If I were to take a can of paint and start painting trees in the district parks, I would probably be stopped and charged with vandalism, mischief, damage to public property, or, if the feds got interested, some form of eco-terrorism. If on the other hand, our elected representatives hire someone to improve on nature’s handiwork, it is called art. Ergo, if painting a tree blue is art, then the painter must be an artist. This, it seems to me, is a bit of an insult to all of those in our community who have spent so many years improving their craft. Art, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder; one man’s art is another man’s garbage. Strange, though, is the fact that while the majority of our council found these trees so pleasing to the eye, I can find few if any taxpayers in Squamish who agree.
It will be argued, no doubt, that this is not really taxpayers’ money. The money, it seems, came to us from the same source that brought us the horizontal wolf. That’s the one you have to climb a ladder to view. I would venture to say that any monies that fall into the district’s hands are from the taxpayer.
All money coming into the hands of elected representatives should be treated with respect and not flushed down the first available drain.
Ray Miles
Squamish
