CHAIRMAN QUITS FOUR PILLARS COALITION

The Central Okanagan Four Pillars Coalition is either teetering or
towering, depending on who is describing Thursday's events

It was announced yesterday that chairman Allen Lueck has resigned and
vice-chair Daryle Roberts has taken a reduced role in the
organization, which was established to deal with drug use in Kelowna

Lueck declined to state directly why he quit, but left no doubt he is
unhappy with the lack of support from the community. "I'd rather not
discuss why I resigned," said Lueck. "The committee can talk about it
if they want to. "But I don't think most people are interested. They
want to ignore the drug problem and just hope it goes away. The public
won't step forward and take a stand

"They know there are homeless, but when it comes to drugs, the public
just doesn't want to think it's happening here." Roberts stepped down
as vice-chair, but a press release from COFPC Thursday stated he was
only reducing his involvement because of an increasing workload in his
capacity as director of the Living Positive Resource Centre. Four
Pillars secretary Brian Mairs said Roberts will continue to serve as
an advisor to the executive and "remain actively involved in the
steering committee and the enforcement pillar sub-committee." Roberts
couldn't be reached for comment. The press release stated: "Rather
than appoint replacements for Allen and Daryle, the executive
committee has unanimously agreed to operate using a consensus-based
model, with the task of chairing steering committee meetings to be
shared by the chairs of the four sub-committees." Spokesperson Robert
James said the group is on the road to success. "With any group of
volunteers working around a complex issue like this one, roles will
change," said James. "His (Leuck's) role has changed and much of the
work has devolved to the subcommittees. Meanwhile, Daryle will still
be actively involved." James said the decision not to name
replacements for Lueck or Roberts indicates that the coalition has
struck on a structure different from the one first envisioned

James said he doesn't agree that the public is blase toward the drug
problem

"People do care, and they are stepping forward," said James. "This is
scarcely a death knell for the organization. Since January, we have
come halfway through a process that took Vancouver six years to
accomplish. We're making great progress."