Animal cruelty laws too lax

Ibelieve animal cruelty laws in Canada are far too lax. For those who don’t understand that owning a pet is a privilege that comes with tremendous responsibility, pull out an old VHS copy of “Gremlins” and watch it again.

Having a school board trustees’ convention in Nova Scotia — a province where they no longer have school board trustees — is like hosting the Winter Olympics in Africa. Trustees from coast to coast should say, farewell Nova Scotia, and cancel the event.

From our mailbag, a reader wants to know why Denim on the Diamond, scheduled for Sept. 1 in Kelowna, is allowed to go until 11 p.m. yet Rock the Lake shuts down at 10 p.m.

Don’t panic, city hall doesn’t prefer country music to classic rock.

Marnie Douglas from the City of Kelowna’s communications department responded.

“It was Rock the Lake organizers who requested a 10 p.m. end-time.

However, in regards to city guidelines, we are consistent in our approach to event end-times and evaluate each accordingly.City parks close at 11 p.m.; which means participants should be vacated by then. Past practice for related events is to have the musical act perform until 10:30 p.m. and have recorded or DJ music (at a lower volume) play until 11 p.m. This is referred to as a ‘soft flush’ which provides a safer exit for these type of events.We are taking the same approach with Denim on the Diamond.”

I realize radio guys are in the business of promoting themselves, but I took exception to a comment made by New Country 100.7 announcer Casey Clarke at a VIP event held earlier this week in Kelowna.

At a kickoff for Denim on the Diamond, Clarke told the crowd that up until five years ago, the country radio format in “the Okanagan” was considered a “joke,” but now it’s the hottest thing going.

Obviously, Mr. Clarke hasn’t spoken with a lot of people from the South Okanagan where the old Giant FM was the furthest thing from a joke. Had he listened to the old station, he might have learned a lesson or two about humility from Dennis Walker.

A faithful reader of this column asked why I’ve never mentioned The Moody Blues. Good question.

They received long-overdue recognition with induction last month into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — 27 years after they became eligible. While most North Americans immediately think “Nights in White Satin” (epic!) whenever The Moody Blues are mentioned, I think their greatest achievement was the 1967 album “Days of Future Passed.” It was, arguably, the first rock concept album. Without it, there would be no “The Wall” by Pink Floyd.

The best song ever about heroes — “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler, a Jim Steinman opus from the “Footloose” soundtrack.

The worst — “Billie Don’t Be a Hero” by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods — although it sounded good at the time.

Bobby Darin was gone far too soon.

James Miller is valley editor for the Okanagan Newspaper Group which includes the Kelowna Daily Courier, Penticton Herald, and Westside Weekly.