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COLUMNS: Set enforceable standards

We all wish Mayor Walt Cobb a speedy recovery
16431539_web1_190416-WLT-PickleballFrench
Lake City Secondary School students Aidan Herrling (left) and Jeff Vogt get in some pickleball with their outdoor education classmates Monday afternoon at the Kiwanis tennis and pickleball courts. The sport has seen a large boost in popularity over the past several years and players of all ages can be seen on the courts most afternoons and early evenings in Williams Lake. (Greg Sabatino photo)

We all wish Mayor Walt Cobb a speedy recovery.

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Prince Edward Island, and now Newfoundland and Labrador, have banned the use of plastic bags. So have a number of B.C. municipalities. While it’s a baby step, it means some politicians are aware of the environmental issues with plastic.

READ MORE: April Fools sparks some fake and not-fake news

There is a petition circulating locally asking our city council to join the “ban plastics” movement. I hope people will consider signing it.

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Concern over the dwindling numbers of caribou in the BC interior is on the public agenda again. The last time around logging roads were seen as the main culprit. This time it’s wolves, but human activity remains as the significant contributing factor.

Question: Do the herbicides being used in the forests have an impact on caribou and other wildlife?

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Governments think problems can be solved by throwing money at them. The federal government recently gave $12 million to Loblaws to help the giant grocery chain upgrade to energy-efficient refrigerators. Owned by Canada’s second wealthiest citizen, Galen Weston ($11 billion), Loblaws made a $3 million profit last year. If the feds are so concerned about energy efficiency, why don’t they set standards and fine the companies that don’t meet them?

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Some members of my family have taken up pickleball. Invented by three dads in 1965, the sport was named for a family dog that caught and ran away with the balls. Pickleball is a combination of badminton, ping pong and tennis. The racket or paddle resembles a ping pong bat, the balls are holey and they bounce. It is played on tennis or badminton courts.

READ MORE: Let the courts decide

Watching a pickleball game played at the Kiwanis Park courts this last weekend, it looked as though all participants were having fun and it’s less strenuous than tennis.

Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.



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