r now at least, Tyler Ducharme says he can’t take it anymore and he’s thinking about leaving Maple Ridge.
The day that Ducharme’s complaints about living next to the CEED Centre appeared in the media, would-be thieves tried to break into his property on 117th Avenue.
He heard about the attempted break-and-enter Thursday about 11 p.m. while out with friends when he got a call from the alarm company.
“They were certainly trying to get in,” Ducharme said Friday.
“You are crazy to live in Haney and not have a full alarm and a couple of dogs,” he said.
It’s not the first such attempt. About six years ago, thieves broke into his house twice, in addition to four of five other attempted break-ins.
Ducharme said he regularly calls police as he deals with threats and petty crime.
Ridge Meadows RCMP helped a lot, he added.
“They’re very supportive. They answered our questions. They were there for us.”
But he doesn’t like the way the District of Maple Ridge is managing its lot next door, where the Community Education on Environment and Development Centre is located.
The CEED Centre Society owns the building, while the district owns the lot.
Last week, Ducharme presented council with several questions, generally asking why homeless people are allowed to camp out on the lot. He contends too much focus is on addressing social problems rather than simply managing the property.
“I don’t live my life constantly calling in problems when they’re not doing their job.”
According to Ridge Meadows RCMP, there was no sign of an attempted break in.
But Ducharme says the alarm was triggered by motion caused by someone trying to enter the garage.
Police also say there doesn’t appear to be “abnormal criminal activity” in the area. Since the notorious Northumberland Court was bulldozed last October 2011, there’s been a “marked drop” in crime in the area, say police.