The Editor,
Re: "From bad to worse in Newton," the Now, Jan. 2.
I was very dismayed with Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts' comment when asked about the bigger picture of crime in Newton.
"That's a conversation for another day," said Watts, adding "right now we're going out for public assistance to get this individual off the streets."
What I would like Watts to know is, my wife and I, along with my stepdaughter and five-year-old daughter, own a townhouse just two blocks away from the murder site.In fact, my wife works as a transit operator and often walks through that very parking lot where that poor woman was killed. I can't stop thinking how it could very well have been my wife who lay there bludgeoned.
Though the perpetrator has yet to be caught, it's far from egregious to think that the increase in drug crime in the area is tied to this murder. So when someone asks what is being done about overall crime, they are asking exactly what I - along with a lot of people living in the area - am asking too.
We need reassurances, indications or promises of a proactive approach to crime rather that reactive. Talk about the progress of your task force on murder, talk about your plans (if you have them) to combat drug crime in Newton. We certainly don't want to hear that overall crime is a "conversation for another day."
In this dismissive comment, Mayor Watts, you fail to inspire confidence in public safety.
Corry Chadsey, Surrey