Weekends and Partytime
Posted on July 29, 2010
Filed Under About Town, Editorial, Local Issues | 1 Comment
The magic tree has sprouted new fruits again. This time it is even more unusal. To me it is a reminder that summer is here, the long weekend is coming up, and it’s party time. Perhaps this is also a good time to suggest that there are two sides to that story.
Weekends are getting busier and noisier. One person counted over one hundred quads and dirt bikes racing by his place in one day. I’m sure many of those were repeats though. Indeed, people going back and forth, kicking up dust, is one of our perenial problems here. I guess we’ll just have to live with it.
I’ve never liked adding more rules to control our society. The more people sort things out by themselves the better, and to my mind, the more civilized. However I do notice more and more complaints about noise. We don’t have a noise bylaw in Area-H, but judging by the number of times it gets mentioned, my feeling is that there is support for one. I guess the up side is that even though rules like that don’t always get enforced, there are usually also a few people who take them seriously.
There will always be a few rowdies around. I think we have to live with a bit of that. Many people like to party and celebrate once in a while. We also have to realize that the huge number of off road vehicles that we see is the reason that most people come, and why some residents moved here. However, there are times when things get over the top and the rest of the community gets involuntarily volunteered to participate in a way they didn’t want. I notice that the ambulance comes by a couple of times every long weekend. That’s when fun gets to be not so fun.
I also notice the police have been to town a few times recently. I don’t know the details of the issues involved but maybe it’s better that I don’t stick my nose is some of that business anyway. I’m probably not the only person who thinks that way, but I’m probably also not the only one that wishes the police were here when we really need them. My thought is, you can’t win that one, but that there is not any more crime here than elsewhere. It is mostly during the weekends that there is trouble. There is always a problem with drinkers and yahoos on long weekends.
Most visitors are quiet and respectful. There is usually a nice crowd over at the Granite campsite. Some have been coming for years. We also see campers in odd places sprinkled around on crown land. Of course, there is no knowing what they get up to, and we can only assume that they are respectful of the area.
To me the only real solution is to be the best person you can, and encourage others to do the same. Only then can we actually move forward as people, and as community. §
Fire On The Hill
Posted on July 27, 2010
Filed Under Local Issues, News | Leave a Comment
Yesterday we saw smoke billowing up over the mountain from the Blakeburn direction. Since there is now a fire ban in place and we are at a very dry, and the most vulnerable part of the year, this caused quite a lot of concern here in Coalmont.
A call to the local volunteer fire chief, Jody Woodford, did not give us the answers we wanted to hear. Apparently Forestry is calling it a “controlled burn” by Compliance Energy Corporation at their mine site, and that they have a permit - despite the fire ban.
However, according to several eyewitness reports, there was no one on the site yesterday when they went to look, and it appeared to be a slash burn. The word from our Area-H representative, Brad Hope, is that the office is well aware of it and that it is an old fire which flares up during hot weather. Whether this is just what they think, or this is what Compliance told them is not known at this point.
Woodford is personally very concerned about the way the Forestry Service is viewing the situation. She is under the impression that they do not want to hear about the fire unless it is clearly out of control. Hopefully this is not how they normally view large unattended fires near population centres, but if it is then we could be in greater danger from fire here in Coalmont than was previously thought.
Another witness who visited the site this morning, said that it looked like a slash burn and that there were also some trees on fire. They did not see anyone there keeping an eye on it. With no apparent monitoring of the situation, what are we to do here? Certainly the seemingly conflicting information from eyewitnesses and different authorities does not bode well.
Something looks wrong with the way we are managing fires in this area and it needs to be looked into. We need to feel safe and know that there is a system in place to monitor and hopefully control large fires - not just let trees burn close to our town because it is only an “old” fire.
It is hard to tell what the truth really is, but this is a story which needs follow up. Who is responsible? Who is monitoring? Who cares? The first two questions have no answer yet, and the last one is obvious - we do. §
British Columbia Day
Posted on July 27, 2010
Filed Under History, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
BC Day is a statuary holiday and happens every year on the first monday of August. Everyone heads out to the country and has a roaring time enjoying this wonderful province.
Just for the fun of it, let me fill you in on a bit of BC history. First, our name hasn’t always been British Columbia. We actually started out as New Caledonia.
New Caledonia was the name given to a district of the Hudson’s Bay Company that comprised the territory which was largely the same as our province. It was part of the British claim to North America, but not a British colony.
New Caledonia continued to be administered by the HBC with the govenour of Vancouver Island, James Douglas, as the chief executive. There were only about 100 people in the area, but when the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush started at Yale, there suddenly came an influx of over twenty thousand people, mostly American. This compelled Douglas to exert British sovereignty by placing a gunboat at the mouth of the Fraser River in order to obtain licence fees from prospectors. The British colonial office was thus prompted to pass legislation designating New Caledonia as a crown colony on August 2, 1858 - and that’s when we got our new, and current, name. However, it wasn’t until 20 July 1871 that British Columbia became a Province of the Dominion of Canada.
The history of our flag, or flags, is also interesting. It wasn’t until 20 July 1960 that we got the “wavy white and blue with rising sun” that we have now. In fact there were several flags. Part of the history of our crest, upon which our flag is based, is quite amusing.
When British Columbia became a province of Canada, its first proposal for a coat-of-arms and flag was a half-sun in the top half and a Union Jack in the bottom half. When the design was sent to the heralds in the United Kingdom for approval, they became appalled when they realized that the design could be interpreted as “the sun setting on the British Empire.” The design was quickly reversed so the sun was on the bottom like we see today. There are still a few examples of the original faux pas around. A stained glass window in the Provincial Parliament Buildings is one.
When we became a province in 1871 the flag one would have seen on any vessels operated by the Province of British Columbia would have been the Blue Ensign with the badge of the Dominion of Canada. The problem in those days was that we didn’t yet have and official flag. Therefore the earlier flags always looked a bit contrived. The flag at the beginning of this article is the 1870 colonial flag. The one below, is the one we got in 1960.
So, a lot of water has gone under the bridge, and here we are with a new name, a new flag, and a couple of days off work. Life is good. Enjoy your holiday!
UPDATE
Posted on July 27, 2010
Filed Under About Town, Local Issues, News | Leave a Comment
It’s been a while since we’ve had some stories here. Of course this is Coalmont . . . but still.
Dominion day, or Canada Day as they call it now, has come and gone. The magic tree looked good, as usual. It was all decked out with Maple Leaf Flags to commemorate the occasion. Our little park is actually looking pretty good and is a nice place for tourists to stop.
A small indie company was filming a movie at the English ranch last week. “A Land that Forgets” is a “simple love story of a boy and a canoe in a town that is fading away.” From their web site: “Glass Curtain Pictures is a grass roots independent production company from Vancouver, British Columbia. Striving to produce works that respect the intelligence of the audience and challenge ourselves as filmmakers, we work together to co-produce and self-finance our own works.” Check out their website.
The development of 64 cabins across the river at 1500 Blakeburn road, has come to a halt. I believer these were supposed to be 1 hectare lots with water provided. From what I hear they had difficulty finding potable water up there and needed to get it from down here. I wonder just how much water 64 units would suck up. Anyway, I guess it’s a moot point now because I see that the development permit has been withdrawn.
There were some other Coalmont real estate sightings this year. Nic’s Cabins were seen for sale on Craig’s List for a very large sum of money. There’s other real estate for sale around here for large sums of money. That may be why they are for sale. A Langley RE/MAX office by the name of Treeland Realty is listing the Hotel for $675,000. Since the company mysteriously keeps a very low profile on the net, I’ll give a link to Vanislebounty’s local food Blog which does a much better job and is where I found the information. With all the talk about real estate around here, it’s interesting to note that our population is almost exactly the same as it was in 1940 when the mine closed. Zero growth in 70 years. That’s pretty impressive, and to many people one of the best things about this place. §
Coalmont Road Closed
Posted on October 28, 2009
Filed Under Local Issues, News | Comments Off
The Red Bluffs is probably the most exciting part of the Coalmont Road, and has given more than one tourist pause for concern. Coalmontians are used to dodging rocks, and know that one of these days the whole road will continue on down. Still, when direct access to Princeton gets cut off, everyone pays attention. Although bigger than usual, this slide on Wednesday October 21 was already cleared by 2:30 pm. Kudos to the road crew who manages to keep our road drivable all year round. (Bob Sterne photo)
Rose Cosman
Posted on September 21, 2009
Filed Under About Town, News | Comments Off
In Loving Memory of Rosina Marie Cosman, who passed away September 5, 2009. She was born December 11, 1935.
Rosina passed away at the Princeton General Hospital at the age of 73. She will be lovingly remembered by her husband Ed Cosman, of Coalmont; children, Fred (Tina) of Princeton, Jackie of Vernon and Patty (Graham) of Comox Valley as well as by her grandchildren; Desiree, Shyanne, Kyle, Christina, Ashley and Tiffany. Lovingly remembering Rosina will also be her sister and brothers; Shirley (Johnny) Schnarr of Sask, Carl (Amy) Watson of Chase and Bob (Chris) Watson of Sunshine Coast. Read more
Remembering Jim English
Posted on September 15, 2009
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James (Jim) Wesley English of Coalmont, BC died on the ninth of September 2009 at the Princeton General Hospital of natural causes. At the time of his passing he was surrounded by loved ones. Jim was born on September 22, 1924 in Fort Vermillion, AB to parents Alvin and Mary English. He was the 4th of 11 children. Jim led an extraordinary life, starting when he left home at around age 11. At age 15, at the start of the Second World War, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces (Regimental Number K85494). He later transferred to the Seaforth Highlanders Read more
COMMUNITY PLAN REVIEW
Posted on July 27, 2009
Filed Under Local Issues, News | Comments Off
The Regional District is currently conducting a review of the Official Community Plan (OCP).
Christopher Garrish, the planner for RDOS, informs me that so far, Coalmont has the lowest return on the survey. In fact it is at a piddley 2.7%! We can do better.
Everyone should have gotten a copy of the survey in the mail. If you’re like me and don’t check your mail every week, then do it now. This is important to the future of our area and the control we have over it. Anyone who didn’t receive a copy can participate on-line, or call to get involved. Here is the press release which RDOS issued.
Read more
Meeting Highlights Need For Change
Posted on April 25, 2009
Filed Under Local Issues, News | Comments Off
Our problem is that the new law can provide a loophole for excessive development. That is what would lead to health concerns and subsequent water and sewerage expenses beyond our means and desires.
It was an exciting meeting we had regarding wells, septics, and future development. There was a full house and it soon became clear that there was a lot of animosity in the community toward the new regulations. All the invited guests showed up. Harry Lally came in a bit later and gave a very encouraging speech from the floor. The minutes of the meeting are available here, but the main result was that our concerns were heard. Read more
Let’s Clear The Air
Posted on April 25, 2009
Filed Under Forum, Local Issues | Comments Off
Letter to the Editor
After our Town Meeting on April 21 it was clear that there were some town folk who were upset with some of the letters I sent out after the February meeting. I would like to address why I sent those letters and why I signed them as I did. Read more
MEETING WITH OFFICIALS
Posted on April 20, 2009
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Coalmont Town Meeting 7 p.m. April 21, Coalmont Hotel.
Citizens have organized a town meeting at the historic Coalmont Hotel with officials from the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport, the Regional Health Authority, the District planning and engineering staff, the local elected representative, and a representative from the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors and Sewerage System Regulation Improvement Coalition.
Everyone with an interest in BC’s septic regulations and a concern for Coalmont’s future is invited. This is also an opportunity for press to learn more about this regulatory failure which is sure to be an election issue.
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RDOS COMMUNITY PLAN
Posted on April 15, 2009
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The RDOS Area H Official Community Plan is written to ensure that development is done with regard to the aspirations of the people and for the benefit of the whole community. How that applies to Coalmont is not exactly clear - especially after reading it. I know that many people won’t bother to read it themselves even though there is a handy link on the Webmont page, so here are some interesting parts - from a Coalmontian’s point of view.
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