RESIDENTS' CALLS FOR HELP GO UNHEEDED

To the Editor:

Death visited my neighbourhood on Friday.

A well-known drug house on Rowcliffe was its stage.

Am I surprised? No. Are my neighbours surprised? No.

For almost two years, calls have been made to the police and the
landlord regarding suspicious activity around this house-but to no
avail.

My wife and I have two young children. Many of our neighbours have
young children and we are doing our best to keep our little part of
the city beautiful and family friendly. But it seems that everyone is
conspiring against us.

First, the City of Kelowna allowed the desertion and then demolition
of the old KSS property without any thought or plan for what to do
with the land. So we now have a 5.6-hectare abandoned lot outside our
front window that is a magnet for drugs and prostitution.

Then the school board decided to remove the play structure from
Central School. So now instead of the Central School grounds being a
magnet for families with young children, it has become another
abandoned space where ne'er-do-wells often congregate.

To add insult to injury, my wife called the police earlier this summer
to let them know of an increase in suspicious activity (drug dealers
on bikes and a prostitute) and the officer flatly asked my wife -
"what do you expect us to do about it?"

We are good people trying to be part of the solution so why aren't our
public services - the city, school district and police-doing the same?

ERIN HUSSEY

Kelowna