Long-term solution needed for train whistling
By
Laurel Nadon
Staff Reporter
Train whistles are a fact of life right now for Okotoks
residents and whether they feel mild irritation, outright frustration
or comfort at the sound, it’s clear that feelings are divided.
Dozens of residents have come out of the woodwork and expressed
serious concerns about how the whistles affect their lives - they’re
having trouble sleeping, experiencing increased stress and health
problems.
Cessation of the train whistle, however, clearly isn’t the
answer. With a $1 million dollar price tag, that’s a hefty
price to pay for a good night’s sleep.
More important than the financial cost is the safety consequences
of banning whistles through town. The whistle is often a train’s
only way of clearing traffic, pedestrians and wildlife off the track.
Without it, many lives could be lost.
But there are a few things that should be looked at beyond wearing
ear plugs or moving to a new community.
The Town of Okotoks is looking into CPR’s policies and practices
for train whistles because residents are saying that train engineers
are blowing their whistles more than necessary.
Every engineer is required by law to blow their whistle at railway
crossings. With six railway crossings in town, even if the engineers
are following the rules, that still amounts to a high number of
whistles.
What residents may be hearing is different trains passing through
town only minutes apart, with their whistles almost combining to
sound like one very obnoxious train. Or, the engineers could indeed
be abusing their authority.
The town is wise to find out exactly how train whistle regulations
are monitored and to learn how infractions can be reported.
What the town needs is a long-term solution. As Okotoks continues
to grow, it becomes less feasible to halt all through-traffic every
time a train passes. Residents are often cut off from their jobs
or homes and have no other choice but to wait for the train to pass.
To keep traffic flowing, perhaps what the town should look at is
a system where the train tracks could bypass the main thoroughfares.
This may not be possible at every intersection, but decreasing the
number of times where a train is required to whistle would be a
step in the right direction.
Cities like Medicine Hat don’t have problems with residents
woken up in the night to train whistles and traffic holdups because
the traffic either goes above or under the track.
Because the train doesn’t cross intersections, there’s
no need to blow a warning whistle.
Not only does this keep the small town feel with a train moving
across the land in the distance, but also means increased safety
for people.
Putting such a system in place may prove just as costly as installing
fencing and crossing gates to cease train whistling, but would be
a way to accommodate both residents and trains safely into the future.
|
|
Paul's Place -
Longview beef jerky a hit in Afghanistan
By
Paul Rockley
Publisher
|
Peter Lawson, President of Longview
Beef Jerky sent approximately 2,500 packages of the famous product
to Afghanistan for the Canadian troops to enjoy! Wow, what a great
gesture and donation as we all know it’s very good and I’m
sure many of the soldiers already knew it as the best damn beef
jerky ever made.
Thanks, Pete, for giving our soldiers a special treat!
* * * *
Hey, hey, hey - time is running out for the students to play, as
school will start very soon. Check out this issue for opening day
and some of the bus schedules. I’m older now, but I can still
remember how much I looked forward to going back to class (not).
* * * *
Talking about kids and school, I have a theory about what we are
doing to the next generation or two down the line, and it’s
not good. Yesterday as I was driving home, I passed three young
boys on the street (ages 10-12). Two of them were on cell phones!
With this text messaging craze we are encountering no one is going
to know how to spell down the road. For example to say “How
are you?” on your cell phone text messaging system they would
simply type in “How r y”. That’s just a very simple
example. My point, they are not going to know how to spell! Point
2, as I said, I’m older now and old enough that I can look
at a column of numbers and quickly know if I add them up the answer
will be around 9,500. Today’s kids with calculators, etc,
would have no idea and if they key the numbers in incorrectly they
would not have any idea what to expect when they push the equals
tab.
I know you probably think I’m nuts, but let’s just see
in 40 years if I’m right! Wake me up and let me know, eh!
* * * *
Check out our fall-winter program feature in this issue. All types
of courses for all ages. Cool nights and days go by way faster if
you are enjoying a class or course.
* * * *
Next weekend will be a special one in Okotoks. Rotary Rib Fest,
Elks Chili Cook Off, Pro Rodeo, Dance, Sheep River Road Race and
the list goes on. Check it out in this issue and don’t miss
a thing. I suggest you order your rodeo tickets today!
* * * *
Playing with angels
As Sam was dying at age 92, his old pal Joe visited him and asked
a final favor. “Sam,” Joe said, “ When you get
there, will you tell me, somehow, some way, if there’s baseball
in heaven?”
Sam looked up and whispered, “Of course I’ll do that,
if I can.” And with that, he passed away.
A few nights later, Joe was awakened by a ghostly voice.
“Joe, Joe, it’s your old friend Sam. I’m in heaven.
I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you.”
“Give me the good news, Sam,” said Joe to the faint
wraith beside his bed.
“There’s baseball in heaven.”
“Hey, wonderful,” said Joe. “But what’s
the bad news?”
“You’re pitching Tuesday.”
* * * *
|
Letters to the
Editor
Seniors can help with town’s labour crunch
Dear Editor,
The July 28 Calgary Herald ran an article on the looming
staff shortages resulting from baby boomer retirees. About half
of the companies surveyed are not addressing the impact this huge
shortage will have on their organization.
The Aug. 16 Western Wheel ran an article entitled “Turner
Valley turning to seniors for help.” The chief administrative
officer is “toying with the idea of hiring retired and semi-retired
people” to deal with his town’s labour crunch.
As a 67-year-old Canadian I can attest to the fact that there are
many my age who need to work or want to work on a casual, part-time
or full-time basis. From personal experience, the problem is not
with the retirees, but with the employers who do not embrace a philosophy
or interest in hiring them. For the past three years I have been
unable to secure a full-time position. I have an excellent resume
in office administration in a variety of business backgrounds, excellent
business references, a variety of life experiences in hobby/interest
related areas, high energy, excellent health and exceptional skills
in communication. I finally got the message and went to the Orient
to teach English as a second language. My skills were needed, utilized
and gave me a wonderful feeling of contributing. In the Orient I
was the “ancient one.” The difference between our two
cultures is that they were in awe of my energy and ability to take
on everything that came my way. The fact that I could keep up with
and often surpass my 20 something colleagues amazed them. In the
end I was the only teacher who was never late, did not have one
sick day and always came to class with challenging and fun lessons
prepared for my students.
The ongoing media coverage of the labour crunch, labour shortage
reality in my country and the continued ignorance and “head
in the sand” attitude of employers toward our large, underutilized
and skilled retiree population is frankly becoming tedious.
My suggestion to the CAO of Turner Valley or any other CAO/CEO would
be to stop toying with the idea. Just do it. Place an ad for whatever
job is vacant. At the bottom, perhaps under Equal Opportunity Employer
you could put in very large letters “we do not have an age
bias.” Then make sure that you and all your staff embrace
this philosophy.
The retirees will come.
Marnie Brown
Female councillors needed
Dear Editor,
I appreciate Councillor Laurie Hodson bringing to town council’s
attention the under representation of women in municipal government
this past June.
Locally, the proportion of women (14.3 per cent) in municipal government
(mayors and councillors) appears to be lagging behind Canada (21.4
per cent). The council of the Town of Okotoks resolved to support
the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ nation-wide campaign
to increase the proportion of women in municipal government to 30
per cent by 2026. Let’s assume that (a) the total number of
people in municipal government remains constant, (b) one woman will
replace one man every 20 years, and (c) gender equity is represented
by a constellation of attitudes and actions that provide opportunities
such that women are “expected” to account for 50 per
cent of those in government (instead of 30 per cent proportional
representation). Let’s further assume that men and women are
similarly capable and interested in local politics. According to
my calculations, if women are to surpass men in local government,
i.e., affirmative action, it will be in 2066. That’s too bad,
chances are, I won’t live to see that.
Kimberley Petersen Okotoks
Pilot study shows Okotoks’ proactive water approach
Dear Editor,
The Town of Okotoks should be congratulated for its proactive approach
in ensuring the water quality of the Sheep River. The newly announced
pilot study of the river between the town wells in the west and
the treatment plant in the east (and its effluent) is a significant
step in developing an authentically “Sustainable Okotoks.”
Hopefully, the impact of upstream water users (including their effluent)
will also be examined. After all, Okotoks is downstream.
In a perfect world, the impact of the oil and gas industry, as water
rights holders, should also be taken into consideration when determining
the sustainability of development and industry on water quality
and supply in Alberta.
Linda Abrams
The Protect the Sheep River Foundation
All children should be included in town’s curfew
Dear Editor,
I would like to commend the mayor for his suggestion to include
all children in the curfew. Up to the age of 18, I was expected
to be home by 10 p.m. Children who are still at school should be
at home by 10 p.m. and I find it hard to believe that any parent
would allow their child, regardless of age, to be out later than
that during the week.
To say that this punishes all children (letter from Kim Grissom)
is absolutely ridiculous — I do not see how being home by
10 p.m. is a punishment — it’s the right thing to do,
be home at a reasonable hour. I go to bed at 10 p.m. every night
and we are up at 6 a.m. every morning, out of the door before 7
a.m. to get to work in time. Why would it be any different for children?
If parents do not know where their children are after 10 p.m. at
night, I truly wonder what they are thinking. My parents would have
been sick with worry.
Any child caught vandalizing or breaking property in Okotoks should
be accountable for that action. If I had anything to say, I would
print their names and picture in the paper for all to know who they
are. Maybe then their parents would be embarrassed enough to make
them be home at an appropriate time.
I would suggest that the library install video cameras to catch
these kids desecrating public property — and let’s publish
those pictures — maybe then they will be caught and punished.
Lyn Dean
Okotoks
Telling children to stay at home after dark is not a punishment,
but a protection
Dear Editor,
Re: Kim Grissom’s letter.
Give your head a shake. Just like the rest of the people of this
country if a teenager breaks the law, they also have no rights.
As adults we are responsible for our kids under age 18. The curfew
is not in place to break up dates. It’s to protect the handful
of kids that are not breaking the law and protect public and
private property.
You also speak of this curfew being ridiculous and not feasible.
Well let me tell you what’s not feasible — kids running
around drunk and stoned, smashing beer bottles all over the place,
breaking into cars, stealing lawn furniture, assaulting other teens,
trying to kidnap children, shoplifting from 24 hour gas stations,
breaking and entering, drug dealing, stealing cars, raging on coke,
and running around with guns, but you probably know this already.
The list goes on and on. Half this stuff you will not hear about
from the police in order to protect your perfect little
world. It is not a punishment to ask that underage people be safely
at home after dark. What good could a teen be up to after
11 p.m. roaming the streets of Okotoks anyways? The small handful
of innocent kids wouldn’t, and shouldn’t, be
out in the middle of the night. When you thought it was safe in
the common place, think again, I have been there done that and know
it is not. Enough is enough.
M. Manywounds Okotoks
|
|
