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Freighters not a nuisance to all Saltair residents

Neighbours’ heat pumps plus Harleys and diesel vehicles on the road make more noise
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There are many people living in Saltair that do not share the views of the vocal minority in the story on freighters (Courier, Aug. 30).

Myself, and others, recognize that each one of those freighters anchored out front of our community represent thousands of jobs in Canada, from farmers to miners to forestry workers among others, putting food on the table and shelter for their families.

Anybody who has lived on the coast for decades is well aware that late every summer, the eagles target the salmon streams feasting on the spawning salmon. They are not scared away by the freighters, they go where the easy food is. As for orcas, they are infrequent visitors to these waters because there is little food for them - no large numbers of salmon, seals or sea lions. When they do show up, it is more of a Sunday drive effect for them.

I live 300 feet from the high tide line and they anchor directly in front of my house. The neighbour has a heat pump that creates more noise cycling on and off through the year than the generator on the freighters. The noisy straight pipe Harley bikes and the noisy straight pipe Dodge diesel pickup trucks driving down Chemainus Road are more irritating.

As for the lights, they are not as bad as light pollution as streetlights are that some of those same people advocate for or the motion activated floodlights other neighbours have that flash on and off through the night.

I would suspect some of the people that spoke on the TV news story on CHEK had desk jockey jobs in a big city rather than jobs in small resource towns and would be the same people that buy a house near YVR and then complain about the airplane noise.

Our coast is a ‘working’ ocean coast and if they want a sanitized viewscape then have them move to the Prairies where all they see are grain fields to the horizon.

Tom Hockin

Saltair



Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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