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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Fires, suitcases and tents, and calls of ‘Enough is enough’

Apr 17, 2023 | 4:50 AM

SO LET’S UPDATE where we’re at.

Seven years ago, a public health emergency was declared as drug-related deaths were on the rise. Today, there are more such deaths than ever.

Homelessness and addictions-related incidents are no longer focused in a few areas of Kamloops. Vandalism and property crimes are rampant not just in the core but in the suburbs. Too often, the knives come out and people get hurt.

The homeless are building make-shift shelters on grassy areas along the main street of our city. People with large suitcases huddle alongside those with shopping carts full of plastic bags.

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Fires break out in dumpsters, parking garages, shopping carts, vehicles and landscaped areas. As I write this, there have been at least eight fires around town in the past week and a half. At this rate, there won’t be a juniper bush left in the city.

Speculation as to the cause ranges from isolated incidents connected to homelessness, to an arsonist on the loose.

And what’s being done about this entire situation? We try to de-stigmatize drug use. We establish supervised injection sites. We build more and more housing and set up more and more shelters.

We clean up the proliferation of needles. Businesses clean up excrement from their front entrances, and repair their broken windows as they watch their stock walk out the door. Police do their best to catch bad guys. David Eby sets up dedicated enforcement hubs aimed at curbing repeat violent offenders.

Kamloops City council, desperate to do something, anything, works on a bylaw banning drug use in parks, admitting it probably won’t work.

And none of it is enough. Group after group declares “Enough is enough” and rallies in protest at the collective state of affairs.

Plans are made for an “Enough is enough” protest at the front steps of City Hall. And the beat goes on.

Does that pretty much sum things up?

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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