RESIDENTS GEAR UP TO BATTLE GROW-OPS

10 Pot-Growers Busted So Far This Year In Village Of 2,000 On The Edge
Of Chilliwack

Yarrow residents are vowing to take back their community after police
busted 10 marijuana grow-ops this year.

"I want a community where I can walk down the street at night without
having to look behind me," said Gotthard Rehsler, a long-time resident
of the village on the edge of Chilliwack.

"I shouldn't have to lock my door. When I came to Yarrow, I didn't
have to lock my door."

On Tuesday night, Rehsler was joined by about 50 of the town's 2,000
residents at a community forum on crime.

"I want my kids to grow up in a safe place," said the forum's
organizer, Arlene Onderwater.

"I want them to be able to trust their neighbours."

For many, the forum was about rebuilding the trust lost when four
grow-ops were discovered within a few houses of each other on Yarrow's
Central Road. The village's main thoroughfare is the main route to
Cultus Lake for many Lower Mainland visitors.

"When people drive through Yarrow, they see a pretty
little

village, but underneath it has a few ugly crime problems," said
Chilliwack city Coun. Sharon Gaetz.

"Luckily, it also has residents that really care about their community
and want to protect it."

After listening to presentations by Chilliwack city staff and police,
resident Sandra Dyck signed up for more information on the city's
Block Watch and Grow Watch programs.

"Talking is great, but I want it to go somewhere," she said. "We need
to implement some of these programs."

Since clocking the highest per-capita marijuana-growing offence rate
in B.C. in 2003, Chilliwack has launched a number of unique programs
to get residents involved in crime fighting.

In 2005, the city started a pot-watch program, believed to be the
first of its kind in B.C.

Together with police, the city's Grow Watch team educates residents to
report suspicious activity in their neighbourhoods.

City council's 2004 grow-buster bylaw also aids in the crackdown.
Under the bylaw, the city collected $141,370 in clean-up fees and
permits and $83,000 in fines from property owners and growers in 2005.

"We still pursue the matter criminally, but the bylaw helps," said
Chilliwack RCMP Sgt. Bryon Massie.

"Sometimes the fines people get from the city are larger than what the
court imposes."

Chilliwack Mayor Clint Hames was hopeful Yarrow's community spirit
will help residents rebound from spring's "grow-op shock."

"I love watching communities like Yarrow come together like this and
work on finding solutions," he said.

"The answer to this problem is community."

WHAT DO YOU THINK?