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Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Here’s one party host who didn’t play his cards right

Nov 21, 2020 | 6:24 AM

SOME GUY IN PINEVIEW VALLEY is more than three thousand dollars poorer today and I don’t feel at all sorry for him.

For those who missed the story yesterday, police were called to a home on Hugh Allan Drive about 1 a.m. Friday to break up an illegal card game. Those flashing lights outside were on a police cruiser, not a Christmas tree. Inside, RCMP found an “allegedly very uncooperative” host who was entertaining nine others.

The 37-year-old home owner ended up being fined $2,300 for contravening the order on gatherings and events, and $230 each for failure to comply with directions from an enforcement officer, promoting or encouraging attendance at a non-compliant gathering, and abusive or belligerent behaviour.

A poker party host having to cash in his chips and fork over three grand to the law is delicious enough in its irony that even the RCMP couldn’t resist a play on words in their news release. “A homeowner may have been winning in his game of cards but definitely lost his ante after being fined over $3,000 for hosting a non-covid-19 compliant game,” it said.

Nevertheless, RCMP weren’t amused. Supt. Syd Lecky, who commands the Kamloops detachment, put his own name to the news release along with some admonishing quotes, which is something he usually leaves to other officers. “Disheartening,” he said of the incident.

Only the day before, Dr. Bonnie Henry had unveiled tough new measures to try to rein in an ever-more-troubling rise in COVID-19 cases. Maybe the card players didn’t get the memo — there was no sign of safety measures at the home, not even a bottle of hand sanitizer, according to police.

The police description of the incident would suggest the party host might not be all in on the need to be careful during the pandemic. If he has a different story than the one told by police, it would be instructive to know what it is.

There are so many stories about people who view pandemic rules as nothing more than a plot to take away our freedoms, or who simply don’t care, that it challenges one’s hope for ever getting out of this pickle.

I was glad to see Dr. Henry finally see the light and realize her “expectations” weren’t enough, that she has figured out a lot of people need to face the prospect of being hit in the pocket book before they comply.

Those who say enforcement is impossible are correct, at least correct that it’s not possible in all cases. Most people, though, are law-abiding and will follow the rules if only we make them clear, and they see at least the possibility of consequences. Henry’s newest declaration means business owners now have some backup in enforcing mandatory masking on their premises, and that police have more clout.

You’re probably curious about who finked on the card party. Somebody was concerned enough about it to put in a call to police. Is that person a dirty rotten snitch, or a conscientious whistle blower?

I choose the latter. There’s a difference between raising hell over somebody who forgets to wear a mask or walks in the wrong direction down a supermarket aisle, and somebody who organizes a potentially super-spreading event like that card party.

Surely to God we can summon enough adult willpower to deny ourselves the pleasure of a card party, a family gathering, a night out at the bar or many other social events for a few months while we sort out this pandemic.

That, of course, is optimistic thinking. As much as we like to talk about our own resiliency and being Kamloops Strong and all the rest of it, we’re fundamentally weak. We’re addicted to the life we had, and give it up, even temporarily and no matter how compelling the reason, only with great difficulty.

The guy and his card party is getting broad media play and that’s good. It sends a message that we have to get serious about this pandemic. Three thousand dollars probably isn’t enough, but it’s a good start in getting the message across.

As it happens, Vernon RCMP had a busy night of their own late Thursday and early Friday. They were called to a house party attended by several people inside the home, and five or 10 more on a balcony.

Initially, they refused to open the door for police. Two of them were fined, although police didn’t release details. I guess whoever called the cops on that one could be considered a snitch as well.

We don’t want to become a nation of tattle tales, but policing each other, playing our cards right if you will, might be the only way to get through this — together.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

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