There are benefits and drawbacks to almost every choice, every decision made.
For instance, if I chose to drive my car to work, I will get there faster. That’s a benefit. But I also have to pay more in gas and operating costs for the vehicle, and I don’t get the exercise benefits of walking to work.
Or: driving to Dawson to get groceries might mean you save money on the groceries, but you may ultimately spend more because you have to pay more for gas to drive to Dawson than you save.
Or: the cost up front of buying an electric vehicle is typically higher than a vehicle with an internal combustion engine. You have to factor that against the savings if you choose to charge at home, as well as charge time and range.
Some people come down on one side of an issue or the other. Electing a conservative government, conservative voters will argue, contains no drawbacks, and it’s all sunshine and lollipops. Meanwhile, NDP voters will tell you that a conservative government is the next worst thing to electing the Nazis. The fact is, no matter what government is in power, there will be costs that are borne by society, and there are benefits that people—even people who voted for the other party—will experience.
I was reminded of this as I listened to council debate the whole issue of not giving money out to non-profits whose boards do not have the appropriate board training.
As someone who sits on a number of boards around town and has seen first hand how tough it can be to scare up people to sit on a board, putting another barrier to people wanting to come and sit on the board seems like it would do more harm than good.
During the discussion, Councillor Gulick made some really interesting points about helping boards get to a point where they are stronger.
And I’d love to see stronger, more active non-profit boards around town. We’re in a transition era, where the old way of doing things, which was basically just doing them, is fading away.
One example. Ten years ago, if there was a tree down on a trail that was managed by the WNMS, anyone with the time and a chainsaw would go out there and get rid of it. These days, in order to clear trail with a chainsaw, volunteers are required to have proper training.
Maybe it doesn’t get done as quickly as it might have in the past, but maybe it gets done to a higher standard.
There are benefits and costs to either method of clearing trail. Is one necessarily better or worse? Not necessarily. If you have someone who has been chopping down trees their entire adult life who has never taken a chainsaw safety course, they’ll probably do a better job than I, who has taken the course twice, but still hasn’t cut down a standing tree. (And generally when I do cut downed trees, I use a hand saw.)
And having at least half the board have the proper training? That’s a good thing, too. Except when it means that someone decides they’d—as Councillor Norbury says—rather stay home and watch Netflix.
Doing it the new way? Isn’t necessarily better. Doing it the old way? Isn’t always worse. Cost. Benefit. Trade-off.
But those of us who grew up doing things one way may have issues when it comes to doing things another. We get stuck in our ways.
Or, those of us who are always striving for the new? We might lose track of the history, of the why.
If you’re not currently volunteering, though, might I ask why not?
Volunteering helps not just make this town a better place, but helps make you a better person. Taking some of your time and using it to help others? Can be a highly rewarding experience. Yes, you lose out on some of your free time (the cost), but you help make Tumbler Ridge a better place to live (the benefit).
There are many opportunities available to people who are looking to volunteer.
Might I recommend joining the Tumbler Ridge Public Library Board? I mention this as people are supposed to rotate off the board after eight years, and I am now at year 12. I would gladly lay down this burden, if someone wanted to step forward to pick it up.
Another board that I’m on that could dearly use a few more people? The Tumbler Ridge Teen Centre. The Teen Centre offers a safe place for teens to come and hang out with friends.
But there are plenty of other boards that are always looking for people. The Wolverine Nordic and Mountain Society or the Grizzly Valley ATV Club. The Ridge Riders Snowmobile Club or the Tumbler Ridge Sportsmen Association. Tumbler Ridge Search and Rescue. The Lions Club of Tumbler Ridge. The Museum Foundation, Minor Hockey. Minor Soccer. The Parent Advisory Council. The Emperor’s Challenge. The Palliative Society. Heck, you don’t even have to sit on the board on many of these, just be willing to put in the work.
This community was built, in part, by volunteers. Don’t let it fall apart because you didn’t.
Errata: Last issue I wrote that Tumbler Ridge pays the highest price for residential customers in the Northeast, at $43.086/Gj; we had a couple people—including PNG write in to tell us that I had grabbed the number for the Low Carbon Energy rate.
So, here’s the actual amounts, straight from PNG: “Tumbler Ridge actually pays $15.586/Gj, compared to $8.948 in Dawson Creek and $9.146 in Fort St. John.
Rates are currently higher in the Northwest, with people in the Vanderhoof/Prince Rupert/Terrace corridor paying $18.938, but the additional $3.79/Gj would push Tumbler Ridge PNG clients even higher than that, to at least $19.376.”
While we’re at it, I mentioned the District was putting out three videos from this summer’s rides with Ostacruiser. They’ve put out four. I think that’s the last one.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
