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All letters to the editor published by KelownaNow reflect only the opinions of the readers who submit them, and not necessarily those of KelownaNow or its staff. Letters can be submitted to news@kelownanow.com
A letter to our community:
I have had the chance to see Kelowna change from the small town it was when we moved here in 1981, to the booming metropolis it is today.
Through many great mayors' and councils' help as well as City of Kelowna staff and other stakeholders, the evolution of our city to the current status, is remarkable and something we are very proud and lucky to call home.
Having been part of the community by owning my own business for 28 years and volunteering/supporting and helping many not-for-profit organizations, has proven important to being able to support the kind of City Council I believe has been needed and is needed today. I believe it takes the entire community to make a great community, which is evident by my being honoured in 2009 with the Women of the Year award.
We chose to move to Kelowna from Vancouver 41 years ago because we wanted to be able to give our family the opportunity to be close to the ski hill at Big White and close to Okanagan Lake; and we are all glad we did.
We wanted to have a smaller, safer small-town experience for our family, and feel that we have had – and have – exactly that experience even through rapid population growth as many people flock here.
Being a parent of six children – one of which has special needs – has also allowed me to experience the many opportunities and challenges we have here in Kelowna as would be present in many other cities.
My career takes me downtown daily as I walk the alleyways regularly from meeting to meeting. Not only am I not worried about being “assaulted” by the folks I come across I regularly have conversations with them and know many by name.
Kelowna, and every other city we have ever travelled to around the world have safety issues and voice concerns regarding those who are financially compromised, have addiction issues and other challenging issues, and this is not in our city or region.
While working with other levels of government, we feel the steps our city councils in the past and especially with the population boom recently have taken, have made a positive difference and need to continue to do so.
Shall we keep upping these types of programs? Absolutely and likely for a long time as we work with other cities to share programming that works. We need to help our City of Kelowna Council and other levels of government make positive changes through a variety of proven support methods.
As with many citizens who have shared their support for our Mayor Basran’s continued mayorship, the feeling is that we need to support Colin’s good work as a proven leader through tough times a through good by voting for him October 15!
In closing, I thought I would share my husband, Dr John Weisbeck’s perspective while he was a City of Kelowna Councillor and an MLA.
He believes in giving a hand up not a handout, and that is exactly what Mayor Basran’s guidance and programming with collaboration from the current council have done and should continue to provide for those who need our help in our community and region.
Alli McNeill
Proprietor
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