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LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
The Editor:
There is a new cooperative buying club being formed on Point
Roberts called “Healthy Food from Afar.” Members
will be collectively ordering from Azure Standard to get group
pricing on bulk organic and other health foods directly from
the distributor. This is a not-for-profit buying club.
If you are interested, please call me, leaving a message with
name and phone number at 945-1308 or email Shaklee@juno.com.
I will be placing the group’s first order after we move
into our new home sometime in May. Thank you for your interest.
Pam Passburg
Point Roberts
The Editor:
How many of us were, once again, stranded in traffic gridlock
following two major blockages of our road transportation links
in Delta? How many ferries and planes were missed? How many
missed family appointments? How many lost customers and business
as a result? On both occasions those unfortunate enough to
be trapped were stuck for many hours.
The Delta Chamber of Commerce is concerned about the impact of
these disruptions on Delta businesses and the ability to do business
under these circumstances. The economic cost of business lost
in Delta is hard to estimate but to say it is in the millions
of dollars each year is not an exaggeration.
On Monday, our businesses along River Road were cut off for hours.
On Tuesday, traffic was paralyzed until early evening trying
to get to Delta through the tunnel. Enough is enough.
Two issues need to be addressed and solutions found. One is the
length of time it takes to clear highways after a major accident.
The second is the shortcomings of the Massey tunnel, opened in
1959 and hopelessly inadequate to handle the traffic volumes
of 2006. We understand from our provincial government it will
be 15 years before a solution is addressed. That is not good
enough.
The Delta Chamber of Commerce is committed to working with all
levels of government and any other group to help find reasonable
and timely solutions that will benefit the community of Delta
and the businesses that operate here. We need alternative routes
in and out of Delta and faster action for clean up after accidents.
We will begin working on this immediately. If you would like
to support our efforts, give the chamber a call at 604/946-4232.
Maria DeVries, president,
Delta Chamber of Commerce
Delta, B.C.
The Editor:
Just a quick note to all those who have had their homes flooded
during the February storm. I do not wish to sound like an alarmist,
but I must at least warn of the danger and problems that may
occur from having your house wiring, whether old or brand new,
immersed in the salt water of the recent flood.
Indoor house non-metallic (NM) wiring is meant to be installed
in a dry location only. Once it is soaked in salt water (sea
water), it loses its electrical insulating integrity and may
become dangerous.
This is due to the fact that salt water is a rather good conductor
of electricity. Another factor that adds to the problem is the
paper wick within the NM house wire cable assembly which quickly
draws the salt brine into the cable for several feet and which
may never dry out due to the fact that this wick is so tightly
compacted within the cable assembly. Dry air cannot pass through
to remove the moisture content.
Fortunately, most of the short circuits I have recently encountered
were in junction boxes which were accessible and allowed for
repairs. However, if there is a weak or cracked insulation within
the cable assembly which is soaked in salt water via the paper
wick, and this assembly is passing though or near combustible
material (e.g. wood), this is where a fire hazard may occur.
Unfortunately, there is no easy or economical way of detecting
if such a problem is lurking within these soaked cables. The
only 100 percent guaranteed fix I’m aware of would be to
replace the indoor NM wiring that has been soaked in the salty
brine. And yes, this unfortunately is a rather expensive option.
If someone believes that he or she has a better idea, please
pass it on.
If you need a more detailed explanation, all this information
is available on the internet. Arm yourself with as much information
available here and elsewhere, then make your own judgment call.
Gordie Nielson
Point Roberts
The Editor:
The Point Roberts PTO would like to thank all of the children
and parents who attended our annual Easter egg hunt. This year
our egg hunt was held in the forest behind the primary school
on April 7. Everyone had an enjoyable time looking for eggs
amongst the trees and flora and afterwards all enjoyed a healthy
snack.
Thank you to all of the parents who donated goodies for our bake
sale held on Saturday, April 8. Thank you to the International
Marketplace for providing us with the space to hold our bake
sale and Easter basket raffle. A special thanks goes to the Arts
and Music Foundation for donating the Easter basket that was
raffled off at the end of the bake sale. The winner of the Easter
basket was Alyssa Bernd. Thanks again to the marketplace for
donating healthy snacks to our homework center. Your continued
support of the Point Roberts PTO is very much appreciated.
Our PTO has set up a bi-weekly homework center open to all Point
Roberts kids from primary level to high school.
If you need more information or have questions about the homework
center, please call Elaine at 945-1956 or email ekomusi@pointroberts.net.
Sandy Letherby, PTO Treasurer
Point Roberts
The Editor:
I know that this is not the venue for commercial advertising
and I certainly don’t want to start another round of
dueling L to E’s. However, I must make my customers aware
of some questionable business practices at a major local thoroughfare.
On the advertising board of the International Marketplace, I
noticed an ad with a name very similar to that of my company.
When I phoned this company to complain about this similarity,
the answering machine gave me a totally different company name.
The only conclusion that I can derive is that this is clearly
an ad aimed at confusing my customers who just might jot down
this phone number thinking that it may have changed.
I have been advertising in this newspaper for the last 15 years
and would like to advise customers that nothing has changed.
I still make my living by offering quality service, not by resorting
to this type of petty nonsense.
Tom Miller, owner, Point Roberts
Carpet& Upholstery Cleaning
Point Roberts
The Editor:
The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights last week released
a new study of rising gasoline prices on the west coast that
found corporate markups and profiteering are responsible for
spring price spikes, not rising crude costs or the national
switchover to higher-cost ethanol, as the oil industry claims.
The report available on the web (Google the foundation’s
full name) concludes: “While oil companies continue to
blame crude oil prices and ethanol additives for the recent gasoline
price spikes in California and Washington, the chief cause is
increased profiteering by oil companies that have previously
posted world record profits,” said Hamilton.
“Oil companies are opportunistically using the rising world
price for crude oil as an excuse to excessively raise gasoline
prices and pump up their profits, even though the spot market price
for crude has gone up far more slowly than gasoline prices,” said
FTCR president Jamie Court. “In addition, the spot price
is higher than most oil companies pay, since they either harvest
their own crude or pay more stable and often much lower contract
prices.”
My personal experience of oil company profits came last week
when I received an invitation for the credit card company of
one oil company offering to lend me money! Imagine that: they
are so wallowing in profits that they can now compete with banks
and still the prices continue to go up almost hourly.
One reason I feel so passionately about this is that as an elected
delegate to the Washington State Democratic Convention in Yakima
in early June and I know I will not have the funds to pay for
the gasoline I need to get to Yakima. To hopefully alleviate
that problem I am appealing to the seven out of 10 Point Roberts
voters who voted for Regime Change USA on Election Day 2004 to
come to my rescue.
Since my wife/partner Angela and I will be the only representatives
from Point Roberts at that convention, we feel that community
support will enhance the experience for us and to that end we
have established a special checking account in the name of Ted
Mohr at Banner Bank which will only be used for our expenses
in connection with the trip to Yakima.
Donations in any amount will be greatly appreciated. Any surplus
after we return home will be donated to Whatcom County Democrats
to support Democratic candidates this November.
Ted and Angela Mohr
Point Roberts
The Editor:
This is a short note to inform the many friends of John Martin
Bell that he passed away from cancer at his home in Idaho earlier
this year.
John was a grade schooler in Point Roberts and there are many
people in the community who may want to know this sad news. An
interesting character to be sure! He will be missed by many.
Sue Johnson & Milt Litchard
Point Roberts
Letters
Policy
The All Point Bulletin welcomes letters to the editor; however,
the opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor.
Letters must include name, address and daytime telephone number
for verification. Letters must not exceed 450 words and may be
edited or rejected for reasons of legality and good taste.
 A
fresh viewpoint on matters of general interest to local readers
will increase the likelihood of publication. Writers should avoid
personal invective. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for
publication. Requests for withholding names will be considered
on an individual basis.
Thank
You letters should be limited to ten names.
Only
one letter per month from an individual correspondent will be
published.
Please send
your letter to: P.O. Box 1451, Point Roberts, WA 98281
or fax (360) 945-1613.
E-mail:editor@allpointbulletin.com
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