FOUR PILLARS COALITION CHAIR STEPS DOWN

The chairman of the Central Okanagan Four Pillars Coalition has resigned,
according to a terse statement released yesterday afternoon.

The coalition was formed a year ago in response to what many perceive to be
an increase in street level crime, drug addiction and homelessness in
Kelowna's downtown core.

Besides wishing Alan Lueck well and thanking him for his hard work, the
coalition gave no explanation for his departure.

However, a source close to the coalition said Lueck had lost the confidence
of the coalition's committee sub-chairs.

"He wasn't a very effective chair," said the source, who asked to remain
anonymous.

"They need somebody who could speak for the group. I don't know if he
understood what the whole process was actually about."

Lueck could not be reached for comment.

The coalition also announced that vice-chairman Daryle Roberts would be
reducing his involvement with the coalition.

"My own board has asked me to step back," said Roberts. "I need to get back
to the Living Positive Resource Centre."

Roberts would not comment on Lueck's departure, but said he views the
reduction of his own involvement as a good thing.

"The other chairs need to be more involved," he said. "This has always been
seen as my project. It's not mine, it's a project of the community."

The coalition is based on the so-called Four Pillars approach adopted in
Vancouver as a solution to the raging drug problem in the Downtown
Eastside. It tries to address the problem by giving equal parts emphasis on
the four pillars--enforcement, harm reduction, treatment and prevention.

The coalition has stopped short of embracing the types of harm reduction
done in Vancouver, such as the safe injection clinic, saying a
made-in-Kelowna solution will be more appropriate. Roberts said he's
satisfied with the progress the coalition has made so far and that city
council will receive an update report sometime in November.