Surrey - The Editor, I am a longtime resident of Surrey and in particular, Cloverdale. I am sick and tired of the "bad rap" that Surrey gets in the news.
Surrey is B.C.'s second largest city and is growing rapidly. In no time at all, Surrey will have a population larger than Vancouver. Our mayor has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making Surrey a better place to live.It is time for the public to open its eyes and educate itself. Numerous communities in B.C. have a worse crime rate than Surrey, including Prince George and the "crown jewels" of Victoria and Kelowna.I was born and raised in a small town in northern B.C. with a current population of less than 1,000 people, and know firsthand that small towns are not immune from "Surrey crime."My own mom, who was pregnant at the time, was brutally murdered at the age of 21. I was raped at knifepoint. Drug dealers trade and deal in plain view and on the school yard in communities everywhere.The bottom line is, if people think that crime exists only in Surrey, then people need to really open their eyes and look in theirown backyards. They will be horribly surprised to find out the ugly truth that crime exists everywhere.Laurie BonacciSurrey