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.
One of comedian Jay LenoÕs favourite childhood anecdotes is how his father, when called upon to be the disciplinarian, would often wiggle his belt as though he were about to unbuckle it. The funny part is, the belt never actually came off. Clearly dear old dad hoped the mere idea of a strap to the behind would be enough to set his son straight. For Jay, this wavering approach obviously worked well. But the fear of real discipline is not enough for everybody, as the bad apples of the Flin Flon area snowmobiling community illustrate. As The Reminder reported Monday, RCMP have been fielding an abundance of complaints of reckless snowmobilers zipping around city limits unsafely and illegally. The report was hardly an eye-opener. While there will always be some problems with some snowmobilers, things seemed to have boiled over this winter. Over the Christmas holidays, for instance, I must have heard snowmobilers roar by after midnight on four or five different occasions. One night I was stirred awake at 2:30 by what sounded like two cats viciously fighting. Soon my brain unscrambled the signal and I realized it was a snowmobile equipped with a noise-inducing stinger. While I usually only heard the offenders (and they donÕt have to be very close for that), I did catch a glimpse of one of them. At first he looked like he wanted to be a responsible rider, but he soon revved things up, laughing at the residential speed limit to which all motor vehicles must comply. At first I thought I may have just been the victim of bad luck. But remarks from people in other parts of town, along with MondayÕs RCMP news release, proved I am not alone in my chagrin. Noise and speed arenÕt the only issues, either. IÕve seen several sets of snowmobile tracks in places they shouldnÕt be, namely playgrounds and school yards. Other tracks cut stunningly close to houses. On Green Street, someone had to stretch a two-by-four across a path just a few feet from a home. ÒSki-doo Keep OutÓ reads an attached cardboard sign, written in felt pen. Debate Whenever complaints about snowmobilers rise, there is renewed debate about our municipal snowmobile laws. Are they too liberal? Do we have too many designated routes? Should we have city routes at all? Back in late 2001 and early 2002, RCMP were so fed up with snowmobilers veering off designated paths and traveling at high speeds that they were prepared to lobby city council to restrict the routes. In 2004, city council had to publicly urge the boisterous snowmobilers heard ripping down Ross Lake at all hours of the night to tone it down or potentially face less lenient laws. In 2005 concerns over snowmobilers whizzing down a childrenÕs sliding hill made their way to City Hall. Comments from council such as Òhopefully those people wonÕt ruin it for the restÓ followed. None of this has worked to satisfaction. ThatÕs partly because there are always new, immature snowmobilers climbing onto machines and partly because some snowmobilers arenÕt protecting a heckuva lot with their helmets. So whatÕs the answer? Some people think that the snowmobiling community can police itself, with the law-abiding majority exerting pressure on the brash minority, but thatÕs hardly fair. Snowmobilers arenÕt one big happy family that makes decisions as a cohesive unit. Most choose to be responsible, but some do not. WhatÕs really needed is a sign that we as a community mean business. Maybe that means city council temporarily restricting routes. Maybe it means more effort on the part of citizens to identify and report the bad apples. Perhaps it means both or something different entirely. Whatever is done, we cannot minimize this problem. A small percentage of snowmobilers are seriously disturbing residents and in some cases putting them in danger. Wiggling the belt is no longer good enough. Local Angle runs Fridays.
