from the editor

Summit, Sep 2004 by Phillips, Anne

I CAN'T QUITE BELIEVE that fall is so close. It has been a busy and interesting summer for me - and I hope for you too - as I spent a lot of time on the road... and there is lots of road in Canada as Melanie Colison points out in You bought WHAT!?!?! Anyway, I just have to tell you a bit about what I saw.

My travels took me to places in British Columbia I had never been - mostly the interior starting from Prince George in the north travelling south through the towns along Highway 97 as far as 150 Mile House, east as far as Horsefly and Wells and west as far as Anahim Lake, nearly to coastal Bella Coola ... that will be another trip. Some of the highlights included spending Canada Day in Quesnel listening to music at the bandstand, and later partaking in the fun of Billy Barker Days; eating some magical cookies in Horsefly; and attending the parade and stampede in Williams Lake.

And then there were the interesting people I had the good fortune to meet to name a few: dinner with a placer miner who showed me gold dust and nuggets and told me stories of EC's mining industry and its history; another miner investing in new technology to extract gold from the Fraser; a couple of foresters who explained both the pine beetle infestation, which is turning BC forests brown, and logging mill technology; sitting in on a conversation with Chief Clifford Lebrun of the Red Bluff Indian Band, who is working to establish job opportunities in his community; and city officials and staff - councillors from Williams Lake and Quesnel and the chief administrative officer of Wells.

The trip west out to Anahim was made in a huge pick-up (suited to the roads) through an area of BC called the Chilcotins. After a steep winding climb up out of a canyon through which the Fraser River flows, we hit a rolling plateau with snowcapped mountains in the distance and real cowboys working cattle - all bathed in golden sunlight. Saying it is beautiful is hardly adequate.

Everywhere there was evidence of communities blending the past and the future, working hard to be welcoming to visitors and citizens alike. Wells, situated east of Quesnel, was originally a company town managed by the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine and, at that time, was larger than Prince George. It has maintained its historic buildings many being used by artists and artisans and recently purchased a snow-machine to groom trails through the surrounding woods for winter sports. Quesnel and Williams Lake participate in the "Communities in Bloom" program, and it shows!

However, even memorable trips end, and I'm glad to be home. There is plenty to do right here - local country fairs and lots of history to fill weekends, as well as lots of work to do to bring this issue of Summit to you.

Everyone needs help occasionally and government is no different. In The body shop, Irene Gessler looks at contracting for both temporary and professional services. And the military gets some help from research and computer-aided design when purchasing uniforms - wait until you read Gina Gillespie's Technology clothes the soldier - I had no idea how complex a military uniform could be! And in Protect your data, Toby Osborne discusses both the philosophy and the technology behind the need for public sector organizations to have secure data, especially in the wake of several disasters of one sort or another.

Then we have a couple of pieces on prequalification. The Chatroom asks whether it is a fair and equitable process and in In our opinion, Steve and Kevin look at the reasons for doing it, or not, and offer suggestions on how.

As well, procurement is a big subject in Ontario municipalities these days; they have been mandated to write or update their procurement bylaws by January 2005. Changes of this sort can be quite challenging for as they say, "old habits die hard."

Also, make sure to check out the stories on our website. The More stories on the Web section in the table of contents gives you brief outlines of the information you can find at www.summitconnects.com.