SCHOOL YARD DRUG DEAL AN OUTRAGE

A drug deal a local woman witnessed in the playground at Mountain
View School last Tuesday has angered and upset School Superintendent
Anne Cooper and motivated local Mounties to step up patrols around
the city's schools.

"We don't want or need this kind of activity anywhere near our
schools or children," Cooper said last Friday after being told of
the incident.

The witness, who asked that she not be identified, said she was
walking past the school's ball diamond to see a client at 5:20 p.m.
last Tuesday when she saw three young men "in their 20s or high
teens" with a dog.

"I didn't see any money but when I saw a baggie full of white stuff
being passed from one man to another it was pretty obvious," the witness said.

The woman reported the incident to both the local RCMP detachment
and The Times Review.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised but a school is supposed to be
a safe place," she said.

No school children were present at the school playground when the
drug deal occurred, but Cooper said that's irrelevant. That kind of
activity is unacceptable at any time of day or night at a school.
She, too contacted the RCMP to register her concern.

Sgt. Art Kleinsmith said students, staff and teachers need to be on
the lookout for this kind of activity.