I am 74 years old, spent 32 years in the RCMP and 10 years at Kwantlen College, before retiring to Warfield. I have served six years on Warfield council with the support of my wife (Deborah Shergold). We have been involved in the community since we moved here.
The challenge facing council is staying where we are or growth.
There is a lot of talk of amalgamation, such as old school district 11 (Fruitvale to Rossland). Can we do better and is there a better way?
Yes there is. We can also look at Warfield, Rossland, Area B (Oasis, Rivervale, Genelle) and Castlegar.
Or we can look at a district (Castlegar and Trail areas) and call it District of Lower Columbia. The bigger we get the more it is to the advantage of the area.
It may seem pie in the sky, but we put a man on the moon didn’t we?
This would be up to the residents of Warfield to decide. Whichever way we go it would start with all parties sitting down and entering into discussion for what is best for this area.
It’s apparent nothing will happen overnight, but will take time and a lot of discussion.
While doing this we have to look out that the amenities of Warfield don’t get lost in the shuffle. The question is what are we going to lose and what are we going to gain.
The outstanding issue in the last three years that has to be resolved is recreation and library. The TRP is killing recreation, not only in Warfield, but other municipalities as well. By the time negotiations with Trail for recreation come up in the spring this might already be resolved.
The library we have always supported and Trail should allow us to negotiate direct with the library as per the Library Act and not through their administration.
We all have to put aside our differences and try to work together for the betterment of the region.