With the Kearns creek flow slowing, for now, I would personally like to thank all of the volunteers who came from not only Willowbrook but the whole area.
It restored my faith in humanity. We hear so much negative about the youth today but that was not the case here. There were a number of young people, teens, and preteens who worked diligently filling sandbags. I noticed one young lady consistently loading sandbags onto trailers, these sandbags must have been close to half her weight.
These young people earned my full respect and deserve to be commended.
While Director Schaffer allowed me to become the media face, it must be pointed out that he worked selflessly behind the curtain at hounding the various government departments and reminding them of their culpability in both causing and then ignoring the problem. We know the solution and that has now been turned over to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen to implement. That now leaves Director Schaffer with another bureaucracy to motivate, he will need our help.
I say this was selfless in that every repair to the flow of Kearns Creek sends that water downstream to Director Schaffer’s neighborhood where he is also flooding. Every pump that can be commissioned should be put into service pumping over into the river from Island Road to Road 22. Our help will also be needed there.
Were this a forest fire untold resources would be thrown at it by the province. This is no less an emergency so it falls to us the people to see to it that all government departments step up to the plate and start doing their part. They can have their meetings afterward.
Rick Knodel
RDOS, Alternate Director of Area C