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‘Regretting my move to Ridge’

On any given day, at any given time, a walk through Reg Franklin Park or by Eric Langton elementary reveals how serious the problem is.
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Selkirk Avenue business owners Alicja Wnorowski is bothered by prostitutes and homeless people in the area.

Editor, The News:

Re: Tired of deteriorating downtown (The News, Sept. 12).

I moved to Maple Ridge in May with the knowledge it is a municipality in transition, with some growing pains, and have come to realize, a serious drug problem.

The Ridge Meadows RCMP are now on speed dial.

On any given day, at any given time, a walk through Reg Franklin Park or by Eric Langton elementary reveals how serious the problem is.

I am witness to numerous drug deals and drug users getting high.

Groups of teens use the park to gather and do drugs in the open, choosing not to hide the reality.

I have learned you have to have nerves of steel to walk your dog through the ‘drug park’.

I could change the route I walk, but figure going left instead of right will just highlight that the problem is wide spread.

Purchasing a home in Maple Ridge was an investment that I am starting to regret.

My concern is that few homeowners are choosing Maple Ridge to reside in and the majority of buyers are renting their investment to drug dealers and sex trade workers.

It is frustrating that there doesn’t seem to be a solution to the problem or enough resources.

It is unfortunate that a municipality nestled between the Fraser River with the Golden Ears Mountain peaks, as a beautiful backdrop, has such an ugly secret to hide.

Now is the time for action, for a solution, for the RCMP and district council to step up and put their skills to use.

Don’t keep passing the buck.

Tanya Robertson

Maple Ridge

 

Salvation Army does nothing but help people

Editor, The News:

Re: Tired of deteriorating downtown (The News, Sept. 12).

I have lived in Maple Ridge for some time now and I have to completely disagree with this woman in the article.

First off, this stuff happens in every city, town and municipality. No one really has any control over this.

I find it very difficult to believe that the Caring Place has any thing to do with these woman out there ‘working.’ I am sure that it is helping in any way it can to get these ladies help.

However, they have to want to be helped.

And as far back as I can remember, people have been dropping off there garbage and large, unusable furniture at thrift stores, for as long as they have been in business, and it has to do with no one wanting to pay dump fees for this stuff or the inconvenience of having to drive to a dump.

For years and years I have been seeing stories and letters to the editors about how the Caring Place is horrible.

I would like to say that the Salvation Army has helped out people I know all over the world and they didn’t have addiction problems. They were just people who fell on bad times.

If we were to kick the Caring Place out of the city, could you imagine the chaos, so many people starving because you took away the meal program.

As I read somewhere, the Salvation Army serves 9,000 meals a month.

How many truly homeless people would be roaming the streets because they’d have no place to go without the Salvation Army.

Or what about the many families that the staff at the Caring Place help?

That is incredibly amazing to me and I send all the blessings and good wishes to the people who work there.

I see the difference they make in this neigbourhood and I would gladly tell someone in need to go there.

Instead of pointing fingers as to who to blame on the state of this municipality, I would encourage them to stop being ignorant and self-righteous.

I am so tired of reading all of these assaults on the Caring Place. Please, smarten up already.

Daisy McDonald

Maple Ridge