Letters To The Editor

Dingy and Dirty Adds No Charm

As a resident of James Bay and a frequent customer to businesses located in James Bay Square, I am puzzled that the newly replaced apron around the commercial part of the building has yet to be cleaned.  Why a white surface was chosen in the first place is curious because it well highlights all the dust, dirt, stains, and liquids spilled on it.  And there seems to be no hurry on the part of the building owners to clean it at all. Dingy and dirty it certainly adds no charm to our community, in fact it detracts from it.  How about some regular maintenance folks? And soon!

byTom Palfrey

Dangerous Intersection

Linda Peterson’s letter to the editor… I couldn’t agree more, not to mention the widening and rounding of the sidewalk on the south-east corner making any turn onto Simcoe almost impossible and dangerous. The traffic and the excessive speeding on Oswego Street is just an accident waiting to happen at this corner.

by Bonnie Maston

Pollinator Garden

The James Bay New Horizons volunteer gardeners have done a wonderful job in front of the centre to judge by comments received their work has been greatly appreciated.

Recently a Gnome Garden was added. We have no problem with people stealing our ideas, however… someone helped themselves to several figurines and flowering plants from the Gnome Garden. This loss was keenly felt by the person whose imagination, hours, and money spent made this garden possible.

by Anne Logie

Church Thieves

In response to the letter from Barry Tateham “Church Thieves” in the July/August 2016 issue of the James Bay Beacon, we at the James Bay United Church Thrift Shop have indeed done our best to discourage donations being left at our door or anywhere else on our property outside our regular donation or work hours. This is not, as Mr. Tateham has suggested, that we are so much concerned about “thievery” but rather that we are doing our best to keep the neighbourhood clear of garbage and clutter. When bags or boxes are left outside, some people see that as an invitation to go through those donations and take what they will, then leave the rest strewn around to become litter or at best, damaged goods.

We know that the Thrift Shop is a valued part of the community (we hear that every week from customers) and while we work hard to maintain a clean and respectful presence on Michigan Street, this can be a challenge for us. We appreciate those of you who consider the Thrift Shop a worthwhile recipient for your donations; we certainly appreciate your consideration in bringing donations when we are there to accept them, and we really appreciate those who, in the past, have helped discourage these donations being treated as garbage.

Thanks to everyone who has helped us to be part of keeping the James Bay community clean and helped us to foster respect for one another.

by Margaret Lunam                                                                                                on behalf of the Volunteers of James Bay United Church Thrift Shop

Should the benefits of the Cruise Ship industry assist with installation of land links?

Over the past few weeks I have noticed a large display ad in the Times Colonist from the Victoria Industry Alliance touting the benefits of "When cruise ships come to Victoria". They point out that Ogden Point is the busiest cruise ship port of call in Canada; $100 million in economic impact from their passengers in the Greater Victoria region; and $400,000 in impact from each cruise ship call. This is obviously great news for Victoria relating to both jobs and the economy, but could not a portion of the monies be used to install land links so the cruise ships would not continue to add to greenhouse gases and also when the wind is in the right direction - to having all the James Bay residents holding their noses.   

by Anne Stopps