N Bepple

Let sleeping dogs lie. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is coming to Kamloops. Perhaps, a visit long overdue. As reporter James Peters of CFJC-TV quickly pointed out, Stephen Harper hasn’t visited Kamloops since he was the opposition leader. That’s way back to before January 2006. That means he hasn’t been to Kamloops for almost 10 years....

Syria must be hell on earth. Their own government drops barrel bombs on civilian areas. There is a civil war raging between the government, the Free Syrian Army and others. Meanwhile, ISIS controls areas of Syria and terrorizes everyone in their path. It is no wonder that of 17 million Syrians, over seven million are...

Business loves certainty. And that's what local businesses thought they had a few weeks ago when Kamloops city council defeated a motion to restrict the locations of stores selling alcohol to within 1 km of existing retailers. The motion, which Councillor Spina proposed, was defeated by a tie vote of 4 to 4. With the...

While the candidates for the upcoming federal election may want us all to believe the issues are all about national concerns, in reality many issues are rooted closer to home, at the municipal and local government level. Whoever gets elected October 19 to sit in parliament in Ottawa will have to work closely with local...

Kamloops’ Riverside Park is an amazing place. All through the year from early morning to late at night, there are people there. Some are running, playing tennis or lawn bowling. Others are watching their children play in the water park or playgrounds. People have picnics. Others sit on a bench and watch the river flow...

There are many different spiritual practices in Canada, and many people who act as spiritual leaders. Most religions are universal, so some of the spiritual leaders have been trained in Canada, and others received training elsewhere. Some Kamloops spiritual leaders were born in Canada while others immigrated. I have a friend who is a Buddhist,...

Oh the signs of summer. As soon as summer comes, women wear sandals and bare legs. Practical and sensible. Some men do too, but the majority, especially in the workplace, suffer vainly with long pants, socks and closed toed shoes. Men are as much slaves to fashion as women.  Some signs of summer happen year...

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is a not-for-profit group dedicated to ‘lower taxes, less waste and accountable government.’ The federation sends out press releases commenting on federal, provincial and local governments across the country. They also campaign against taxes. For example, they campaigned heavily on the ‘No’ side of the recently defeated Metro Vancouver transit referendum....

Politics, whether at the federal, provincial or municipal level, is all about theatre. That’s not to say that politicians are not genuine. It’s just that what people say, and how they say it changes dramatically when they are in the public eye. At least in certain circumstances. Take for instance this week’s council meeting. Council...

Soon, Kamloops could have a bylaw banning pesticides outright on lawns and flowers, but allow use on vegetable gardens and fruit trees. Or not. It is still up in the air whether the bylaw will pass or not. Last week, city council debated Coun. Tina Lange’s motion to ban outright the application of pesticides on...

There is a divide between rural and urban B.C. On Thursday this week, the directors of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District strongly endorsed the twinning of the Kinder Morgan pipeline through the region. All but four of the 26 directors, who represent 11 municipalities and 10 rural areas, supported the pipeline expansion. The directors supported the...

Summer is here. The sprinklers are on. The smell of barbequed meat is in the air. The playgrounds are full of kids and their watchful parents. And it’s not even June. The summer in Kamloops is heating up to be great. My biggest worry at this point is how I’ll keep my lawn green. There...

We are now in uncharted waters. As a species, we have caused massive changes to the atmosphere. Time will tell of the consequences. Over the last 100 years, we have burned massive amounts of coal, oil and gas. As a result, we have introduced large quantities of carbon dioxide, or CO2, into the atmosphere. The...

It doesn't look like Kamloops will become a mecca for food truck cuisine anytime soon. That's how it appears based on the latest policies passed by Kamloops city council. 

The fact recent headlines from City Hall were about backyard chickens, drive-thrus and transit fares tells me things are fairly quiet on the municipal front in Kamloops. These are typical day-to-day issues dealt with by all municipalities, but nothing which requires strong leadership one way or another. Whether or not my neighbour has chickens in...

The decision by the provincial government to stop expansion of transit in Kamloops, and across the province, is disappointing. Very disappointing in fact. The decision is short sighted, and ignores the needs of our community. The provincial government won’t be funding an additional 6,000 hours of regular service and 2,500 hours of HandyDART service for...

We are bombarded daily by tales of war and horror in the Middle East. In Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Israel and other countries, there are causalities. There is also conflict and strife in other places in the world like Nigeria, Ukraine, and Colombia. Every year, worldwide, about 250,000 people die in armed conflict. Most of...

Pundits proclaiming the proposed KGHM Ajax Mine will put a damper on real estate in Kamloops are ignoring the latest housing stats for the city. They argue a mine would deter people from living in Kamloops and real estate prices will plunge. Meanwhile, there is ample evidence the proposed mine is not deterring investment. Building...