Police priorities puzzling

Ryan Graham, speaking on behalf of the Downtown Penticton Association, made a passionate presentation to Penticton City Council where he addressed concerns about needles in the downtown, as well as a perceived lack of police presence.

Last year, Penticton RCMP hosted a nearly five-hour meeting where residents addressed their concerns. Many Penticton residents are worried about their own safety. Citizens there gave passionate pleas to police about drug houses in their neighbourhood and a constant stream of break-ins.

I was surprised when the officer in charge freely admitted to Penticton City Council that police will stop investigating vehicle break-ins. The reasoning is that they’re nearly impossible to prove. Fair enough and an A-plus for transparency, but why tell everybody?

I was even more surprised that with the recent police media event where they announced their crackdown on distracted driving in the city.

Distracted driving is indeed a concern, but it’s far from a Top 10 issue with the residents of Penticton.

Patsy Cline was gone far too soon.

Sorry if I screwed up your office Oscar pool with my picks last week. I guessed all of the major categories correctly, but went out on a limb with Willem Dafoe. After watching the ceremony I now wonder if Frances McDormand’s Mildred Hayes was a performance for the ages, or, if she was playing herself.

Thank you to the Greater Westside Board of Trade for their hospitality at Thursday night’s Business After Hours event at The Cove. It’s nice to get out and meet some of the movers and shakers in the area.

One of the problems with jury selection is everybody has an excuse as to why they can’t do it. No working person ever wants to be on a jury. I’ve never been called to jury duty, but I doubt I’d get very far once I told them what I do for a living.

Milo, my 10-year-old, long haired dachshund is doing well. My wife has been sick for several days with a bad head cold (scientifically known as the “Hoopis Bloopis,” I think) and he’s been right there by her side. Generally he watches The National with me every night, but instead wants to make sure she’s doing OK. Either that, or he hates the new format with three anchors.

To answer a question that many ask: why do we run the Dan Albas column? Okanagan Newspapers has always run a column by the member of Parliament on a weekly basis (or as often as they wish to write.) Had Karley Scott won the election, we would have offered her the same opportunity. We publish Liberal Stephen Fuhr column in The

Courier. The Herald runs Richard Cannings’ (NDP) column and for many years one by Alex Atakanenko (NDP). It’s never been my policy to tell our columnists what they can and can not write.