Image: American Idol / ABC / Cameron Whitcomb performs

By Mel Rothenburger

Armchair Mayor

ROTHENBURGER: Armchair Mayor’s Top 10 ‘small stories’ of the year that was

Dec 31, 2022 | 6:31 AM

THE BIGGEST NEWS of the year is very much in the eyes of the beholder. According to the Canadian Press, the Number One news event of 2022 was the trucker siege of downtown Ottawa, and nobody can argue with that.

Kamloops media peg the October civic election and the surprise ascendency of Reid Hamer-Jackson to the mayor’s chair as the biggest local news, and they, too, are correct.

But there were lots of smaller stories that didn’t make national headlines or, often, even much in the way of Kamloops headlines that were, nevertheless, important to the life of the community. I’ve picked my own Top 10 list from among the roughly 250 editorials and columns published under the Armchair Mayor’s musings from last January until now. Several of them garnered more discussion than the traditional news stuff.

Maybe you’ll agree with some of these picks, maybe not, but here they are for your consideration, beginning with the 10th and working up to the first.

NUMBER 10: Headline, ‘Our cityscape makes a daring switch from beige to greige.’ I began the year with a favourite gripe about City Hall’s insistence that everything we build has to be “earth tones.” While 2022 was a year of significant building activity, especially in the downtown core, it was all pretty much the same old boring architecture in the same old boring colours.

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NUMBER 9: ‘Regional farmers’ market should be a dog-free zone.’ This one illustrated once again how important our ‘fur babies’ are to us. In response to a request from the Kamloops Regional Farmers Market for people to keep their dogs on a short leash, I wrote that dog lovers should leave Fido at home. That prompted outrage from dog lovers, and support from those who would rather not have to be on the alert for dogs peeing on the produce.

NUMBER 8: City Hall Follies. That wasn’t an actual headline but it encompasses some of the strange stuff coming out of City Hall. In June, the City closed comments on its Facebook page, prompting the Armchair Mayor headline ‘Shutting down City’s Facebook comments is the wrong move.’ In October, Coun. Mike O’Reilly made the rather bizarre proposal that the City hold one massive referendum on all the major projects on its infrastructure list (‘Why holding one big referendum on new facilities would fail’.) In April, council continued its march toward a $10-million boondoggle, the planned pedestrian bridge over Summit Drive, only a couple of hundred steps from a perfectly good crosswalk. (‘Please, let’s do away with the ridiculous Summit overpass idea.’)

NUMBER 7: Vandalism came in several forms. In July, the Riverside Park bull had to be removed for repairs because of repeated vandalism. In August, smashed glass panels on the Valleyview bike bridge had to be replaced. In October, at the Heffley Creek Hall, vandals ruined a mural project, twice. In frustration, I wrote, ‘Do we have to build cages around the nice things in our city?’

NUMBER 6: In a stunning example of how government bureaucrats can ignore logic, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission proposed in May that Kamloops be split into two pieces and attached to separate ridings, one of which would be attached to the Okanagan. ‘Proposed new riding boundaries for Kamloops make no sense.’

NUMBER 5: And now for some feel-good news. An 18-year-old back-flipping Kamloops pipeline worker with an amazing voice won the hearts of the entire city and the country as well as he made it all the way into the top 20 of the hit ABC TV show American Idol. Many thought he deserved to win the whole thing. ‘Kinetic singer Cameron Whitcomb is new Kamloops idol.’

NUMBER 4: This spot goes to the Kamloops connection to the people of Ukraine in their fight to save their country from the Russian invasion. Kamloopsians rallied for Ukraine (‘Do rallies supporting Ukraine make any difference?’) and welcomed those fleeing the carnage (‘Kamloops needs to open its wallets for Ukraine refugees’). In an amusing angle, Russia banned MP Frank Caputo (‘Kamloops ban on Kamloops MP is truly a badge of honour.’)

NUMBER 3: As heritage buildings are bulldozed in favour of high rises, the sad neglect of the city’s historic structures marches on. The Armchair Mayor lamented the loss in June in a column headlined, ‘Will anyone speak up for Heritage in the Tournament Capital?’

NUMBER 2: Let’s call this one Shelter Shambles or, maybe, Shelter Scramble. Unbelievably, the City and social agencies were caught flat footed in November with the onset of frigid weather, failing to get emergency shelters up and running in time. Fortunately, it was quickly fixed. The headline was ‘Failure to be ready with winter shelters is mind-blowing,’ and it was richly deserved.

NUMBER 1: And now, the top story in the Armchair Mayor’s Top 10 goes to the case of security guard Rick Eldridge, facing an assault charge for an altercation with a street character who spit at him and threatened him before Eldridge took him down. The guard temporarily lost employment and, when I interviewed him in November, was sleeping in his car. The headline was ‘Security guard lives in limbo long after Victoria Street West incident.’ His situation speaks to a fundamental issue of life in urban Kamloops: who owns the streets? Eldridge’s court case has yet to be resolved.

And there you have it. Here’s to the year that was, and to the ‘small’ stories that will grab our attention in 2023.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, former TNRD director and a retired newspaper editor. He 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 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.