MONDAY TOWN HALL TO TACKLE DRUG PROBLEMS

The third in a series of town hall meetings concerning crime, drugs
and homelessness is to take place Monday.

The topic of the third meeting, 7 p.m. at the Arts Centre and Theatre,
is drugs.

RCMP Cpl. Dave Walsh along with Rob Dalziel from the Maple Ridge
Treatment Centre and Jim Kelly of Alouette Addictions will make short
presentations before those in attendance break into groups, like at
the last town hall meeting about crime.

Those groups are to be assigned topics: drugs and youth; recognizing
problems and how to help; treatments; what to do if you suspect a
grow-op; public drug activity.

John Leeburn, municipal director of communications for Maple Ridge,
said the meeting will provide residents a chance to share their
experiences and perceptions, to identify and prioritize issues and
work towards solutions.

Leeburn said council will use information from the town hall meetings
to create or amend bylaws, as well as lobby other levels of government
for support.

The last meeting in the series is scheduled for Nov. 1. The topic is
to be homelessness.