Pubdate: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Stephen Brown PUTTING NEEDLE EXCHANGE NEAR SCHOOLS IS JUST WRONG I read with great dismay the article about moving the needle exchange to Pandora Avenue. Regardless of the issue of whether we should have such a program, the decision to place it adjacent to two schools, St. Andrew's Elementary and the Victoria Conservatory of Music, is wrong. Both schools and local businesses are already under siege from street people. St. Andrew's has walled itself in with a three-metre fence. The Victoria Conservatory of Music has closed its Pandora entrance with an iron fence and officially moved its address to 900 Johnson St. Your paper stated that the present needle exchange site "has become notorious for the trail of dirty syringes, blood and human waste left on the street. People are often seen shooting up outside the facility." Is this the environment we want to educate our children in? Stephen Brown Victoria - --- MAP posted-by: Derek