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Why wait for next time
The High Prairie Rec Board might want to take a page from the City of Edmonton. There, the city hopes to clean up the disgraceful bar scene on Whyte Avenue. Among other things, Edmonton is looking to double fines for bad bar behaviour, from $250 to $500.
Recent events at the High Prairie Sports Palace have many people scratching their heads as to what the heck is going on. Are recent events there just a fluke, or symptoms of deeper problems. High Prairie’s mayor thought it serious enough to devote most of a council meeting, and a week’s worth of radio air time in December, explaining how the Rec Board would not tolerate bad behaviour.
Since that time, a rash of incidents, including a beating of a Slave Lake hockey coach by some unruly fans and parents, have brought an about face in attitude.
This time it was “boys will be boys’’ and aww shucks “it’s just the heat of the battle.’’ This sounds similar to excuses once used to justify ever escalating violence in the NHL. Eventually, all that nonsense stopped.
In Edmonton, fines for disturbances like jostling and fighting are doubling. Bylaw officers, police, fire and liquor inspectors are making surprise visits to bars every evening. One club was closed. The promise from the City is, more closures are coming if the Whyte Avenue scene doesn’t improve. There are suggestions for surveillance security and improved training for door security staff.
“We’re trying to isolate the bylaw infractions that would have the most relationship to the type of night time activity we are trying to discourage,’’ says an official with the City of Edmonton.
Whyte Avenue hasn’t hit the news in a big way for almost a year, although fights and stabbings are still regular occurrences. The point is, Edmonton isn’t waiting, hoping or crossing their fingers the problems are going to go away, They are meeting, talking and most importantly, taking action. It’s called a proactive approach and worth a look.
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