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We need our school

I would like to address some problems facing our community and our inability to think outside the box.

I would like to address some problems facing our community and our inability to think outside the box. It seems most of us don’t think beyond a day or a week or beyond the walls of our house or our garden gate.

We are unable to recognize that once something is taken away it never returns — take away the train tracks and the train will never run again; take away the school and this place of learning will never return; and take away the young and the old will die and our community will die with them.

I am a grandmother and a member of a walking club, the seniors’ centre, the elementary school community and of this community.

I have travelled, talked with people and learned. Almost every other country in the world is investing in rapid transit; transportation that carries hundreds of people rather than one or two and saves hydro electricity and air quality. Setting up a system that gives us a quick way to get from place to place makes sense to me. Why not take our focus off roads and put it on train tracks? Roads are already flat surfaces, use them for walking and biking.

Our community school will grow and thrive with a community school at its centre. It makes sense to use our school as a social gathering place for learning and creating a place that encourages an exchange of ideas and learning for all ages. With open minds, we can learn from other communities and share our ideas with them. Thinking outside the box will open doors for this community.

To shut doors that never open again is not the answer. We all need to jump on board the school train and insist on a community school. Our children need it, our working parents need it, our elderly need it, our businesses need it and our town needs it-lets do this and who knows what will follow?

Fern De Waal

Qualicum Beach