I was a West Bench resident at birth. My father was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force and was able to buy a property on the West Bench under the Veterans’ Land Act.
I attended West Bench School from Grades 1 to 7, then Princess Margaret, Pen-Hi and spent eight years at UBC earning a B.Sc.(Biochemistry) and a D.M.D.
After a two-year locum in Houston, B.C., I bought a dental practice in Penticton and have practised dentistry locally since 1988. In 1989 I bought an acreage on the West Bench from my parents and developed it into a farm. I am still actively farming this property.
One thing that I will always remember about my youth was the yearly visit of horses which grazed on neighbouring PIB land. I really liked those horses and used to feed them over the fence, however, today free-ranging horses are not fenced-out and roam our streets causing accidents and property damage.
I believe that the feral horse issue is the most important issue in RDOS Area F and cannot understand why feral horses are not being fenced-out like they were in the old days.