LET'S PULL TOGETHER

Editor: Anonymous

The time has come that our quiet little town is no longer the safe
secure place that we once wanted to raise our children in.

It seems that due to the lack of laws and support from our local
governments, drug dealing has become easier then ever imagined. It
seems that driving without a seatbelt or having one drink after work
at the local neighborhood pub and then driving home is a much more
serious offence and to be followed through with a much more serious
punishment then to be a drug dealer down the street from a school
these days. Not only are the drug dealers moving in and taking over
our neighborhoods, they are also preying on our children and family members.

I am sure most of you have had drugs affect your lives in one way or
another at some point in your lives. Once you are addicted it is just
about impossible to quit. At least not with out the help of someone
else. And even then the success rate is only like three per cent. Now
I don't know about you, but I don't think I want my children exposed
to these temptations. Yet these dealers prey on young children (some
as young as 12) in an attempt to get them hooked, and therefore
expanding their cliental and furthing their power over the rest of
us. It is only a matter of time before the big city dealers bring in
crystal meth and hand it over to our local crack dealers telling them
to hand it out for free to their local clients. It is then that these
people will be hooked on meth and thus creating a demand for the
product in Merritt. Once the demand for it is here there is going to
be a lot of the dealers trying to produce the product themselves and
creating an even bigger danger to our neighborhoods. The explosions
caused by these meth labs are not small.

Now if we do not stand up to these dealers and make it clear that
they are not welcome in our town, then this problem is just going to
keep spiraling out of control. I know it seems impossible to think
that you can help make a difference, but you can. However if you
continue to sit back and let all this happen over fear, then you are
merely adding to their power and enabling them to continue to operate
under that fear. The power is in numbers. Without the support and
organization of our fellow neighbors it is going to be near impossible.

Laws need to be changed and punishments need to be harsher to deter
these people from continuing what they are doing. Without your
support and help, nothing will be done, and our problem is only going
to worsen. So please, please take that step and help support this
community to rightfully take back our town. If not for your own sake,
then please do it for the future of our children and grandchildren.

You do not need to have your name and picture displayed anywhere, and
no one needs to know who you are and where you live. There are ways
to help and still keep your name and information kept private.
Without your support for this cause our children don't stand a
chance. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about how many of their
lives will be spared and without any compassion or sympathy due to
the drug addictions that they are so likely to acquire because of our
lack of support or willingness to do something to stop it before it
gets to them. Now I know we cannot completely shelter our children
from the temptations of drugs, but we can make their chances just a
little bit better and their future a little more brighter.

Now I think Harvey has the right idea by drawing attention to this
problem. However he can't do this alone, and he needs the public's
support if he is to get anywhere on his fight against these crack
houses. I don't think it is very fair that he is sticking his neck on
the line, and using his money and his resources in an attempt to make
Merritt a better place for all of us and our children.

No one seems to be willing enough to come forward and back him up.
(You can't tell me that only 10 people in this town want to put a
stop to these houses.) I too am afraid to give out my name because I
am scared of what could happen since I have children and all. Yet I
am still willing to do my part in helping support this cause and
backing Harvey up.

So let's not let him fight this battle by himself. He needs our help
in supporting the fight against these criminals.

Anonymous

Editor's note: Normally we do not run letters that are not signed,
but we have agreed to run letters on this subject matter without
names given the obvious safety issues involved.