Opinion

Malicious vandalism or a practical joke - either way, no one connected to last weekend's Rat Race is laughing. Planning for the seventh annual Rat Race mountain bike event had been going on for months.

It may be only May, but the silly season has started. For those of you new to the lingo, the silly season is the lead-up to an election - in this case, the municipal elections set for November.

Two weeks ago I penned an editorial about the ongoing vandalism and destruction of the Gibsons skatepark in Brothers Park.

This will be my last column for Coast Reporter before I drive into the wild blue yonder, across the length of Canada ending on my daughter's doorstep in Halifax.

The justice system in this country is laughable at times. Two recent examples are cases in point. Federal officials are launching an internal investigation into a MySpace webpage about serial killer Clifford Olson that surfaced two weeks ago.

The level of senseless vandalism and graffiti in the Town of Gibsons is starting to take its toll on Town council and staff.

It never ceases to amaze me what a talented community we have. We have people who are conversant in so many arts they make my jaw drop in sheer envy. Sometimes, though, I wonder if we value these people enough.

It's been one of the hottest and politically charged topics to hit Sechelt in a long time - and it all came to a head on Wednesday night.

Last Friday, I attended a meeting of the Sunshine Coast Tourism Partnership, an upstart group of tourism entrepreneurs from the Upper and Lower Coast.

It was a scene no paramedic, police officer or firefighter wants to attend. A red Ford Escort had collided head-on with a white, late-model Oldsmobile sedan. Beer cans and pieces of twisted metal lay on the ground beside the broken-up vehicles.