Duane Ophus - Council Candidate

[Bestside]

There are those in life who do: This is Mr. Duane Ophus.
There are those that can't do so they teach: Those are our teachers.
There are those that can not do and can not teach they become critics: Madame Yeats is this you?

Madame Yeats I saw you at last nights all candidates meeting. You were sitting in the very front row with your shawl, kerchief, grey hair and your knitting directly in front of Counsellor Ophus. Why did you not ask Duane face to face with us others as the judge, about the events you print here and in our local newspaper? If you are correct I would certainly want to know. In one way I felt sorry for your lack of courage. It must be difficult to only feel safe to say bad things from a safe place or from behind others. But Madame Yeats this is the exact reason our system is set up for us to be able to face our accuser. When you did not face Mr. Ophus I was left with no other conclusion then your words were lies or at least not even close to being correct. I supported Mr. Ophus before the meeting and as I watched him standing directly in front you (all the time you were knitting) he answered all questions that came his way and he gain my respect for his experience, wisdom and courage. Mr. Ophus is a reasonable man who is one of those in life that get the job done.

Madame Yeats now I would like to introduce you to another famous knitter who rudely liked to knitted at public meetings and events.

Madame Therese Defarge

Madame Therese Defarge is one of the most famous knitters in literature. This tricoteuse bent on revenge appears in the 1859 novel by Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, Madame Defarge is the wife of a wine shop keeper who's always knitting "with the steadfastness of fate..." She would cheer every time a man, woman or child was beheaded without missing a stitch. But it's not just to pass the time while watching aristocratic heads roll: "...In her own stitches and her own symbols" she's keeping a record of those who, she believes, must meet their end in the guillotine. What a novel use for Xs and Os!

Glen Canyon, I think with this you did a disservice to the candidate as well as to all gray haired shawl and kerchief wearing knitters.
You being a retired cop it sounds more like you are experienced in spinning a disparaging story against a defendant where the evidence is substantially week and you want a conviction.

[waterskirick]

I've sent this to all candidates. A yes or no answer will do.

I'd like to vote for someone with a little spine. Our mayor has stated (unlike all other cadidates) that she will only support a new name that has shown more than 50% support from the whole community. A new name will not help unify us if it only has 30% or 35% support. We need a majority, and if we don't get that, then some kind of run off until we do.

So far I have only one candidate to vote for, Neis for councillor. I'll vote for others only if they show leadership and commit to a 50 + 1% requirement for a new name. Will you commit to this?

[tangledweb]

Heather Yeats here.
I wish to reply to Councilor Opus' rebuttal in the Westside Weekly of Novemebr 5th.
How neatly Councillor Opus side steps the issue by referring to a letter I wrote (at this same time, just prior to the 2007 election)
I do not deny that my 2008 letter is timed to hopefully educate readers of the actions that Mr. Ophus has taken in the past. Those actions and Councilor Ophus reaction to them indicate just how trustworthy he might be in future situations.
Councilior Opus memory is no doubt excellent except for the fact that the minutes were of an executive meeting - so needed approval of the executive - not the whole board.
I have a copy of both the original and the second set of minutes - Naturally the minutes are also in Society archives!! (In this day of email, all directors are able to make a copy for their own files. I hold nothing illegally - as might have been implied) My copy has a hand written note " this section dictated by Duane and added at his insistance" written beside it, signed by the secretary .
The secretary later stated "It is my recollection that there was no formal motion of any kind in relation to the appointment of a part time paid acting general manager at that meeting"
Ophus had effectively apointed a Vice President of the Nut Farm Society to the position of Acting General Manager and wished to get approval for this action, after the fact.
As I had voiced my disagreement very strongly in the appointment of this person - who knew nothing about the running of a Nut farm and proudly admitted that he diddnt know the difference between a nut tree and a fir tree - I am the last person who would have agreed to the appointment!

I note that Councillor Ophus makes no mention in his rebuttal of my comment that he single handedly caused the resignation of six members of the board!! His rudeness to directors, ignoring of the hiring process and putting directors into a possition where they could not compromise their ethical standards and duties as directors certainly bears witness to that fact.

Further to the above comments there is another matter. Mr. Ophus , then President of the Nut Farm Society, told a director who became a paid member of staff that they could not remain as a director because it was a conflict of interest. When he appointed the Part time acting general managaer to the position, that person was a Vice Presdent (so a director) of the society. He was not asked to resign as a director or as a VP. Rather interesting in itself.

No, My opinion has not changed one little bit. I do not believe that councilor Ophus is a person that I could trust to run the municipality I live in. I will not vote for him no matter how many glowing letters Glencanyon writes!

Ah! That reminds me. It is always a good idea to research thoroughly in order to avoid making a fool of oneself. For your information Glencanyon.....I was crochetting (one needle only). I was not wearing a shawl and my hair is auburn and white - not grey! Otherwise, thank you for taking the time to inform us all about the infamous friend of Madam Guillotine.

Respectfully
Heather Yeats

[p2malone]

Hello, I am undecided about which candidates to vote for in the upcoming election, so I am sending out a question for all. We have lived here just a short time (8 months) and my family and I are horrified with the amount of crime and drugs that Kelowna /Westside has. Both places are getting a very bad reputation for high criminal activity and I strongly believe that something needs to be done about it. The name of the Westside does not have very much importance when the world is referring to it as Crack Alley, Drug City, Meth. Meadows, etc...... These are just a few names that I have heard in other provinces, when referring to Kelowna and the Westside. My question.......if you are voted in will you support a increase in policing? Thank you in advance.

[tangledweb]

From Heather Yeats

This is a letter that was submitted to the editor at Westside Weekly. Sadly, they did not print it. However, following Councilor Ophus' rebuttal of Nov 5th, I felt readers of this forum should have the opportunity to see it. Perhaps my memory is not so flawed?

"Dear Editor
I read recent letters published in the Westside Weekly from Heather Yeats on Nov. 2 and Duane Ophus on Nov. 5.

I was one of the eight people (six directors, two staff members) that resigned my position with the Gellatly Nut Farm Society due to the actions and or decisions made directly or indirectly by Mr. Duane Ophus during his tenure as Society President.

All eight of us did move on, but like Heather, I have not forgotten the horrible experience of those few months.

Wouldn't it be refreshing to have a politician, just once, step forward, step up and admit he made a mistake or two?

Maureen Pascuzzo"



By the way.....I was interested to note that Glencanyon was conspicuous by his silence following my last post!!

[inquisitive]

Well, it is no longer, "He said", ----"She said", as we now have a third party corroborating the, "She said". Very interesting, and credentials are being revealed. Besides glencanyon's silence being noted we also have Mr. Ophus silence since Mrs. Yeats' second letter.

[tangledweb]

Heather Yeats here

Following my post - letter from another director - I received an email saying that the sender had not received a copy of Westside Weekly containing Councilor Ophus' rebuttal.
Would I be kind enough to post it on the forum..
So here it is:

Yeats is wrong in her memory of nut farm

"To the editor:
I feel I must respond to the letter from Heather Yeats published Nov. 2 in the Westside Weekly.

Careful readers of your paper might remember that this same writer, last year at this same time just prior to the 2007 election, took me to task for being part of the Mount Boucherie Expansion Society and therefore apparently single-handedly responsible for the cost overruns on royal LePage Place. In fact I had no relationship at all with that project except for the donations my family and I made to this much-needed community facility.

And now this diatribe this year. An active animus perhaps? An attempt to settle old scores? A political agenda to persue?

I am very proud of what was achieved during my seven years as president of the Gellatly Nut Farm Society. We raised over $1 million during my tenure to help purchase and operate this park.

Contrary to what is asserted in Yeats' letter I did not make unilateral hiring decisions. In fact the minutes she alludes to were changed because she first voted in favour of a decision and then decided to change her position and this is what was not properly recorded. Of course, she has a copy of the original (incorrect) minutes - so did I at the time. The approved minutes are no doubt in the society archives as they are their property. the minutes of any organization are not approved by one person but rather by the whole board and, to my recollection, Yeats remained as a director for at least three months after the incident in question.

Did we have some difficult and challenging times at the Gellatly Nut Farm Society? Sure we did.

I believe that, with the exception of Yeats, everyone has moved on with their lives. I have no desire to draw any of them into a re-hash of any of this.

I encourage anyone who has any questions on this or any other issue, to contact me directly.

Duane Ophus,
Westside"

On re reading this letter from Ophus, I note the disparaging tone of the writer. Thank goodness I have back up paperwork and the written word of others to prove that my memory is fine and there are none so forgetful as they who wish to forget!