The Similkameen News Leader
Editorial
August 28, 2007
IS THERE (STILL) A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
The Town of Princeton is hosting a public open house next month to allow residents a little token input into a very important document meant to be the blueprint of future development for the community.
The actual name of the document is the Official Community Plan, which is commonly called the OCP or 'That Big Binder Of Directions.'
The OCP will no doubt contain a lot of details on land use issues and assorted other matters designed to create what we'll call Future Princeton.
Future Princeton will be a great place to live and raise a family because the OCP will map out most of the changes between now and then and will be responsible for what Future Princeton will look like.
Will there be 10-storey apartment buildings? Only the OCP will know. Will there be an actual red/green/amber stop light at the intersection of Bridge Street and Harold Avenue (the Overwaitea interchange)? Only the OCP will know.
Will there be any doctors still around to medicate, bandage and otherwise put back together the people who live in Future Princeton?
Who knows?
The way things are going; ordering out for medical care may become as common as calling out for pizza providing there's room for both services in the OCP and Future Princeton.
With two more doctors leaving town and the ones who are still here booked so far in advance that retirement may no longer be an option, you've got to wonder if the OCP sees Future Princeton as having any type of medical services.
Then you've got to wonder if there are no doctors in town, what's going to attract people to this area to help develop it into Future Princeton?
Obviously the attractions that keep most of us here are not noted in the relocation package distributed at medical school.
No doubt the long hours, increase in patient (over)load and reduced support services in a community without a traffic light, movie theatre and OCP would be a scary step into the world of medicine.
We shudder at the mere thought of it.
Maybe the OCP will have a clause that will turn the community into an accident free zone in 2011 - or whenever the last doctor standing decides to disconnect his own life support system - where only minor scraps and bruises are allowed. More serious injuries would render the Occupancy In Princeton Contract null and void and the offender will be forced to leave Future Princeton, broken leg and all, to seek medical help and a new home somewhere else.
Talk about adding insult to injury.
We'd hate to think what evils await Future Princeton during allergy season.
With all the natural beauty of the Similkameen within arms reach and medical professionals leaving it behind maybe the slogan for Future Princeton should be "Just Say Ahh!"
