ENDERBY SEEKS POSITIVE SOLUTIONS

To paraphrase the classic line from the motion picture Network,
Enderby is as mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore.

Enderby, like any other community in the province, is fed up with
the use of drugs and the existence of drug dealers in the city,
dealers who are preying on young kids or lost souls.

One public meeting was held on the subject in a local park. It
attracted 170 people, most of whom agreed they were angered by the
criminal element living amongst them, conducting their illegal
activities and frustrated by the lack of support they were receiving
in their battles from the RCMP and city hall.

Mayor and council listened, and hosted a quickly-arranged town-hall
meeting Wednesday night which attracted an overflow crowd of 250
people at the Enderby Evangelical Chapel.

All but one member of council was on hand, as was the Enderby RCMP
detachment commander, to listen to more than 25 residents offer up
some pro-active solutions and concerns.

A task force is now being formed, which will include community
volunteers, to come up with some ideas that will help the community.

Despite some finger-pointing and laying-of-blame at the end of the
meeting, the gathering was an excellent start to helping the
community feel safe amongst neighbours again.

One gentleman made, perhaps, the best point of the night, when he
asked everybody in attendance what they were willing to do to help.
That they shouldn't be relying on politicians or police. They can be
pro-active in this situation.

More gets accomplished by being pro-active instead of reactive. And
the town-hall meeting was proof of that.