Editor:
Brice O’Neill’s concern for the safety of Williams Lake is commendable, which is why I am shocked he would want to stop the brilliant momentum Kerry Cook and her council have generated.
O’Neill was absolutely correct stating that past council members started a necessary spark against the dark night of crime then overshadowing Williams Lake. My question is: what else could they have done? As city leaders, it was their civil duty to respond to such a grievous problem. Does this negate that crime had peaked during Nelson’s leadership? No.
Reality is that Cook, her council, and the many Williams Lake citizens and RCMP professionals are responsible for fanning that small spark into a raging fire.
It is a raging fire that continues today to burn away the awful darkness that has for so many years plagued our neighbourhoods and our streets.
Mr. O’Neill appears neglectful of this truth. Instead, he appears to both idealize the past and romanticize the future. My arguments, however, deal with the present.
The truth is there is no way of knowing whether that spark started by Ed Mead, as commendable as it is, would continue under Nelson’s tutelage. An undeniable truth is that Mead’s spark is a part of the blazing fire that is Cook’s continuing work and success against crime. This we should think about.
Do you, Mr O’Neill, really wish to break what is proven successful? Do you long for the citizens of Williams Lake to stamp out that fire, and to risk stepping back into the darkness that existed before? Of course not! You, like me, want what is best for Williams Lake.
And the best is currently at helm.
Michael A. Jones
Williams Lake