commit us to something very costly, and give us nothing of value in return.

Ed Monteith...

Letter To The Editor - Dec 18, 2007 - From Dale Hughes - RE: Council Xmas Finger Gift To Fort Langley

------- Original Message Follows -------
To: Kim Richter & Langley FreePress

From: Dale Hughes
Subject: Thank you for writing to my friend Myrna, she deserved that for her courage to speak out.
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:08:08 -0800

I was personally very heartened to see you have integrity and did your level best to make some valid points in our favour last night.
Many thanks to you and your two fellow members of council who saw the angst of the community and made an effort to support us.

Personally I was stunned to see the whitewash by other council members on this issue.
If 25 people (unnamed) are found to agree with a plan that is kept under~wraps and then sprung upon the community who responds with a force of 10 times plus that number in letter and email protest and it is ignored, then there is something terribly wrong with the system.

This process is new to me, that is the first council meeting I have attended.
I am just getting involved in community matters beyond what I could accomplish in my few spare hours of volunteer for artistic and community hall pursuits. I became involved in this protest out of disbelief that such an important new feature for our landscape was being slipped into place by a passing of by~law due to lack of knowledge and input from our community.

The Mayor/council handled our concerns poorly with the exception of the three of you who took a stand on our behalf.

The deferral of this program to January would have been possibly a win win situation for them and for us of the community.

Yes, the Mayor is right in his passionate lecture to the converted on council and his attempt to sway/inform those of us in the audience.

It will not be the downfall of the Fort. Other phases of time have made an imprint upon the Fort in the past and still have been integrated into the community. And then there was a general agreement that this sort of erratic behaviour would be halted and we would begin building on our heritage and reflect the gems in our village to draw others of like mind to our doorstep in the future. Is money the only concern of a council? Why do we elect and pay them? It is our concerns and directives that are supposed to be upheld, not the wealthy corporate interests.

Erosion of public support in a tight community such as ours is a very sad misuse of power and will not be easily forgotten.

Such disrespect for our intelligence and our time was not easily swallowed and dismissal of the resulting frustration as rude was unacceptable to me. The apology should not have come from Myrna but rather from the council members using their platform of power given to them, by the public they were now misrepresenting, for our time wasted in airing their opinions instead of devoting their attention to our concerns.

Again, I commend you for your moral stand and valiant efforts to assist us.
I see you recognize it was not easy to garner the level of support and emails and letters that were received by council in this excessively busy time of the year within one week. Perhaps council should take another look at the force of will and number of dedicated persons involved in rallying that amount of support.
I will personally be very aware of the slippery slope of December's use for sliding unfavourable projects under the doorway of our community in the future.

I do hope you and all others in our community will have a restful and happy holiday season.
You three wiser ones well deserve it.

Best regards
Dale Hughes....

Letter To The Editor - Dec 17, 2008 - From Myrna Pfeifer - RE: Council Xmas Finger Gift To Fort Langley

------- Original Message Follows -------
From: Myrna
To: Kim Richter & Langley Free Press
Subject: Bedford Building Development Permit
Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2007 21:40:21 -0800 (Pacific Standard Time)

Thanks for speaking out as you did. It is curious to me how 250 letters received by Mayor and Council, in the busiest week of the year, can be ignored.

It does not give me a lot of hope where the wishes of the people are concerned. 'Bottom Lines' continue to wag the dog!!

Myrna Pfeifer
Concerned Citizen

Subject: Bedford Building Development Permit

The Township Mayor & Council has lost its ears!!

Despite receiving 250 letters from the residents of Fort Langley, Mayor Alberts and his council majority railroaded through Parklane's building approval permit tonight at the regular council meeting.

A large contingency from The Fort sat and endured lectures by Mayor Alberts, Councilors Ward and Vickberg. " history has proven how developments I once lived in were once considered ill-suited to Fort Langley". Mayor Alberts said this to reassure us that whatever he approves must be okay.

Councilor Richter stated that 250 letters were received by Mayor and Council this week, raising serious concerns about the lack of public input into this stage of the development.

No comments were allowed by the gallery at this meeting so when I could no longer sit quietly, I interrupted Mr. Vickberg stating that .."council was not listening to the people it represents."

Sorry, Mayor and Township Council, but when you turn a deaf ear or eye to 250 residents, it is my humble opinion you are not doing your duty and speaking out was my only option.

Merry Christmas.
M.L. Pfeifer...

Letter To The Editor - Nov 28, 2007 - From Ed Monteith - Water Management Plan, Bamboozled by the experts again?

As a resident of Langley Township, I am sitting at my keyboard almost in a state of disbelief as I keep thinking about the township's headlong rush to solve the problem of our diminishing aquifer levels. Compounding this disbelief, is the direction that our council is about to take when they decide that metering our private well water will be front and center when solving this long and predictable downhill slide regarding the state of these aquifers. Then, as if this enormously important decision needs nothing in way of more inteligent input, our council is presently scheduled to ram this through by December 31st of this year. Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see what you get, when you don't pay attention to who you vote for at municipal elections. If you own a well, be sure to attend last open house on this issue, at the Murrayville Firehall from 4 to 8 PM on november 29th You should then try to filter the bafflegarb from the reality of what's about to happen.

The Sunday Times (Nov.25th) has a quote from Dixon-Warren, the township's engineering department's groundwater specialist. He states that the water management aim is to establish guidelines for preserving both the quality and quantity of groundwater. Let's stop and think for a momment right there. Why? Because the TOWNSHIP itself has failed to do this, and continues to do so on a daily basis. They have done this time and time again, when they have allowed poorly planned development practices to destroy our forest ground cover, which retains our rainfall, which in turn allows clean water to filter into our aquifers. They have turned a blind eye when their development methods have allowed water to go from rooftop to rain gutter, and then to storm sewers and ditches, where it is lost on a fast track to nowhere useful. Flash floods in ditches and streams give us strong evidence of this after every heavy rainfall.. Dixon- Warren then goes on to say: "You can't manage it (water) unless you know who is using it and what is coming in and out" Well exactly my dear Doctor Watson, but let's get to the cause of the illness, and that is the township's poor planning and engineering practices sitting right there front and center. Methods of water RETENTION has never entered their minds I can only assume, yet in the State of Florida it has been a comon practice as far back as I can remember, and that's over 50 years. Such inteligence and foresight was perhaps never considered, and now the township has chosen to treat the symptom of this ailment (diminishing supply) rather than the very blatant cause which is located at the front end of the supply and consume cycle. Open your eyes Mr. Mayor and council et all. Look right across the road from the City Hall behind London Drugs, and you will see enough water wasted with each flash flood, to feed every well in the township for at least a month or more. It can no longer be absorbed and held by the vegetation that you have reclessly allowed to be destroyed by the gung-ho development on the south slope of the willoughby escarpment. Nice going guys !

A township manager involved with the water resources stated very loosely in the same article that the township "Expects" the provincial government to pick up the cost of water meters estimated at between $1000 and $2000 dollars. Hurry up with a firm promise here, because we only have until the 31st of December before this headlong rush to a huge blunder becomes irreversable. Most private well owners already have $20,000 and more tied up in their water systems and also have maintenance costs added as well. Charging for additional hardware for the water delivered from these facilities will be adding insult to injury.

Before I go on any further, let's turn our eyes towards Darth Vader, who lurks manacingly at the source of this messy controversy. Darth is of course is a symbol of none other that the Ministry of Agriculture. Remember them? You should, because they have already brought us misery via their letter of the law enforcement of the Right to Farm Act. Oh yeah, they are very friendly to the environement. NOT ! I'll just remind everyone how they have ignored our envirnment regularly each time they confuse INDUSTRY with REAL FARMING, and readers can assemble their own list. You might begin with with mushroon composters , and how their leash seems to get longer with every passing day as they are excused for the foul air they create in abundance.

At this moment there is every reason for the township council to slow the process, before starting with the metering of private wells. That procedure would be a costly, and a very large and complex program to implement fairly. There are far too many contributing factors to the diminishing levels of our water tables, and a fast track will contribute nothing sensible when prioritizing solutions. Let's start first with the worst offender among the others, and that is without a doubt the entity that holds the reins of this runaway horse. Yes indeed, it's the township itself. I'm sure that Confusious once said: "Check horse's mouth before looking up other end for problem". (LFP Editor's note - see 3 part Richter report for more)
Ed Monteith...