Opinion

Dear editor: Yesterday (Dec. 17), a Canadian Diabetes truck could not drive on the 2800 block of Bellevue Avenue to pick up the bag of clothes left in my driveway for that organization to distribute to the needy at this time of year.

I’m sure I speak for many who are glad to see the rear end of 2018 waddling out of the frame. But will 2019 be any better? Here on the North Shore, where things remain relatively rosy, the answer is a resounding maybe.

A man died recently after getting stuck in a clothing donation bin in West Vancouver.

The District of West Vancouver has decided it will temporarily seal off clothing donation bins across the municipality until safer alternatives can be found after a 34-year-old Vancouver man became trapped and died in a bin in Ambleside last weekend.

Dear Editor: Now we are ending what I call the season of the Big C and the C is not referring to Christmas but rather consumerism and commercialism. It is actually looking more like the season of the “ugly sweater” personalities.

Dear Editor: If I wanted to hold a referendum to give the myth of choice, but designed it so it would fail, I would hold it soon after the municipal elections when Christmas is on people’s minds.

“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise.

As we approach the end of another year, let’s take a minute to help West Vancouver’s new mayor and refreshed council with some New Year’s resolutions. Big, positive results require big, positive thinking – but can take a long time to bear fruit.

Dear Editor: A big thank you to the four brave men and women of the North Vancouver RCMP who did an outstanding job apprehending a violent and aggressive man outside McDonald’s restaurant at Lonsdale Quay (on Dec. 18).

The old adage “the more things change, the more things stay the same” could easily apply to B.C. politics, as many of the issues that dominated the past year will surely do so again in the coming year.