Remember when PG was a safe place to live

You remember? Since when? I came to PG in 1988 and its always had a violent rep!

Its nice to know one more scrumball of the streets

Sounds like another 3 striker to me!

Imorg - you're right, this has always been a rough town & always will be.

Sounds so Vancouver. Shootings in and around clubs. I hope they shoot the guy who did it. Then we'll be two scum off the street.

seamutt, the gun registration is only for the law abiding citizen so the government can maintain control over a portion of the population. It's the appearance of doing something about a problem, not really dealing with the problem. Thank the Liberals for that. It's like trying to turn the Titanic around with all of those members of the opposition continually opposing common sense. At least by them not voting, is allowing the Conservatives to move ahead on all of these contentious issues. Chester

i guess locking up the crew did a lot of good

Sounds similar to whats happening in Vancouver these days.

PrGeorge had a reputation for being a rough town, however this was mainly because of drinking and fighting. The only shootings were hunting accidents. Now we have gangs and murder during daylight hours.

Where are the Police, and City officials. Why are we not taking action to clean up this town. Has the Mayor forgotton that he is the Chief Magistrate, and that the police work for us on a contractual basis.

We need to have these people checked out by the Income Tax people, etc; to get them to explain their incomes. At the very least they should be charged with Income Tax evasion if they cannot explain where the money comes from.

Wow! Just saved the taxpayers a chunk of change... Maybe we could have a 1 cent a liter tax on the gas and that could go towards the purchase of more bullets for these guys. That way they can blast away at each other and clean up the streets at the same time.

"Experts say the cost of providing protection for the 2010 Olympics will likely work out to more than twice the budgeted $175 million,"

Quite a sum of money, but a far cry from one billion ($ 1.0 Billion), about one third of that.

"The RCMP's security specialists only looked at the costs after Vancouver won the bid in 2003. In the years that followed, despite the private concerns, the RCMP said publicly that they could work with a budget of $175 million. RCMP spokesman Sgt. Pierre LeMaitre now says they need more money.
"We feel there was a lot more that needed to be done and as of this date, it is going to be more than the [$175 million], as far as costs go," LeMaitre said."

Looks like the RCMP didn't get it right either, and they are the experts!

Quaddin your point of letting them blast away at each other has one very bad side affect. Soon a totally innocent person is going to get caught in the cross fire. When that day comes maybe then the Mayor will truly do something as the public outcry will be huge. Till then people as you witness drug happens, phone 911 and report it, don't just brush it aside as a little pot usage in public.

quote from Chris Rock. "We dont need gun control, We need bullet control" "I think every bullet should cost five thousand dollars cuz you know if every bullet cost five thousand dollars there would be no innocent by-standers"

Back to reality here, it doesnt seem like the RCMP and the powers that be arent doing enough to discourage drug usage and drug trade. This problem isnt going away anytime soon.

Sorry, one more post then im done! I didnt mean to put the RCMP on the spot you have to dig much deeper then that because our laws and justice system dont give the RCMP the authority to make a significant effect in these cases.

Wow! Here in Vanvouver tonight. Haven't seen a shooting yet. BUT-__The price of gas in Lytton was 97.9c/litre!!!

The police don't dictate how long these criminals stay in jail.

The courts do.

The very nature of "This man was known to Police" tells us that most likely he has been busted for something in the past. Who knows for what.

It's about time the damm courts worked WITH the police and for the public and put these clowns safely away.

The mayor of Williams Lake at UBCM in Oct 2007 brought up the case of a criminal who while WAITING for a court date on his 5th or sixth charge was out on bail and had committed some dozen or more crimes in the meantime.

I'll say it until I am blue in face....
3 strikes and you are out.

"Has the Mayor forgotton that he is the Chief Magistrate..."
Wow- who would ever want to be mayor? This shooting is his fault, the drug problem, the flood, the forest industry problems, the cougars losing, the snow on the streets, the pot holes, the pollution, the dead downtown. Don't forget the flood last year, this cold weather, people's gambling, people's drinking, speeding tickets, parking tickets, Brinks shut down, Winton shut down, Canfor layoffs, pine beetles on the golf course, on and on. Damn major! What were we thinking?! Things were so much better when Backhouse was mayor!

Imorg

Violent rep yes but in 88 it was out in the parking lot or outside the old "rock pit" and go time, fists only. Now its targeted hits with guns....big difference. So yeah it was safer back then

PG has always been a "safe" community to live in. I really don't like the idea of these guys doing their business in public.

I came to Pr Geo in 1968, things weren't this bad as I recall. Sure, there were drug dealers around but they didn't go around shooting people on the street, they'd take em in the bush and beat the crap out of them instead.

There isn't much you can do to discourage this. 1) Hollywood has idolized the gangster lifestyle for many years, they see themselves as heros. 2) There is way too much money to be made realativly easily. You risk your life but that is all part of the fun. 3) The police can put 3 years into a sting operation, have one minor screw up (they are human) and when it comes to trial, the case gets thrown out. 4) The laws are so backwards that they hardly get any actual punishment anymore, they get rehabilitated.

This is going to accelerate, lunarbase is right, someone innocent is going to get killed. Then maybe people will take a stand.

No one gonna mention police "death squads"? They are in Brazil or were. They ain't nice but then again drug pushing gangsters ain't nice. Just think. If you reply to this comment we could both be charged with conspiracy to commit. Big stretch, eh?

Criminals do not register or use registered handguns.
Period.
So the Handgun registry is useless in fighting crime and, a joke.
(Actually,the entire Firearms Registry program is a joke,and it is time our useless politicians got off their lazy asses and fixed the cash burn involved,notice they don't like to talk about it much?)
The cops have all they can handle and they are frustrated too.They understand the revolving door process better than anyone.
Our elected representatives do nothing to fix the situation,but the real mystery is why?
The problem is with our judges and the justice/court system,without a doubt.
Why it is that way is a complete mystery.
Something has changed in the attitudes of those who are supposed to be dealing out the penalties for breaking the law and protecting us all.
This kind of incident at Moxies is everywhere now.It is no longer unusual or rare.
And innocent bystanders are begining to pay the price,but still our leaders and our courts do nothing.
There is an old saying that drug money flows up hill,and there may in fact be some truth to it.
Drugs and crime generate BIG dollars for those involved in it.
Do they buy homes,fancy cars,have families,and shop in our stores,just like the guy who works in a mill?
Probably.
And if that is the case,then they are part of the economy whether we like it or not.
So could it be that someone up in the ivory towers of government etc. that COULD be doing something to fight, back doesn't want to?
It IS getting worse at an amazing rate,despite what we are told,and the only way we can protect ourselves is to stay away from known hangouts for those involved in the world of crime,and we do know where those places are for the most part!
I believe that the politician who finally steps up and actually does something about the situation,will probably be elected for life,but the odds of that happening are about zero!
Society is in BIG trouble, and it is coming soon to the town you live in!

I have been in PG for more than 20 years and i do not remember PG being this way at all. I am really concerned that so many people are just accepting this kind of thing as long as it is only the bad guys getting killed. As a previous poster sugeested: what about innocent bystanders? I dontlike this new side of PG at all. I think that the RCMP and the courts have to clamp down HARD on all violent crimes. If the cops want more staff in order to do the job then I will pay. If the courts can't keep the bad guys off the streets, then i will vote for the party the promotes reform, regardless of it's position on the environment. People need to be safe. The law needs to be respected.

I read an article the other day (shock shock) that was interesting.

http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-176621-RCMP-DAREs-kids-to-live-healthy.html

It really starts at home when your children are young. Parents need to step it up a bit.

well if you guys remember a few years ago the crew's top 3 were put in jail for 7 and 10 year sentences and it basically did nothing to stop the crack and shit coming into town.the crack is coming into canada on boats and airplanes i highly doubt the people selling in pg have anything to do with this.locking up these ppl will do nothing for the city they will be replaces by others in a week

Sorry, but PG has always had an above average murder rate per capita. The nature of this shooting may be new but a murder is a murder be it by gun, knife or beating.

Humans are either slow learners or never learn anything at all. I'm talking about those that claim getting tougher is the only way to deal with these drug sellers and their customers. This will never work either and the proof is all over the world. For instance I read papers on line from all over the world. Recently I read about two drug smuggler's that had their heads removed from their bodies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This has been going on there for many years and yet the government there fully admits that drug usage is increasing in their country. Even under the threat of being headless does not deter the people that want to make lots of money or their customers and if that does not work then it is obvious that nothing having to do with threats of jail or violence will ever work. It's like saying that if I beat my head against a wall I'll become more intelligent.

The only way to deal with this is take the high profits out of this issue. When was the last time you heard of two beer companies killing each other on the street to secure market share? Legalize pot and tax it like other legal drugs. Take the penalties out of the other drugs so the profits fall greatly. Then take the tax takings from the pot and treat the people who need help with addiction. It is not a claim that this will stop all harm but instead that the amount of harm will fall. Bring it out in the open where we can deal with these issues clearly and honestly.

But I'm not hopeful... like I said, most people learn slowly or not at all.

Good article Heidi.
My youngest daughter was on the honor roll and principles list for every report card she ever received. That was until the middle of grade 12 at College Hieghts Secondary. Seems her pals thought it would be good for her to start doing drugs. Then they decided they should be hangin with these drug dealers that live down on Oak street, (anyone want the dealers name's and address?). Well here's hoping it was one of them, can't wait to hear the scum's name.

Oh ya, when I told my daughter that if she was ever caught hangin with the scumbags again I would make thier lives miserable, she replied "how you going to do that? a lot of thier customers are cops".

lostfaith, your daughter is pulling your leg. If you believe her, that's your problem. And vocer, bar fights outside the rock pit, generator, etc are just the tip of the iceberg.. and expected in this blue collar town. Whether its knives, guns, bats, etc...pg has always been violent..just that most people due to the lack of media attention or police releasing the info, were ignorant of the fact.

Yes, I guess lostfaith that it's easier said than done. My oldest is soon to be 12 so I haven't entered that part of parenthood yet thank god. I'm just hoping that we keep our relationship the way its been since he learned to talk. That kid tells me everything....so far. I'm very verbal with my beliefs and what I consider right from wrong...treat others decent and hope they follow.

lmorg do you work for the RCMP? If so you and I should put our differences aside and go talk to kids in their classrooms like in the article I posted. Start with kindergarten. I met a 29 yr. old man when I worked at the Simon Fraser Lodge who was shot in the eye. He was paralyzed, blinded but still remembers the day. He kept saying,"Heidi, you think I would've learned the first time. I want to go around to schools and share my story." he said. I could try to look him up.

"lostfaith" your daughter is getting some very bad information obviously!
Cops are not included as drug dealers customers and trust me,if they were,we would know about it.
That's a load of crap.

Not to start a fight but google "officers arrested for drug use". I'm sure it can happen anywhere and not just in New York.

Heidi:
There is a DARE program in PG, and trained DARE officers offer the program to grade 5 (or is it 6) students in most -- if not all -- schools in town.
If you're interested in helping out, contact the Community Policing office and talk to the DARE coordinator.

Thanks Tim. Why does it start at such an old age? By then some kids are lost already.

I agree, it should start a lot earlier. I think that when the program was started it was designed to target grade 5-6 kids because they felt that it was at that age that kids were beginning to experiment with drugs/alcohol/cigarettes/violence.

http://www.darebc.com/home

Exactly "beginning"...Need to scare them before they even think about it. Can't let them even get one taste of it.

You can imagine my poor heart when my son started middle school in Sept. Now that was scary but so far so good.

:)

I assume from these comments, that nobody is going to the guy's funeral ?