Vernon vs. Medicine Hat

They're about the same size, with Medicine Hat at 62,935 in 2017 and Vernon 40,116 (2016 numbers).
Medicine Hat was incorporated in 1898; Vernon in 1892.
And it's just as cold on the streets of Vernon as Medicine Hat, especially this February.

But that's where the similarity ends, especially with the homeless issue that appears rampant.


This from the Medicine Hat Mayor: 
"No one in the city spends more than 10 days in an emergency shelter or on the streets. If you've got no place to go, they'll simply provide you with housing. We're pretty much able to meet that standard today. Even quicker, actually, sometimes," Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston tells As It Happens host Carol Off," reported CBC.

Here in Vernon, last Fall's civic election had a candidate who headed a task force on homelessness.  He didn't succeed in his bid.  But city council thought they'd "outlaw" shopping carts to solve the homelessness issue!


Recently, the Vernon Morning Star featured a well-respected businessman detailing that "the issues haven't changed (but) the frequency of issues has."

Here are excerpts:

"Larry Fisher of Vernon’s Fisher’s Home Hardware, located at the same location in downtown Vernon on Coldstream Avenue and 33rd Street for 84 years, attended a meeting Feb. 6 at Vernon’s Schubert Centre with members of the downtown business community, service providers, and the Social Planning Council of North Okanagan.

"A lot of stuff mentioned

 has been talked about many times before.

 It’s beating the same old bush."

Larry Fisher, Fisher's Hardware

Not surprisingly, Larry Fisher could only stomache an hour of the meeting.
I doubt I would've made it that long.



“I didn’t think too much was said or done, and it’s the same old deal," said Larry, continuing: "These meetings have the same old results.  A lot of stuff mentioned has been talked about many times before. It’s beating the same old bush."

The paper continues:  "Fisher’s Hardware, said Fisher, is at Ground Zero.



Their property adjoins the Gateway Shelter and the former Enlighten Salon, which has been turned into another shelter facility. Unlike other businesses that have a storefront on a city sidewalk – and Fisher makes it clear he’s not diminishing their problems – Fisher’s Hardware has adjoining property, paid parking in behind the store, a compound area, and back of the store.

Staff constantly deal with trespassers through their property, he said. They remove garbage of all types, including shopping carts, on a daily basis. They collect spent needles, drug-related paraphernalia and condoms. The sex and drug trade business, said Fisher, is right at hand. They clean up human feces.

Staff deal with shoplifting as a result of interaction of the street-entrenched people on their property and travelling to and fro, he said. There’s outside theft, loitering, graffiti, vandalism, sleeping in entrances, concern by fearful shoppers, said Fisher, that do not like the presence of some of the street people, and feel intimidated by them. There’s the loss of (our) paid parking from people out behind the store that don’t want to park there anymore because “there’s always somebody pooled around their cars.”

“It’s the whole gauntlet,” said Fisher, who said he did not speak at the meeting, and thought the meeting was handled “differently."

“The issues at hand seemed to be smokescreened by the social system,” he said. “Their approach to the whole thing was like ‘what can we do for the homeless,’ never mind what can we do for the business people and the community that’s encroached by them.”

System is right.
Larry Fisher is right.
 
But maybe...just maybe it's the new mayor learning from the old mayor that is the problem! 
 

It's entirely natural for a new mayor to learn the ropes from an outgoing mayor.  Victor Cumming is no exception, and shadowed outgoing Mayor Mund for some time before taking the reigns.

"Maybe the Cumming pup shouldn't have followed old dog Mund around," Kia would've said.

Perhaps.
Because it's widely known that Akbal Mund achieved diddly-squat concerning homelessness.

But Akbal Mund was successful in his bid for councillor.
After winning a seat, he stated "Over the next four years, I'd like to continue working on affordable housing in the community."

Where is that incredulity emoticon when you need it???!!!!
Ah....here it is.

Comment from Mund leaves people incredulous!

Fake News? Even Here?

Sheesh.

The B.C. government's recent budget that stated it was downloading MSP premiums onto employers based on payroll led to some interesting news inconsistencies.

A local radio's website reported Vernon Mayor Mund stated the downloading of health premiums would lead to a new cost of $448,000. for Vernon.

Then tonight, on CHBC-TV news, Kelowna's Mayor Basran said the health premium downloading onto employers would cost Kelowna about $225,000. annually.  (As of blog publish, CHBC-TV website hadn't yet loaded the mayor's comments from tonight's 6 p.m. news).

Okay...okay.
Since there are no easily accessible payroll numbers, let's just use population...
Vernon's population is about 59,000.
Kelowna's population is about 195,000.

Presumably Kelowna's staff would number in the area of three times those of Vernon, based on population alone.
Again, presumably, there would perhaps be up to three times the number of bureaucrats to administer Kelowna than Vernon's administration.

So is Mayor Basran incorrect about his numbers?
Or is Mayor Mund wrong about his numbers for Vernon?

"It's more likely that the story writer(s) didn't do enough research," Kia would've offered.

Or maybe Kelowna's--or Vernon's--bureaucrats keep their mayors in the dark?

One would think both mayors would have a reliable source within their own departments!
Somebody's wrong, somewhere!

Apart from the everyday atrocious spelling and grammatical errors in the local media.

Just Ask Retailers

They know the North Okanagan's economy.
They feel it every day when totalling cash register receipts.

And the public sees it too, with the plethora of For Lease, For Sale and For Rent signs in the area's commercial and industrial areas, and the burgeoning "inventory", as realtors call it, on the market.

The Chamber of Commerce manager, George Duffy, hears it from his membership.

And youth know it too, as they struggle to find "meaningful employment" as one 19 year old put it last year.
"I can't even afford gas for my car if I'm flippin' burgers for $10 an hour," he says.  So he left Greater Vernon and moved north "where the money is, because there are no employers here." 

But Vernon's Economic Development Manager, Kevin Poole, is splitting hairs with his opposition to the report.  He doesn't have the answers either.

The Conference Board of Canada's just-released report indicates that Vernon's total gross domestic product (GDP) has--in 7 years--dropped from $2.1 million to $1.5 million.   If GDP statistics make your eyes glaze over, then this will hit home:  the report indicated that Vernon's jobs dropped from 31,300 to 19,000 in that same 7 years.

That's 12,300 fewer jobs in seven years!
Whether it's in Vernon alone, or in areas that include Spallumcheen and Lumby (higher manufacturing), the City of Vernon is frantic to attract new employers. 

Mayor Sawatzky was reported in the Morning Star as saying, "We can't give tax holidays as they can in the U.S., which caused municipal bankruptcies."  Businesses are well aware there are no tax holidays.

Yet with all this information--most of which has been obvious to most people throughout these seven years--the District of Coldstream still wants a Town Center.  (reminder: find an incredulity icon???!!!)

VernonCentral.ca

...the only place you'll see videos of Viper Hockey Games and Stars of the Game.

Free classifieds.  Great local restaurant features with Phantom Foodie.  Tips on getting--and keeping--a job.  Hugh and Kathy's Excellent Adventure.  Physio advice. 

And lots more.

Welcome to the community, VernonCentral.ca.

"Any classifieds for dog treats?", asks Kia.