VERNON KILLINGS A SAD REMINDER OF THE HELL CAUSED BY DRUGS

The portrait many of us Lower Mainlanders have of life in the Okanagan is
one of bucolic tranquility, with wineries dotted among picturesque,
lakeside communities.

But the reality, as Province reporters David Carrigg and Ethan Baron have
noted, is that apparently peaceful towns like Vernon (pop: 35,000) are not
immune from the drug-related crime that is a blight on B.C.'s major urban
centres. Indeed, police say criminals are as likely to be involved in the
lethal drug trade there as they are in the Lower Mainland -- or elsewhere.

"It's bad," noted Vernon RCMP Cpl. Red Leibel yesterday.

In the last two years, there have been five murders and two mysterious
disappearances linked to the Vernon drug trade.

Local politicians, however, appear divided over whether what is happening
is really out of the ordinary.

Vernon Coun. Barry Beardsell says street prostitution and other crime has
grown dramatically over the past few years.

Coun. Pat Cochrane insists there is "nothing extraordinary going on in our
community."

Whoever is right, it's clear the Okanagan is no longer a region where folks
just go to tend to verdant orchards and enjoy the simple life. A growing
number there now are cultivating pot -- and trading heroin and cocaine.

But Vernon's drug problem is not much worse than that of other B.C. towns,
small and large.

And that should seriously concern us all.