KAMLOOPS — Kamloops could use a hero.
Even a group of them.
It doesn’t matter if the heroes are high school kids in multi-coloured spandex, thrown together by fate.
They are welcome here.
It’s been a trying few months for us, beginning with the federal election last fall that saw the Kamloops vote fragmented like it hasn’t been in a very long time.
A few weeks later, the performing arts centre proposal was voted down, and even those who claimed victory on that day expressed frustration at the direction the city was taking.
Then came the debate about recreation facilities on the North Shore.
They say you never please all the people, all the time, but that decision seemed to be displeasing to a lot.
Our university and its faculty are in the midst of an embarrassing feud.
Drug and gang-related crime seems to have become commonplace here, the new normal.
Worst of all, drug overdose deaths are on the increase, a situation that should frighten all of us.
We need some heroes.
And while those Power Rangers running around downtown may be fictional, and not actually able to tackle any of those serious issues, we shouldn’t underestimate their impact.
Even in the first few days of filming, Kamloops residents have been sharing with glee their encounters with Hollywood.
Maybe we won’t all get to sit down for a romantic date with Elizabeth Banks, but we can get a sense that little ol’ Kamloops is part of something from which millions of people around the world will derive some excitement and joy.
Kamloops has hit the big time, if only on a temporary basis.
That’s worth a traffic headache or two, isn’t it?
I think so.
Go, go Power Rangers?
How about, stay, stay?
