The Editor,
Re. “Cities need easy guides on garbage for residents” (Letters, The Tri-City News, Sept. 30).
After I expressed frustration, in the above-referenced letter to the editor last month, about being unable to find helpful information on how to recycle stuff, I received a phone call from a Port Moody city employee.
This helpful person told me about the Waste Wizard at the city of Port Moody’s web site (www.portmoody.ca/wastewizard).
A user types the name of the item to be disposed into the Waste Wizard entry box and clicks on Search.
I tried “fluorescent tube,” “acrylic paint” and “dog waste” and received appropriate and helpful information in both cases.
When I queried “brake fluid,” the wizard advised that it couldn’t find an answer but gave me the opportunity to submit my request to a human for adding to the database.
The Waste Wizard gets my two-thumbs-up rating.
Derek Wilson, Port Moody
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Thanks for sidewalk & restroom
The Editor,
A couple of great things are happening in the area of south Coquitlam.
One is the new sidewalk from Como Lake Avenue to Austin Avenue. With 1,500 students at Centennial secondary school and a very busy leisure centre, plus Dogwood Pavilion and other activities, in the area, the new sidewalk and traffic improvements are welcomed.
Second is the much-needed, long overdue work going ahead on the Mundy Park washrooms. I never thought I’d see the day.
Our thanks to council and staff. Instead of a ribbon cutting, perhaps we could use a roll of toilet paper.
Brian Robinson, Coquitlam
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Can ‘hangry’ teens learn well enough?
The Editor,
Did you know that any number of high school students in School District 43 go without lunch until after 2 p.m.? It’s called Block 5 lunch, part of the wonders of the semester system.
Did you know that there’s likely a similar number of students who are stuck with Block 1 lunch? It means they can sleep in every day but once they are at school, they are not entitled to a lunch break until school lets out, sometime after 3 p.m.
Of course, students are entitled to snack in class, as long as they don’t disturb the teacher, but most students find it impossible to snack around gym class and unwise to do so during chemistry. Maybe these students should all take foods class, instead, so they can eat what is cooked in school.
Breaks between blocks are down to a leisurely three minutes, making it impossible to digest on the run.
My observation has been that young, growing bodies are always hungry. But now many high school students are made actually to feel hungrier during school time in their senior years. I guess it’s called planning: Hunger concentrates the mind. The answer to raging hormones is to not feed teenagers. The idea is that youth will be so delirious with famine, they won’t be tempted by street drugs: they will instead be overwhelmed by more basic concerns.
But do you ever stop to wonder why teenagers want to rebel against adult authority? There is even now a word for it: “hangry.”
Our school district apparently values efficient kids in expanded classes with shrinking stomachs. Students are told performance and grades matter but do they matter as full persons? They seem to be considered half-citizens and half child labour, especially in the light of sometimes oppressive homework loads. Meanwhile, school board administrators get lunch at a reasonable time.
Joerge Dyrkton, Anmore
