Pubdate: Sat, 25 May 2013
Source: Tribune, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013, Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact: http://www.wellandtribune.ca/letters
Website: http://www.wellandtribune.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2807
Author: Allan Benner

THORNS IN THE ROSE CITY CORE

WELLAND - Eileen Santoro arrived at her Division St. business Tuesday 
morning to find a decorative concrete finial had been broken off of 
the sign it once adorned, left on the grass beside it.

It was just another day of running a business in downtown Welland, 
dealing with a problem that's far too common, she says.

"I've had so much vandalism on my corner since 1989 it's 
unbelievable. We're talking thousands and thousands of dollars."

Santoro says it's the third time the sign at Window Decor has been vandalized.

The last time it happened, the finial was mounted to its base with 
thick metal rebar in hopes that the reinforcement would prevent 
further vandalism.

She recalled being reassured that someone would break their foot if 
they tried to kick it.

It didn't work. The now bent rebar was visible amongst the wreckage 
which included the broken-in-half stone slab it was mounted on.

A hypodermic needle was left lying on the grass, not far from a city 
sidewalk used by children on their way to school - the most recent of 
many she's found over the years.

"Kids walk through here. There's a school bus that arrives over there 
every morning," Santoro complains. "It's pretty sad."

She has mounted security lights in the area, hoping they would help 
resolve the problem.

"I had a light there, and anther one there and two around the side," 
she says, gesturing to the lawn. "They just broke them all."

It's a problem that has plagued other businesses in the area.

In the six years Gail MacLaurin has worked at Elisha House, the 
faith-based family support centre around the corner from Santoro's 
shop has had signs vandalized and a break-in.

"It's sad. It's really sad. I don't know if it's just this part of 
town or what it is, but I love this part of town," says MacLaurin, 
Elisha House's executive director.

MacLaurin said she's more concerned about the hypodermic needles, 
including one found at Elisha House recently.

"I don't know if it's heroin or what it is, but it's such an epidemic 
everywhere now. But why leave your needles lying around?" she asks. 
"There are needle exchange programs and disposals, so why leave them 
out? That part I don't get."

She says there are many families with young children living in the 
area, as well as a day-care centre. And she's worried about the 
potential that a someone might step on a needle.

"We have young families waiting for the bus on our property here 
every morning and every night," she says. "They're at risk, too."

Another area businessman who would not provide his name for fear of 
retaliation says he's been dealing with the same problems for years.

"The police have been raiding places along the street here for the 
last two years. They raid them, they haul people out in handcuffs. An 
hour later, they're back in business selling their drugs. It's not 
new," he says.

Santoro says she has contacted the city, wondering if it would be 
possible to install security cameras or take steps to help prevent 
problems in the area.

City manager Craig Stirtzinger said there are things the city could 
do to help resolve the problems.

"I know other cities have looked into things like cameras that enable 
police to do their jobs better. ... It's something a municipality 
would determine through its council if that's a level of service that 
they would provide in any given area," he says. "It's something we 
can look at."

Niagara Regional Police Acting Staff Sgt. Tom Manny says installing 
enough cameras to provide effective security could be extremely 
expensive for a city of Welland's size.

While the presence of cameras might act as a deterrent, Manny points 
out that there are closed-circuit security cameras all over London, 
England, and serious crimes still occur in that city.

"It's a problem not likely to go away, but we try to stay on top of 
it as often as we can," he says. "Oftentimes with these sorts of 
offences, we move them from one place to another."

He says officers in Welland have been discussing the downtown during 
morning and evening briefings, with instructions to pay close 
attention to the area.

"We will try to have a more visible presence down there, and for the 
past several months we've had officers walking the beat on lunch 
hours as well. But when we're out there, usually the bad people aren't."

Manny says police have long been aware of problems in the area, but 
they have no reason to believe the problems are getting worse.

"We're really good at using information that we get from the public 
to go out and fight crime," he says. "But if we don't get good 
information in, sometimes the projects we do out there may not be as 
effective as they might be."

Rather than taking steps that would likely just force the people 
using needles to find another location, MacLaurin says she'd like to 
find a way to help them.

"We can watch, but the kids are just going to move somewhere else," 
she says. "What are we doing for the kids? The drug users, drug 
abusers, we really don't have much around here for them. Are we going 
to fix the problem? Probably not."

She says there are many people living in the area who are "down and 
out and struggling."

"How do we walk alongside them and show them love?"
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom