TIME TO ADDRESS A SKEWED VIEW OF HINTON'S DRUG ISSUE

On The Town

I was in Edmonton on Town business last week when I sat down at my
favorite hotel restaurant for breakfast and a nice cup of coffee
prior to my meeting. One of the friendliest waitresses in the city,
an extremely outgoing and vivacious grandmother named June, came over
to greet me like she usually does, a warm smile on her face and a
personal greeting.

"Hello Glenn," she said, "it's good to see you again, what a shame
with what's going on out in Hinton, is the drug problem really that bad?"

Needless to say I was mystified by her question. I know that we have
been making significant progress in arresting big drug dealers and
that our police force has been making real inroads on the drug problem.

"What are you talking about June?" I asked.

It turns out she had read the Edmonton Journal before I had and she
was referring to the glaring headline on an inside page -- Drug trade
fuels fear for missing spotter.

I couldn't believe it when I read the article.

I was stunned at how, with a few well chosen words and a judicious
quote or two, these 'journalists' could take a developing tragedy, in
the disappearance of a dedicated woman, and turn it into a story
about drugs and the drug trade.

Not only did they down play the real tragedy of the disappearance of
Stephanie Stewart and the concern of her family along with that of
our town's residents, but they shifted the focus of the story onto
the drug trade by referring to it in the first few paragraphs of
their story. Of course the glaring headline didn't help matters in this regard.

By using the quote of one person and placing another fairly innocent
quote in close comparison the message was clear, this community is
"facing the growing scourge of drugs" that "may have brought a
killer" into our town.

What A Conclusion!

At a time when we have very limited information on what really
happened and we are trying to find Stephanie, that newspaper decided
to try to sell a few more copies by sensationalizing the tragedy of others.

I wonder how much information they gathered and how much work those
reporters put into that story that they needed to change the focus
and stoop to this sensationalism?

However, this seems to be the way of big city papers and mainstream
media these days. Who cares how the story could impact on a family,
or a community for that matter? It's time to sell papers.

Unfortunately, an entire community has been smeared in my opinion and
we are left to answer the questions of those less informed.

But what about the real question? What happened to and where is
Stephanie Stewart? Those questions will be answered in time with
diligent police work and strong prayers.

As for June, the waitress out in Edmonton. She likes to hear news
about our community and still thinks it would be a nice place to
visit, but she is busy looking after her daughter and family. One day
maybe she can come out and see what a great town we truly have.