Jonesie
JONESIE: The best way to pass on driving skills
My first born is now old enough to start driving, so lucky for him he can learn from me: The Greatest Driver in the World. How does he know I’m the greatest driver? Well, because he rides with me, of course. He knows all other drivers are pure idiots. “Look at this guy. He thinks...
JONESIE: Why the Conservatives love that you hate Allan Schoenborn
It’s tough to defend guys like Allan Schoenborn or Vince Li because of the horrible things they did, so perhaps I shouldn't even try.
JONESIE: When facts get in the way of a news story
Overheard in the newsroom, (kinda') Reporter: There’s a protest in West Kelowna again today. All the major provincial media have done stories on it already. Shouldn’t we do something on it? Editor: Well maybe, but I still have no idea what this protest is all about. Reporter: Five chiefs from the Nicola Valley don’t want...
JONESIE: If this rail trail fails, blame our local politicians
This idea of a continuous trail from Vernon to Kelowna, and perhaps some day to Penticton, should be exciting for nearly everyone. If you ever walked or rode the Kettle Valley Railway and trestles, you might get a sense of what it would be like to follow an even grade over the decommissioned CN Rail...
JONESIE: How you can help ensure police power doesn’t go unchecked
I want to be careful about this because I want you to know where I am coming from. I have a plan. It’s not to slander anyone, let alone a group of people I respect and admire, but there’s a risk it may sound like that. I want to expand a little on what my...
JONESIE: The real problem with the breast-feeding debate
Hey, did you hear about the breast-feed-your-baby supporters who went before West Kelowna councillors last week? Lets just say a few boobs got exposed, badump-ump. Thank you, thank you everyone. No please, hold your applause till the end. But seriously folks…. A few nursing students and an Interior Health person did what do-gooders do and asked...
JONESIE: To whoever wrote the threatening letters — just look what you’ve done
I’m just throwing this out there and hoping it finds you. I read the letter you sent. Everyone’s talking about it but it appears no one knows who you are, despite all the clues… your mom in a wheelchair… on welfare… some connection between OK Falls school and Pen High… perhaps your dad owns guns....
JONESIE: Why that native guy didn’t go to jail for killing a pedestrian in Kamloops
Judging by the comments we’ve received and noticed elsewhere, there’s an outrage boiling in Kamloops over the sentence and then appeal for a local man who struck and killed a woman in a crosswalk with his pickup truck in 2012. His six-month jail sentence was just reduced to house arrest, in part because a Supreme...
JONESIE: This isn’t how to start a conversation on domestic violence
If you didn’t know the name Selina Morrison before, chances are you do now. The Vernon woman, originally from Kelowna, has thrust herself into the spotlight and inspired a conversation we all need to have about domestic abuse. After enduring a frightening exchange with a boyfriend earlier this month, she lit up Facebook with personal...
JONESIE: What voters aren’t told
The votes are counted, the elections are over. The winners are celebrating and the losers are contemplating. But with apologies to the mayors and councillors and directors and trustees elected to a long four-year term, it’s tough to recognize victory. Not at 30 per cent voter turnout. From my place in the world, this election...
JONESIE: Our response must be a Canadian response
My uncle is talking to me in my kitchen in an unexpected visit. I’m pretty sure he’s wearing pyjama bottoms. And he hasn’t shaved in a while, probably because he hasn't been able to remove his mechanical neck brace for three weeks. And it’ll be another three weeks yet until they know if he'll still...
JONESIE: Dayleen is back and she hasn’t changed a bit
Remember Dayleen Van Ryswyk? When last we left her, she was spending a minute counting her votes as an independent candidate in the 2013 provincial election. You may remember she was booted as an NDP candidate for—let’s call them troublesome—remarks she made about First Nations in this country among other identifiable groups that upset her....
JONESIE: Supporting education isn’t the same as supporting teachers
If it appeared something was amiss with the column found in this place on Monday Sept. 15, you were right. An early draft was published in place of the finished work and not discovered until Monday evening and by then, dozens of comments were already published. The unfinished piece appeared antagonistic, cynical and insincere. That...
JONESIE: Spare a little empathy for government in teachers dispute
It’s so darned easy to support teachers in a dispute like this because we all know teachers. We see their faces, we know their families, our kids play together, we walk dogs together—they are real people.
JONESIE: Do you even know what you are supporting?
WARNING: This column contains some graphic language I was born in a small Alberta town that wasn’t known for much and still isn’t and I remember when the little burgh made the news for the first time I was aware of. The TV station caught B roll of my cousin and his little dog running...