I was sitting in the shade this morning, reading a good book and enjoying the morning coolness.
It was nice, the birds were singing and the garden was so happy with this sun I could almost hear it growing.
From downtown, I could hear the church bells starting in on their Sunday ritual.
A hopeful sound that maybe all is going as it should in the world.
But then the sound of a siren.
Not so unusual at this time of the morning over the last year or so, since the arrival of the homeless, addicted, and mentally ill to our town. The ambulance was on its way to the alley by the homeless shelter downtown.
The sirens have become a sort of daily ritual to Trail city dwellers.
They start at 9 or 10 in the morning and continue every several hours throughout the day.
Sometimes they go past the alley and park somewhere between the walking bridge and the old bridge.
I am in awe of how quickly this change has happened and how little or nothing has been done to stop it.
It made me wonder — what emergent situation will be enough to make our elected officials do more than wash alleyways, move garbage bins, and install light fixtures?
Over the last 15 months the citizens and business people of Trail have been robbed, threatened, intimidated and assaulted, both physically and verbally. They’ve had to observe and endure ‘goings on’ that are outside their scope of experience.
And when they made complaints, there has been little or no response. Or they are made to feel that they are over- reacting to a relatively minor situation that should go away ‘soon’.
Ms Godderis in her Letter to the Editor (Trail Times, May 27) stated that these people did not come to Trail to destroy it.
Whether they did or not, they are destroying it.
They are destroying it not just physically but the very heart and spirit of what this town stands for. Despite the suggestion that these people belong here because they grew up in Trail, or have family here, their behavior shows their disrespect for the town and its citizens.
They seem to have no emotional connection to the idea of Trail as a peaceful place with good people living there.
They are treating it like their own personal ‘free’ shopping mall.
Free to take what they want. Free to behave as badly and irreverently as they wish.
Again I wonder-what incident will be enough to get a response from our elected officials and/or our police?
When will they show that they have concern for the long standing citizens of this town and the very essence of what it stands for?
This past week-end there was a fire above West Trail, undoubtedly from the encampment by Ravine Creek.
It was a fire large enough to require 2 airplanes and what sounded like every firetruck in the region.
Power was down in West Trail for several hours.
So my question to City Hall is, is this enough to get you focused on a solution to the problem?
The potential for disaster from this fire is shocking.
Just think of the impact it would have on quite a number of homes and businesses if the wind was coming down the ravine instead of up.
Do you care enough about the citizens and business people of Trail to work at lessening the possibility of this happening again?
Please, I want to go back to having church bells as usual on Sundays, not sirens.
Patty Crain
Trail