To the Editor:
After reading the articles and letters to the editor in recent Advance issues, I am shocked and dismayed to discover that the Spetifore family is nothing more than a bunch of underhanded vicious scoundrels that have been working with a group of lazy rubber stamping Regional District of Central Kootenay people and a sleazy prospective buyer to help them bring doom and destruction to our valley. They have dared to place their facility for sale and have actually entertained an offer to purchase the same without first consulting the outspoken members of this protest group, which seems to think it should dictate what happens in our community.
Imagine the forthcoming disaster if this proposal is allowed to proceed! There could be water actually bottled, sold and shipped to market. How can we allow such a calamity to occur? Imagine the pollution from bottling such a dirty, hazardous commodity as water. Why, just think of the fumes from heating air to form the bottles and water to clean and disinfect the equipment! On top of that, the water may be sold to a foreign country. It would be just terrible to bring in foreign currency to spread around our community. Why, the audacity to even consider selling this water! We have watched it flow down the Kootenay River since before time where our American friends have received it for free and have used it for a vast multitude of use — and now someone proposes to sell it and bring income to the valley?
I do understand the hazard that will be caused by bottling the product in plastic as there seems to be hardly anything packaged in plastic today. Unlike the rest of us, I assume these opponents all run squeaky clean lives and don’t use any of the contaminating articles so abundant in our society. Oh, what’s that? There were opponents seen sipping on water bottles at some of the meetings? It must have been the reporters.
To make matters worse, once this water has been bottled, it will then be trucked out of here to market. Imagine what all those exhaust fumes will do to our air! It is outrageous to think that once a product is produced it has to be shipped. Why, the trucks from this plant will make such an increase to the exhaust fumes already present from the multitude of transport vehicles through our valley that we will all undoubtedly have to wear oxygen masks. Another point brought up was the fact that the increased truck traffic will necessitate the government having to spend tax dollars to upgrade our roads. This would be a real shame. Who could possibly want improved roads, especially in the rural areas? It would be outrageous to even think that.
Maybe it’s about time some people in this valley got real. Every proposed addition to our valley over the past years — abattoir, convention centre, Tim Hortons — have been opposed for one reason or another. We want all the goodies but are against anything that will broaden the tax base to help pay for them. It has been said that someone should go above town on the mountain and erect a big sign — not saying “Hollywood”, just “no”.
I find it disgraceful that members of this group have chosen to slur the Spetifores, whom I know to be honest, generous and hardworking people who, unfortunately, have found it just not profitable to continue in agriculture in our valley. I am proud to call them my friends and wish them every success. I fail to see how we could get a much cleaner industry and strongly urge residents to think before signing any petition or condemning this proposal.
Grant Christenson
Wynndel