iN DISCUSSION: Okanagan winter inversion recipe for the blues

This is where cold hard facts give way to the hottest of takes, mostly mine I suppose. I’m the editor, Marshall Jones.

Want to include yours? Listen, this isn’t the comment section, this isn’t social media. Discussion and debate requires context and a wee bit of bravery — we need your name and where you’re writing from. Include it in your account or email me anytime.

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Okanagan winter inversion recipe for the blues

What a weird winter.

I live on a mountain in the Canadian Rockies, it’s the middle of January and I’ve employed a snow shovel for precisely 12 minutes one morning in December.

Normally, as a wise former Albertan (you need all three of those words in that order or it doesn’t work, heh heh) I would brag about such a thing, but it feels so bizarre I haven’t decided yet if it’s to my overall benefit.

I’m in the Okanagan, so one thing that hasn’t changed is the darkness under that trusty grey toque that stays overhead.

It can really get to me. So when the clouds parted yesterday for some sun and blue sky, I leapt at the opportunity to get into it, a walk on the waterfront to recharge my batteries and stave off winter blues. 

It’s a real thing. What do you do about it? Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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Dire need for new ideas to control disorder, lawlessness

On Monday, I was critical of the RCMP generally and in Kelowna specifically for not rising to the occasion.

Kelowna is the latest city to kick up a fuss over street crime, but this time it’s not merely thousands of Rutland citizens pulling their hair out that can be ignored. Downtown business owners are fed up so it’s getting lots of attention from the media and politicians but strangely not from the RCMP.

That was my criticism. I feel sometimes people need their concerns validated, faith and hope that help is on the way and stability will be restored, that someone’s got this. They need to see it happening. They need to hear from whoever is in charge, you know? 

So, credit where it’s due. Hours later, Kelowna RCMP arranged a Tuesday press conference and the officer in charge took the podium as did the top city official in charge.

Short version: They’re trying, it’s complicated and evolving.

I’m not sure what the goal was or what was accomplished but it’s clear they are working hard, trying hard. I reserve the right and certainly will quibble for sake of the cause, but it is certainly complicated, they need and deserve our support. They have mine. 

But if I have a take-away, not just from that press conference but from our entire region that appears powerless to control disorder and lawlessness, it’s this: We are in dire need of new ideas.

Got one? Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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Who’s responsible for what officials call ‘non-criminal disorder’ in our cities?

It’s rough out there. 

You know what I’m talking about, you see it, you live it.

There have always been homeless people with mental illness or drug addiction or both but now I expect to see some sort of confrontation whenever I am out in public. 

Could be a park, a city street, a bike trail, the parking lot of the grocery store — heck, even in the grocery store.

But it’s the people who work at the grocery store that see it the most. And bookstores and coffee shops and corner stores and all the other places the rest of us can walk away from.

They have to deal with what police call ‘non-criminal disorder’. And the criminal disorder. We’re still trying to figure out which is which.

So, too, the owners of those places who constantly worry about safety and how to protect against violence, theft, arson and damage with cameras, windows, plastic, bars, locks, lockout policies, evacuations and when they’re not doing that, screaming for someone to listen to them and help them.

In Kelowna, the city now appears to be listening instead of bragging it’s no longer the worst in crime stats. It appears poised to do… something, I guess, we’ll see. 

But whether it’s Kelowna or Kamloops, Vernon or Penticton, it’s all well and good to hear from politicians. There’s only so much they can do. What about police?

Do you find it odd how absent the RCMP is in these discussions? I’m starting to wonder if it’s just an old-fashioned notion that police leaders are looked to as community leaders. Are those days gone? Is public faith and trust still important for law enforcement to operate? 

Well? Am I expecting too much? Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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iN RESPONSE

iN RESPONSE to Friday’s newsletter opinion editorial on the weird winter weather

Regarding your comments on our weird winter, do you live in the Canadian Rockies, or in the Okanagan? The Okanagan is between the Cascade and Columbia mountain ranges. We’ve got lots of mountains in BC, as you know. Only the eastern ones are the Rockies.

— Marjorie Budnikas

iN RESPONSE to newsletter opinion editorials on social disorder in our cities

We moved. We moved to a tiny town with no soup kitchen or warming house, and it is safe to walk to the only little store we have.

We left just 2 years ago. A difficult decision. We still miss the beauty but don’t miss the stress of getting from the car to the Walmart without getting approached in Penticton. I do have empathy but why the violence and the theft, cars damaged etc.

It used to be lovely only 14 years ago. How sad.

I appreciate iNFOnews.ca. Part of us is still there. Thank you so much.

— LJ Hamill via email

Good Morning Marshall,
Pretty simple fix really…a change in government is what is required.
The “catch and release” policies set out by the Liberal/NDP Government decades ago came home to roost in most or all parts of Canada so enforcement is useless and almost non existent in some areas…..what’s the point really. You arrest someone on most or all crimes. Then issue them an appearance notice which they ignore anyway and then release them…only to re arrest them hours later many times for the same crime. It’s a joke as is the Liberal Party. Throwing enforcement agencies under the bus for policies or laws they cannot change is paramount to yelling at the curtains…change has to come from the Feds so that the courts once again have some teeth …..my thoughts

— Keith McLachlan via email

Universal Ostrich Farm’s $10,000 fine for not reporting sick birds confirmed

Well there you go. It really does sound like it’s all about the money. They say they are big animal lovers, but you have dying animals and some coughing up a lung and you don’t get a vet out?

— Bonnie Derry via iNFOnews.ca

THOMPSON: The Trump lies about the killing of Renee Good by a masked ICE agent

Masked government agents with no name badges are a hallmark of dictatorships and the antithesis of democracy. There cannot be a free people where there are secret police.

— William Mastop via iNFOnews.ca

People have the right to peaceful protests but when you start instigating and getting up in their faces you are asking for trouble. I don’t always agree with law enforcement but there are other ways of dealing with injustice.

It would help if mainstream media would do their job and tell the truth, who, what, when, where, how. I appreciate your take on things but there is alot more going on in this world then we are being told. Too much division, hate and chaos being created to hide what really is happening.

She didn’t have to die, my sympathy goes out to her children.

— Lori Lemieux via email

Forget arcade, this Kamloops man has a vision for a ‘barcade’

Cool idea. I hope he makes it.

— Bonnie Derry via iNFOnews.ca

Why tech companies are looking to Kamloops for AI server farms

I have a couple of points.

1. It’s been a long standing recommendation that a small nuclear reactor in Fort McMurray would cut extraction emissions and enable the refinement of heavy crude into value added products such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel. I have no idea why this has never been implemented. Instead, we export at discount value to Koch-owned refineries in the US and buy back products created from our own oil at market value. Makes no sense to me. Eby may have a good idea if he handles it correctly.

2. Rogers is using a preemptive strategy to control the eventual limitation of content that targets children. If they can, they will soften the rules by appearing to be part of the solution. Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

— Gary Strachan via email

iN RESPONSE to Monday’s newsletter opinion editorial on social disorder in our cities

Hello,

I think your editorial today is reflecting what a lot of us out here are feeling and quitting social media. I read an article by an American the other day. He was talking about the Venezuelan conundrum. He labelled Trump a terrorist and warned Columbia, Mexico, Canada and Greenland to watch out. He clearly has his sights on us. I think he is interested in more than just our resources. I think he wants to be bigger than Russia.

And something washed through me that hasn’t happened since I was sixteen years old in 1967. At that time all our mandatory reading at school had to do with an apocalypse and armageddon and nuclear war from the Middle East. On The Beach, The Chrysalids, Brave New World etc. and a world war three was a possibility. And it left us with a very insecure shaky feeling. And when that washed over me the other day I just did the same thing. I am not reading the social media news anymore. It’s so outrageous and unbelievable what that despot is doing that I can just see what lengths he could go to to gain our country. And I have no faith whatsoever in our humanity here to stand up and fight it. It sure hasn’t happened down there. In fact if all the democrats had voted…he would not have been elected. We all like to postulate and whine, but when it comes time for the rubber to hit the road we hide under our beds. And I am feeling scared.

And I can’t help but feel that not following the social media news I am sticking my head in the sand. Not sure how to proceed! Lol! I just wish the repair of that neighbour could genuinely start for the world’s sake. But I have a bad feeling that he won’t hesitate to change the constitution and make himself and his nasty little minions an infinite ruling despot….like the leader he just ousted out of Venezuela.

Anyhow….I am old enough I probably won’t be around for the worst of it! For once I am super happy I am the age I am. Sorry for rambling on. I hope this finds you well and have had a great holiday and Happy New Year. Keep up those editorials! I look for them every day and resist writing too often. Lol!!!

Sincerely,

Helen Price via email

Society has a big problem with people who are drug addicted which leads to mental health problems and homelessness, which incidentally is directly affected by the governments closing mental health facilities all over the country. At a certain stage of drug use the brain suffers un repairable damage and the addict is no longer able to help themselves or accept help voluntarily. The Police, any police force, federal, provincial, or municipal, are not equipped or trained to deal with addicted people that are not in control of their own actions. Neither are the laws and courts designed to deal effectively with these individuals. It is time to get these individuals off the streets and out of general populations where they can no longer be a threat to the safety of themselves and our communities and businesses. Contrary to popular belief, it is more humane to institutionalize them for their own protection and that of society as a whole. Society is on a slippery slope and getting to a point of frustration that people will start protecting their families and homes and businesses with whatever means at their disposal, legal or not. If they cannot rely on the protection of law enforcement or society as a whole, human nature is going to kick in to survival mode. It is time the politicians do the job they were elected to do. It is their responsibility to make laws and take whatever action is required to ensure the public is able to live and work and thrive in a safe environment. Hard decisions are needed and must be made, sooner than later.

— Ted Guthrie via email

Police in my opinion are there to enforce laws which are made by legislators. Absolutely they are NOT there to lead anything, and it would be an impossible task to lead people when combined with enforcing laws. No, don’t dump societal disorder in the laps of the police. If we get the legislators to make laws
against being poor, then all the poor people can be arrested and, oops, then what? Not the police’s problem. It is the problem of a society which thinks it is more important to have enough money
to go to Disney World, get married in Hawaii, swan around the world for fun than to pool our money and create a society where everyone is cared for, money or no money. Don’t wanna pay the taxes to help your fellow citizens? Well then, what you see is what you get. Take your pick.

— Jane Duber via email

Until we start dealing with the homeless drug addicts for what they are, sick and mentally ill people who need intervention and medical attention, nothing will change or get better. We’ve become so concerned about feelings over facts that no one has the courage to deal with this in the hard love kind of way it needs to be dealt with.

To suggest we need to hear from the police as community leaders who are silent is ridiculous. They are handcuffed and can’t do anything. They have been voicing their concerns in dealing with the situation. Policy makers at what ever level just want to bury their head in the sand.

— Sergei Tashlikowich via email

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Tara Armstrong Recall Countdown

Tara Armstrong is currently the MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. She rode the coattails of the BC Conservative Party, got elected, then rejected and left the party to serve as an Independent within weeks because the Conservatives were too left wing. Now she gets to spout moronic, hateful rhetoric and claim that her riding supports her.

Elections BC says you can recall an MLA if 40% of eligible voters in the riding sign a recall petition — but not for the first 18 months after an election. Some people started an online petition calling for a byelection once she made a shift to independent, then got herself a raise by forming her own party, but it won’t mean anything until the countdown clock hits zero.

So let the countdown begin!

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Disclaimer: Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of the editor, iNFOnews.ca, iNFOTEL MULTIMEDIA, its partners, principals or advertisers.