Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jun 2005
Source: Kamloops Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 Kamloops Daily News
Contact:  http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/679
Author: Michele Young

'IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME'

A two-hour discussion about cutting crime around a downtown apartment 
building failed to leave area residents feeling any more secure Wednesday.

City officials, neighbours, tenants and the owner of the Uplands Apartments 
building sat down to talk about drug, theft and vandalism problems that 
have plagued the area around First Avenue and Columbia Street.

"It was a waste of time," said a woman who lives in a house immediately 
next to the Uplands. She was accompanied by her 15-year-old daughter, who 
has seen people injecting drugs outside the apartment.

Uplands owner Robert Wing said he is trying to evict problem tenants and 
would like to have more mental-health renters. Currently eight of his 11 
units are occupied by mental-health patients.

But the woman next door wasn't placated by that. She said there was one 
mentally ill man living in the building who would stand on his balcony and 
masturbate. With a home day care and two schools nearby, not to mention her 
own four kids right beside the apartment, she said strict monitoring of 
mental-health patients is imperative.

"I want to be sure they're not dangerous," she said, adding she finds at 
least five needles a day in her back yard.

Rae Samson, assistant manager with community mental health under the 
Interior Health Authority, said Wing has been working with her department 
to improve conditions in the building.

"I've found him pretty good to work with," she said. "I think he's open to 
making it a better place."

Two tenants who are looking to move out would disagree.

Aly Munger and Ron Stone showed reporters through their third-floor, 
one-bedroom apartment.

On one of the narrow staircases, a man who doesn't live in the building was 
hunched over, preparing a needle for his next hit. The outer walkways on 
the second and third floors were dotted with blood splashes that led up to 
the windows outside the unit next to theirs.

On Tuesday night, there was an altercation in that unit and the man living 
there got cut from the two broken windows. Smashed glass, blood and jagged 
panes remained.

Stone said he's still recovering from being beat up five weeks ago. He 
needed stitches to repair cuts to his lip and over one eye.

"I don't want to live here. It's too dangerous for me," said Munger, 
standing inside the couple's tiny apartment with its dirty beige rug and 
compact kitchen.

Almost immediately across the street, kids at St. Ann's Academy yelled and 
played noon-hour games.

During the meeting, Wing said he has installed his own home-made motion 
light, which has been destroyed twice.

City crime reduction officer Pete Backus said there are things that can be 
done to improve safety in the area, such as trimming back trees and bushes, 
installing lights and adding speed bumps to the alleyway.

Samson also suggested putting in needle boxes so at least they would be 
dropped in a safe place.

Wing said he can't differentiate between good tenants and bad ones, which 
is why he contacted mental health about taking some clients.

A representative of Connaught Management Ltd. said there are ways of 
screening potential tenants, such as taking applications and calling 
references.

City special projects manager Ron McColl said another meeting will be held 
in July. In the meantime, there will be follow-ups done by mental health. 
He'd also like to see the west end community association get involved.

Coun. Terry Lake, who is on the city police commission, said the situation 
at Uplands is similar to problems that were being experienced in North 
Kamloops recently. The community became involved and problems have 
declined, he said.

"The one thing that was alarming to me is kids are going to two different 
schools in that area," he said. Those children could easily witness acts of 
prostitution, drug dealing and shooting up.

"Most of these problems are created by the drug trade."

Lake said he believed the meeting was productive. Having the neighbourhood 
association, mental health and the police involved is a plus, he added.
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