My name is John Redenbach my wife and I own BC Vacation Property Management. I have 3 children aged 10, 5 and 1 and I have lived in Osoyoos since 1987 when my father, Sieg Redenbach was transferred from New Westminster to Osoyoos to pastor Grace Lutheran Church. My father was raised in Oliver and graduated from SOSS back in 53′. I have fond memories of Oliver as my family spent every Christmas and summer holidays at Mt. Baldy and Tuc-ul-nuit lake as my grand parents Phillip and Sophia had a home on Rockcliffe Rd. which we stayed at, until we finally moved to the area.

I am interested in being elected as a school trustee as a result of the fiasco that happened last spring in Osoyoos. The potential closing of OSS, where I graduated from, was a huge stress to our community. How our two towns pivoted against one another I found disgraceful and disheartening. I am saddened at how the Oliver trustees handled themselves by continually voting to close our school even after funding had been approved by the provincial government to keep OSS open. Their feeling that OSS had to close to potentially offset other schools closing in the area, is my only guess to their rationale, was short sighted and mean spirited, as it was clear how Osoyoos felt about bussing our kids north. The rationale that Oliver could offer a better education was false as well and they knew it, as Osoyoos’s new time table offers more choices than Oliver and Osoyoos graduating statistics showed Osoyoos kids had a slight edge over Oliver for whatever reason. It was clear to me several trustees, not just Oliver’s, were looking after their own communities interests in the wrong way and acting as poor stewards of their elected position and our community at large.

If I am elected as school trustee I plan to be an advocate for all our kids in the district, not just Osoyoos. The schools in our communities are truly the heart of our small towns and they need to be protected. Closing any school in our district should be our last option after sincere consultations and every last idea is exhausted. Not just come up with a plan and make it fit, because we know best attitude.

Both picture and article submitted

John Redenbach