EDITORIAL WRITERS

In Kelowna: David Trifunov,

Pat Bulmer and Ron Seymour.
In Penticton: James Miller.
In Victoria: David Bly.

A8

MANAGING EDITOR: David Trifunov, 250-470-0741

email: dave.trifunov@ok.bc.ca

The Daily Courier, Thursday, December 10, 2015

EDITORIAL

Weddings
wont
threaten
farming
If the Agricultural Land
Commission has put the kibosh
on that farm wedding you were
planning, cheer up. You can
always hold it at city hall,
although some couples might
consider that a poor trade.
The Agricultural Land
Commission Act does not allow
non-farm uses of land inside
the agricultural land reserve,
unless permission is obtained
from the commission to hold
such events.
The commission has issued
stop-work orders recently to
farmers who have not obtained
permission for commercial
activities. The orders affect
farms on Vancouver Island, in
the Fraser Valley and in the
Okanagan. That has thrown
wedding plans into turmoil,
forcing some couples to search
for new venues. It has also
raised concerns among farmers
who depend on such activities
to top off their farm income.
And it could become even
more difficult to have a rural
wedding, as the B.C. Ministry
of Agriculture is proposing
tougher restrictions on nonfarm activities on land within
the ALR.
The proposals were put forth
in a white paper, Regulating
Agri-tourism and Farm Retail
Sales in the Agricultural Land
Reserve, this September. The
deadline for feedback on the
proposed changes is Jan. 15.
The purposes of the current
and proposed regulations are
valid. The aim is to ensure that
agriculture continues to be the
priority use of the affected land
and farmers can continue to
supplement their incomes. The
regulations also aim to prohibit
large-scale commercial operations from locating on lowertaxed agricultural land where
they have an unfair advantage
over competitors who operate
in commercial zones.
Life is hard for many B.C.
farmers, especially those who
operate smaller family farms.
Weather, markets and other
factors beyond the farmers
control affect income. Its difficult to compete with foreigngrown produce. For some farmers, revenue comes only at harvest time, but expenses continue throughout the year.
Using farmland for such
things as weddings, corn
mazes, petting zoos and bedand-breakfasts can help ease
farms through the down times.
Agri-tourism can help farms
stay viable that might not otherwise be able to survive.
Certainly, its an area open to
abuse, and regulators need to
keep a sharp eye on those who
would take advantage of the situation. And local governments
need to be able to control such
things as parking, traffic, noise
and pollution.
But if done right, weddings
and other celebrations pose little threat to the ALCs mission,
which is to preserve agricultural land and to encourage farming. Weddings and other celebrations are compatible with
farming they take advantage
of the natural surroundings
and ambience of a farm.
The Ministry of Agriculture
should seriously consider
allowing farmers to host weddings, within proper parameters, without having to apply
for a special permit for each
occasion. It would be one way
to give farm families a little
more stability and security,
and to keep small farms from
becoming extinct.

Facing fear first step to

reaching goals, dreams
D A V I D

WYLIE
Rough Draft

We all have daily struggles. Some are inner

battles we fight with ourselves and others are
external influences.
Leah Goldstein, who has had her share of
struggles so far in her extraordinary life as an
undercover agent and professional athlete,
has some advice for those facing their own
challenges.
The Vernon resident achieved excellence in
sports, including martial arts and long-distance cycling. She also attained her life goal of
becoming a real-life 007, working for the
Israeli undercover police.
Goldstein has recovered from two lifethreatening bike crashes, and despite long
and arduous recoveries, she continues to
achieve her fitness goals. She is now a speaker and coach.
I wrote about her life last week, and this
week share some of her tips for leading your
own extraordinary life.
OVERCOME FEAR
In her life as a spy, Goldstein had been in
dangerous life or death situations.
Im not fearless; are you kidding? There are
plenty of things I fear, she said.
Goldstein said people like to be safe and fear
failure, but failure is part of success.

Successful people fail, but carry on.

The thing that you have to ask yourself
when you hit those bumps is, Will I regret
that decision five, 10, 15 years down the road
and have I done everything in my power to
reach that goal?
She said learning to be comfortable with not
being comfortable and developing mental
toughness are important lessons on the road
to success.
Its a matter of how much you want it.
What are you willing to do to get there?
FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS, BE RESILIENT
As we get older, we stop setting goals.
Sometimes we also give up on them too easily.
How many times have you gone after something and then youve quit halfway? And why
have you quit halfway what is it that
stopped you?

A lot of times well absorb things, negativity that pushes us back, and we let that in
opposed to the things that push us forward.
Its very easy to throw in the white towel and
say forget it. Once you throw it in one time,
its easy to do it again and again and again. It
becomes a constant pattern.
Goldstein said once you get past the habit of
quitting when challenges arise, it makes it
easier to overcome them next time.
If you think anything is going to come easy
to you, youve got to be kidding yourself.
TAKE ON NEW CHALLENGES
Taking up new challenges will help you discover things about yourself, so take notice
when you get a spark of interest in something
new.
We get wowed by other people. At some
point you have to start getting wowed by
yourself, she said. It creates a better life for
you, a better atmosphere, opens up your mind
and makes you more motivated to do other
things when you can start inspiring yourself
by yourself.
Dont be afraid to try something at least
once.
If I wanted to do something, I would do it. I
would find a way to do it, whether it would
take one month or eight years I was going to
get there.
No limits can be purchased through leahgoldstein.com. It can also be purchased at
Kelowna Fresh Air.
The idea to write the book came to her in
2005 when she was racing her bike in the
Middle East and drew media attention for her
work as an agent in the Middle East.
David Wylie worked as a reporter and
editor for some of Canadas biggest daily
papers before moving into communications. Connect on Twitter:
@DavidWylieMedia.

A LOOK BACK AT LIFE ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY

In 1520, in Wittenberg, northeast of Leipzig in present-day Germany, religious reformer Martin
Luther publicly burned the papal edict demanding that he recant or face excommunication.
In 1817, Mississippi was admitted as 20th U.S. state.
In 1884, Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn was published in Canada and England (the
book was not released in the U.S. until 1885).
In 1896, the Swedish chemist and philanthropist
Alfred Nobel died of a cerebral hemorrhage in
San Remo, Italy, at the age of 63.The Nobel Prize
awards were established under his will.
In 1898, the Spanish-American War came to an official end with the signing of a treaty in Paris that
ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to
the United States.
In 1901, the Nobel prizes were first awarded, on the
fourth anniversary of the death of Nobel.

Terry Armstrong
Publisher
The Okanagan Valley
Newspaper Group

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt became the

first American to be awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize, for helping mediate an end to the RussoJapanese War.
In 1931, Jane Addams became the first American
woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (the
co-recipient was Nicholas Murray Butler).
In 1941, the British battleships Prince of Wales and
Repulse were sunk by Japanese aircraft during
the Battle of Malaya. About 25,000 Allied soldiers
were killed, wounded, escaped or were listed as
missing in the Second World War campaign.
In 1944, Canadian troops stormed Lamone River
defences in Italy during the Second World War.
In 1948, the UN General Assembly issued the
Declaration of Human Rights.
In 1949, the Supreme Court of Canada became the
countrys final legal authority. An amendment to

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by Continental Newspapers (Canada) Ltd.
at 550 Doyle Ave.,
Kelowna, B.C., V1Y 7V1

the Supreme Court Act was passed by Parliament

and given royal assent, abolishing appeals to the
judicial committee of the Privy Council of Britain.
In 1950, Ralph J. Bunche was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize, the first black American to receive
the award.
In 1957, Liberal MP Lester Pearson received the
Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. While serving the previous year as Canadas external affairs
minister, he led efforts at the UN to set up a
peacekeeping force and end the attack by Israeli,
British and French forces on Egypt.
In 1964, U.S. civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize.
In 1968, Charles Lavern Beasley, Canadas first
plane hijacker, was sentenced to six years in
prison. Beasley, 22, of Dallas, Texas, hijacked an
Air Canada enroute to Toronto from Saint John.

David Trifunov
Managing Editor
Pat Bulmer
City Editor

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