HUNDREDS FILL GRAND HALL TO GRILL CANDIDATES

From marijuana to mining, seniors to spending, transit to taxation,
candidates running for City council were grilled Tuesday night on a
wide range of issues that will determine how people vote on Nov. 19.

About 500 people filled the Grand Hall in Thompson Rivers
University's Campus Activity Centre Tuesday night for the
all-candidates' forum sponsored by The Daily News, Radio NL and
Kamloops This Week.

Included in the crowd were supporters of medical marijuana seller
Carl Anderson, whose shop was slapped with a no-occupancy order by
City officials earlier in the day.

Anderson himself asked Milobar where his compassion club members were
supposed to get their legally prescribed cannabis with his shop closed down.

The mayor told him he didn't have a big problem with physicians
prescribing the drug. But it's regulated by the federal government,
not the City. The City put the no-occupancy order on his building
because marijuana plants were being grown there and there's a bylaw
requiring any grow operation structure to be inspected for molds.

Upon further questioning from another medical marijuana user, Milobar
explained that City council doesn't direct the RCMP and he didn't
know why they raided Anderson's business.

A third medical marijuana user asked mayoral candidate Brian
Alexander if he would stand up for them.

Alexander replied "Of course," to whoops and some applause.

"I am a user. I support it," he added. He then asked if anyone in the
room had not smoked pot.

Milobar raised his hand. The two other mayoral candidates, Dieter
Dudy and Gordon Chow, did not.

The four mayoral candidates were up for the first hour of the forum,
followed in the second hour by the 24 councillor hopefuls.

Milobar was also asked about improving the City's transit system. He
pointed out that legally, the City shares the cost with B.C. Transit
and is lobbying for more funding so it can add service.

"We are trying on your behalf to leverage more funds, but sometimes
it takes time under the provincial budget," he said.

One woman asked Milobar and Dudy about the over-budget Valleyview
pedestrian overpass and $300,000 invested in the Lorne Street parkade
that was rejected in a counterpetition effort.

Dudy said council should have listened to the survey that said 69 per
cent of respondents didn't want the parkade in the Heritage House
parking lot location. The $300,000 was wasted.

Milobar said the Valleyview project was frustrating but had to be
finished to not jeopardize senior-government grants. And many other
City projects have come in under budget.

Milobar was asked what they felt was the most important issue facing
Kamloops in the next five years.

He said health care, particularly getting the Royal Inland Hospital
master plan implemented. Dudy answered as well, saying the global
economic climate means we need to control spending.

Chow challenged Milobar on spending $8 million for the Hillside
Connector. The mayor didn't answer, but an audience member chimed in
"Because the City (public works) yard's up there."

The councillor candidates gave positive responses on warm-and-fuzzy
issues such as affordable housing for seniors, more neighbourhood
parks and cautious municipal spending.

Incumbent Pat Wallace got one of the bigger laughs of the evening
when she answered a question about a way to save the greenspace and
trees in front of Royal Inland Hospital rather than see it used for a
parkade and building.

"Of course. Who isn't going to say they won't support a plan to save
the trees? They're old and beautiful and like me, in 20 years they'll
probably be dead."

Wallace went on to say she'd like to see a shuttle service to take
patients to the hospital.

Candidate Chris Ortner said the hospital is an economic driver for
the city and serves the region, but he's seen people struggle to get
up the hill to the hospital. The pending realignment of Columbia
Street is an opportunity to improve hospital access, he said.

Incumbent Tina Lange agreed everyone loves the big trees. But
Interior Health is looking at planting others or possibly creating a
green rooftop on the building that would go out front if the trees have to go.

Candidate John Noakes said he has had health problems that have meant
spending a lot of time at the hospital. He loves the trees but there
are many more of them downtown, he said.

"We need to bite the bullet."

Candidate Greg Power suggested looking at the unusable helipad area
behind the hospital, which could be the site of a four storey parkade
if it was dug out.

Incumbent John DeCicco said said the trees will die after a certain
age, so he liked the plans RIH has for a parkade out front.