I have worked in the city recreation dept for 33 years,i am the longest
serving employee in that dept since it opened in 1971.Last night council
meeting there was a comment that kids should not go to civic center its
not safe i can tell you that we never will put any child at risk or even any
adult and safety matter gets dealt with very quickly we have inspections every
month that are wcb standard.The comments by Mr vi count i can let you know
that our staff no about the poverty situation in our town and i myself will never
let a child go away knowing they don’t have the one dollar fee to get in i expressed
this to my boss and they feel we need to care for our users and the general public
at large,i have had kidswith tears in there eyes and i will not turn my back on them.
The archery club left because there were two different groups and one group moved
to the Pentecostal school and do not have to pay so its alittle hard to compete with
that,we lost a good man in dick st Louis he did alot for archery and boxing which is another issue the boxing club had trouble as the instructor gets paid and dick did not
want to be paid just put the money into the boxing programme its a real shame when
it didn’t go this spring the numbers were not there i feel it will go in the fall with some help,the volleyball went to Charles hays the school charged half price but i feel we can
get them back if we can work something out with them as some of them are not happy with the school deal.We are saving 3 thousand a week by not replacing the management Calvin grav can do this job all need is a little help which our rec coordinator can do with alittle incentive money wise.We do not need to shut down
in June and i feel Calvin can explain that to city council in his report.I feel i need to get this out as i felt sad that folks out there thought we do not care ,we do care that’s why i have been trying to keep the center open for our kids safety and well being.
WCB is a safety standard for you, the employee. I did not find there comments to harsh at the meeting, maybe not thought out.
don’t find you heartless ajaye maybe selfish and greedy and worrying about how its your right to have your job 
I was curious what incident the person we’re talking about was referring to. I think you’d be hard pressed to find a facility in town with more trained personnel on site in case of an emergency.
the fire department, and I was not even slightly pressed to come up with that one…
tim hortons
Sorry, I should have specified–a place where we encourage children to hang out during their free time.
That’s funny decker !! True though 
You don’t spend much time around Tim’s I guess.
Well good if we all think Tim’s is such a great place for the kids to chill I guess we won’t fret about the Civic closing for two weeks. I was just curious what makes the Civic so unsafe in that person’s eyes.
I have worked in the city recreation dept for 33 years,i am the longest
serving employee in that dept since it opened in 1971.Last night council
meeting there was a comment that kids should not go to civic center its
not safe i can tell you that we never will put any child at risk or even any
adult and safety matter gets dealt with very quickly we have inspections every
month that are wcb standard.The comments by Mr vi count i can let you know
that our staff no about the poverty situation in our town and i myself will never
let a child go away knowing they don’t have the one dollar fee to get in i expressed
this to my boss and they feel we need to care for our users and the general public
at large,i have had kidswith tears in there eyes and i will not turn my back on them.
The archery club left because there were two different groups and one group moved
to the Pentecostal school and do not have to pay so its alittle hard to compete with
that,we lost a good man in dick st Louis he did alot for archery and boxing which is another issue the boxing club had trouble as the instructor gets paid and dick did not
want to be paid just put the money into the boxing programme its a real shame when
it didn’t go this spring the numbers were not there i feel it will go in the fall with some help,the volleyball went to Charles hays the school charged half price but i feel we can
get them back if we can work something out with them as some of them are not happy with the school deal.We are saving 3 thousand a week by not replacing the management Calvin grav can do this job all need is a little help which our rec coordinator can do with alittle incentive money wise.We do not need to shut down
in June and i feel Calvin can explain that to city council in his report.I feel i need to get this out as i felt sad that folks out there thought we do not care ,we do care that’s why i have been trying to keep the center open for our kids safety and well being.
Grammar issues here a bit hey lol
You pasted that entire block of text to just say that??? 
We make fun of Ajaye quite a bit on this site. I too have been guilty. Yes he doesn’t know where the space bar or the period key is located and yes he is difficult to follow both in grammar and content. And yes he can be overly optimistic. And sometimes he can be quite rude. See, he is an easy target.
However, he does appear passionate about what he is trying to say. He seems sincere in his desire for Prince Rupert to be a good place to live.
We have three options. We can continue to bait and insult him. We can ignore him. We can actually try to figure out what he would like accomplished and whether or not it actually has merit.
We have done enough of the first. The second is the last resort.
So Ajaye, if I understand you correctly, the Civic Centre is likely to be closed for a couple of weeks as a cost savings. You are concerned that this says we are abandoning our youth. However, the swimming pool is closed every year for maintenance, schools are closed for the entire summer, the library is closed on Sundays during the summer (the equivalent of two weeks). Most (all?) of the sports in town are shut down for the summer. We have survived.
And my guess is that the usual clients of the Civic are not the kind of kids who will say. “The Civic is closed.” “Whatta want to do.” “I don’t know. Maybe break some windows?”
So, while I don’t like the idea of a two week closure, I don’t see it as a major problem for our youth. But perhaps what you are more concerned about is the lack of activity for a certain segment of our youth. How do we ensure that the type of kid who might commit illegal acts or the type of kid who might turn to alcohol or drugs can find a more positive activity that in the long run will benefit them and the town as a whole.
You mentioned a concern about kids who don’t have the dollar to pay for gym time. That needs to be addressed. And if they can’t afford that, then how do they afford the equipment they may need to participate in many activities. That needs to be addressed.
I wish I had a ready answer, but the problem seems much bigger than a two week shutdown.
I do think there are some valid points in the OP, but they get lost in the jumble of bad writing and several points trying to be made.
A little effort, organization and thought can go along way to getting serious responses…it is a two way street.
Ajaye, watching the council meeting last night, I am always puzzled why when reports are given, senior management does not give theirs (except of financial at times)? Heck they know the council meetings are going to take place and know well ahead of time about reports.
Can Mr. Howie give a snapshot what is happening in each department if other managers are submitting reports? Is our city doing so well that the citizens do not have to be informed what the taxpayers money is actually doing? ie. Yes I see the budget, but to justify an addition $914,000 on Public Works vehicles (p.31)? (Perhaps another thread needs to be started about that budget).
Also, the Mayor gives a brief clip of his outings and participation. I thought the other council members have portfolios and no reports? I honestly don’t get it.
Ajaye, I know many of the staff who do work for the city, and like yourself care about this community vs some that are just passing time for pensions and retirement. Many do work hard, but I also find it hard to accept over 12 people making over $75,000/yr.
bclocalnews.com/bc_north/the … 63309.html
Northern View has a good article on city council and the situation involving some of our youth.
I wonder if there are people willing to take an active role in trying to help council solve some of the problems facing our community. Is this the kind of thing you are looking for Ajaye?
It was a great article and while it is encouraging to note some of the ideas put forward, I was under the impression that there was a monthly meeting at City Hall already regarding these issues as Joy suggested they should have. Do they not meet anymore? Mark was on the money though, there are no repercussions for the perpetrators and they know that. Bringing in another judge? I don’t know that that would be a deterrent either. We have been asking the cops to re-implement the Bikes On Patrol for awhile now and the answer has always been that they are over-worked and under-staffed. I wish there could be some concrete, set in stone solutions but only in a perfect world . More meetings and no resolutions doesn’t help anyone either.
My only concern is for our kids safety and well being,kids need a
place to go to for shelter from so may issues.
I would love to be invited to such a sit down and let them hear some issues. I was the one who started the monthly meetings we speak of but Curnes took over as chair. New judge more court time and RCMP I believe for how many we have do a hell of a good job but the courts and all the players in court slow the process. Yes Mark is right on as mentioned earlier.
I believe the RCMP are looking into the bike patrol coming back. There was an expression of interest for updated training, fitness etc.