By Joyce West
For a variety of reasons, there was no business meeting of the Ashcroft-Cache Creek Seniors held in April. However, we had an interesting visit from Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart and some of her staff on April 23.
There were roughly 40 attendees—some community members and some members of our group—on hand to raise questions and give opinions, and sometimes suggest actions that could be taken. The mayors of Ashcroft and Cache Creek were both present, and took time to mention the large variety of jobs our Village staff members undertake for us, and to assure us of their continued efforts on our behalf.
The main topic raised concerned senior care homes for all needs—physical, medical, and just plain smaller dwelling places—that would let us age in our own communities where many of our families still live, along with other people known to us. A problem has arisen in parts of B.C. regarding staff in for-profit homes, who have now been put under Regional Health jurisdiction. Unhappily, in one way or another, this can lead to staff shortages.
When the situation regarding Clinton’s proposed seniors’ facility was raised, Tegart said that she was working hard to get all the papers for the go-ahead, and would continue to put it forward. Our feeling is that the mills of government grind exceeding slow! Changes are also being made to rules for the Agricultural Land Reserve, and to who can apply to remove land from that situation.
The state of health care is also something that needs looking into. Large facilities in cities are of little use to people in the surrounding areas when there is no “qualified” transport nurse to get them into central depots in a timely manner.
All in all, we had an afternoon of having our say, and sometimes getting responses and assurances. Like all large operations, government moves slowly on problems, and yet does not always take time to research what the outcomes may be! As an example, the Coquihalla took traffic off the Canyon route from Hope to the Interior and the North, and now we have dead or dying villages all along that route. But it is always easier to see mistakes in hindsight, and hard to learn how to prevent them!
Jackie Tegart and her team, and other MLAs, have a hard row to hoe, and we do (sometimes) appreciate their efforts on our behalf. I’m sure not many of us would like to take on her responsibilities!
The afternoon ended with a delicious spread of savouries and cakes. Thank you once again, ladies in the kitchen, for keeping us fed and sweetened! You are angels in disguise!
It was an interesting hour or two of talk and discussion, and it was good to hear things brought to our notice and explained. Thank you, Jackie, for taking time to be with us: much appreciated!
editorial@accjournal.ca
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