Burning Down The Lane

Oh, the sound of sirens. That all too familiar sound. Then it stopped. I know that means the fire must be close. I tore myself away from 'Talking Dead'. It was tough, but I did it. You never know if your fence, house, or dumpster might be on fire. It's always best to check.
It was dark outside, being 11:20pm and all. I had a quick look out the back window and saw an odd orange reflection in the neighbours window out back. That must be the fire. I went up to the window to have a closer look. Sure enough the fire truck was stopped right behind my house. That's a familiar spot for them to stop. They have been in that exact spot several times in the past few years.
Now I see it. Sparks are shooting up from the dumpster on the other side of the neighbours garage. Fire men are trying to get into the yard next door. They need to gain entry, and locate the neighbour so they can check the garage from the inside.
The fire was extinguished from the dumpster. I don't know how many times that dumpster has been on fire this year. It seems to be a popular one for torching. Someone stuffed a mattress into it a few days ago. I guess we should be happy we still have these large metal dumpsters. If the mattress was just thrown against the garage and lit on fire, the garage would have burnt. With the dumpsters the fires are contained.

I noticed something else last night. It isn't anything new, I have seen it at every fire on the street, and every time the Police come into the neighbourhood. The firemen were in no hurry. I don't mean that they don't care. But they are not rushing to the job. They get out of the truck and survey the scene. I guess they discuss stragegy, then finally, extinguish the fire. They know what they are doing, and they get it done. But there is no panic in their actions. For this particular fire, it was a dumpster fire, a mattress burning in a contained unit. I am always a little surprised at the slow pace that our emergency personel work at. It is not like the movies or the cop shows on tv where everyone is rushing around and crimes get solved in 60 minutes. This is reality. These firemen risk their lives on a daily basis putting out arsons and accidental fires. And they do it in real time, one step at a time. I see this sort of reality all too often here in the hood. It is an education I never asked for, and one I could do without.

Katz Wants Less Police Presence

Finally, I get my wish. But you know what they say, careful what you wish for.
I asked for less police on my street. I wanted to see fewer police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks. It seems not a day goes by that we don't have some sort of police presence on our street. But soon, if Mayor Katz gets his way, that may change. He wants to save our fine city a little cash, ween the budget, tighten the belt on city spending. And he has found the perfect way to do it, just cut back on police overtime.
I wish he had thought of that sooner. Imagine how much money the city could have saved if he had cut police resources right after his latest election victory as mayor. You know, right after he promised 100 more police officers because crime was such a major issue in that election. That was right before the city experienced its highest homicide rate yet, closing 2011 with 38 homicides. Lets cut back on our police presence. Great plan Mayor Katz!
I know, the police spend their overtime sitting in court. And Katz is going to flood the city with new officers, so we won't need all that overtime. Except he has been promising these officers for a while now. Just how is he planning on rolling out this great cost saving measure? Does he cut overtime after the new officers arrive? Does it become a natural decrease in overtime that he takes credit for? Or does he slash the budget on overtime with no regard for public safety?
Wasn't Katz last comment on crime one that stated the Downtown was not dangerous? And didn't he just sign off on allocating police resources to walking the beat downtown? He says it is to bring the sense of safety, because after all, there is no real danger there. So, he is telling us that he is wasting police resources on a "feel good" solution to a "non violent" situation, and at the same time cutting police funding where it is needed. Who is this moron? And why do we think he is capable of running this town? Can we impeach him? No really, can we?
We have serious gang problems in this town, and a downtown that is actually experiencing violence. We should be increasing funding to the police so they can do their thankless jobs and protect the law abiding citizens of this fine city.
If you want to cut back on spending, figure a way of stopping the repeat offenders from continually being a burden on the police, the courts, and the correctional system. Look into ways of making the youth give back to the community. But for goodness sake don't remove the police from the streets.
Give your head a shake Mayor Katz. Save money somewhere else.

The Guy Covered His License Plate With Cardboard

My husband went into the back alley just now. He was taking the garbage out. You know, to the dumpster. The one that is meant for us, and just a few of our closest neighbours.
As he was approaching the dumpster, there was a guy in some 'piece of shit' half ton dumping wood in our dumpster. Then he went to the next dumpster, and the next.
My husband was good enough to let the fellow know that it was illegal to dump the wood in our dumpsters. Well, the guy didn't care. He did say "at least I am spreading it out", as he filled several dumpsters with his unwanted wood. When my husband approached the truck to get the license number, he found it was covered with cardboard. That's a sign that the fellow knew damned well that it was illegal for him to be dumping in our lane.
Same old story, day after day. People come and dump their unwanted materials in our lanes.
And will these people change their habits and drive to the dump when we get the smaller carts, or will they continue to cover their license plates with cardboard and dump in our lanes. Only time will tell. But either way, the City turns a blind eye to it.
It's just the North End.
Does this guy not realize that he is adding to the many problems facing this area, and the rest of Winnipeg.
Hey guy with cardboard on your license plate, the ripple effect of treating our area like a dumping ground is that people grow up not caring about their surroundings. They become Youth who spray graffiti, rob stores, stab and shoot people. The next time you read the newspaper, and come across an article about one of these Youth crimes, know that you helped the process along.
It takes a village to raise a child. And it takes one idiot with a truck full of garbage to ruin it.

The 8th Fire And Me

I tuned in to the 8th Fire last night on CBC TV.
So, what did I think of the first installment of a series? I liked it. There wasn't much I really did not already know. Not that I am a know it all. But I have Aboriginal friends, have for years. I have a degree in Native Studies. I have an Aboriginal name, and have attended many a ceremony. And I live in the North End. So, it was more of a refresher for me. It was also a documentary from the eyes of the Aboriginal Peoples.
As one of the White Folk watching the show, I found a few things disturbing, or off. First, it was mentioned that very few people ever come across Aboriginal people in a positive way. Most interactions are negative. Come on. Have you never gone to the forks to watch the Grass Dancers? Have you not had a good conversation with Kevin Chief? Take a closer look at some of your friends, they may be Aboriginal. Did you not have a teacher or professor who was Aboriginal? Maybe you were introduced to a friend of a friend when out on the town, and they were Aboriginal. I have had positive experiences with Aboriginal people since I was a small child. Aboriginal people are so intertwined in our communities and our lives, I am sure you know someone, and just don't know it.
Another issue I have with the show was when the Police pulled up to talk to three guys, dressed like 'gangstas'. It seemed to be a friendly enough conversation, but Brooklyn took offence because the Police are always stopping them and 'harrassing' them. But, wasn't one of the guys picked up on an outstanding warrant? Maybe the Police were just doing their jobs. Maybe the issue there is not with the Police harrassing people dressed like gangsters, maybe the issue is more with people not assisting the Police in the reporting of crimes. Instead of looking at the Police as the 'bad guys', maybe help them remove dangerous criminals from the street.
The last item I would like to bring up is education. The show mentioned a program in Quebec, where Non-Aboriginal people learned about Aboriginal culture. It was at some sort of community center. I thought back to Thunderbird House. You know the place. That wonderful building at Main and Higgins. It was built when I was still in University studying Anthropology and Native Studies. I was so excited about that building. I hoped it would become a place where the Non-Aboriginal could go to learn about Aboriginal people and culture. I thought it could be a very positive move toward bridging the gap. But alas, that did not happen. Instead the area is strewn with negative images instead of positive.
We need to bridge the gap between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people. We need to do that, especially in Winnipeg, where we have the largest urban population of Aboriginal people. Start by looking around you. Start by finding the positive. I am sure there are far more positive Aboriginal connections than this program mentioned. And on the Aboriginal side, look for the positive in us as well. We are not all that bad either.