The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor City council will seal off a notorious downtown alleyway as the first step in a crackdown on Main Street drunkenness, loitering and intimidation. Council decided Tuesday to promptly gate off the narrow walkway between the Hong Kong Restaurant and Indian Heart Creations. 'It's just a crime zone,' said Coun. Bill Hanson. Coun. Hanson's concerns were echoed at Tuesday's council meeting as representatives from a Main Street business asked for the alley to be closed. The alley, which has been used as a walkway for generations, was described as an outdoor urinal and a dumping ground for empty liquor bottles. See ' Knives...' on pg. 3 Continued from pg. 1 One of the business reps said many customers refused to visit the business during the Main Street repaving of 2007, as the alley was their only way to access the entrance. But Main Street's problems with vagrants go beyond the alley, in his view. 'I've had three knives pulled on me for not giving people smokes, money or alcohol,' he told an attentive council. He said one downtown business fenced off the alcove at the rear of the building because it had become a gathering spot for people who use drugs or pass out. Added his colleague: 'It's to the point where a lot of citizens won't even come uptown to go shopping because of the loitering, the begging of money and cigarettes, spitting on the sidewalks as well as spitting on individuals as they walk by, and the disposal of garbage on the streets and sidewalks.' The business reps called for the immediate return of regular RCMP foot patrols down Main Street and the removal of a sidewalk bench often used by intoxicated people. Mayor George Fontaine said council was assured the foot patrols were supposed to be happening on a regular basis, but he was told that's not the case. Coun. Colleen McKee said she had just coincidentally heard other concerns about drunkenness on Main Street. 'I was just on Main Street today and I was speaking to a couple that just recently moved to Main Street,' she said, 'and they said they look outside their window at 5:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday and there's someone standing there, drinking a beer on Main Street.' Coun. McKee said she would be seeking clarity as to what sorts of behaviours actually constitute crimes. But one of the business reps said even when laws are clearly being broken, the RCMP's response time can be frustratingly delayed. He relayed a Saturday afternoon incident in which he saw a knife pulled on someone. He was told no Flin Flon RCMP were on call, so a Mountie from Cranberry Portage would have to be called _ with the officer's arrival coming 90 minutes later. Mayor Fontaine said council would take such concerns seriously and arrange for a meeting with the RCMP. He said enough concerns had been raised about the Hong Kong alley that a decision would likely be reached in short order. The mayor was proven correct. Later that night, as council met in private following their public meeting, the closure of the alley was finalized. Tall gates were to go up at both ends of the alley as soon as possible. Coun. Hanson said the alley could potentially be reopened if there is a public demand, but he believes the majority of people favour having it closed. He said complaints about the alley have grown over the last decade. Coun. Karen MacKinnon said a Main Street smoking ban has also been suggested, but it remains to be seen whether council goes that route.
