KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK TUESDAY
LOCAL NEWS
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MAY 24, 2016 | Volume 29 No. 62
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A3
The social side of politics Kamloops politicians have different takes on social media — and it can be seen in their tweets and on their walls CAM FORTEMS
STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
A
s someone who built a technology firm, Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone is a little sheepish about what has turned out to be his most popular form of communication with constituents. Once a week, with the help of staff, he publishes an email letter with a subscriber base numbering 1,200. It’s a mix, he said, of “what I’m up to the in the community and what’s going on in the province. “It’s a little old school, especially for a technology guy,” he said with a laugh. Stone’s cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Mike de Jong, recently made the news with the admission he is so old school he doesn’t even use email — something virtually unheard of in government circles. Stone, like Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake and Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod use social media — Facebook and Twitter
— to keep pace with events and spread their messages. Lake acknowledges the popularity of Stone’s email (“I keep asking him how I can unsubscribe,” he quipped), but he relies almost entirely on Twitter. “I’d say it’s pretty well a must,” said B.C.s health minister. “It’s rare you can be in public media without a social-media presence.” While social media is touted as a two-way street, Lake said he is limited by the amount of hours in the day. He uses Facebook publicly only during election campaigns, Twitter to “push out information” and monitor political and helathrelated news. “I don’t use it to dialogue with people on issues. To do that, you want a lot of time to do it properly . . . . I just don’t have time to do it in a thoughtful way.” Staff does push out news releases and suggested tweets. “I look at them and sometimes modify them,” Lake said. “I’m the one who sends them out.” Both McLeod and Stone use Facebook to communicate with constituents. See SMARTWATCH, A4
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DAVE EAGLES/KTW Residents of 13th Street in North Kamloops are hoping recent police raids will curb crime in their neighbourhood.
‘I hope there’s no more crime’ A Brocklehurst street plagued recently by crime might be on the mend after a pair of police raids on ‘problem residences’ TIM PETRUK STAFF REPORTER tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
Residents of a Brocklehurst street are hopeful recent raids of alleged drug houses will bring about quieter times in their neighbourhood. Earlier this month, police executed a search warrant at a 13th Street home. A 41-yearold man with ties to organized crime was arrested, according to
police, and investigators seized thousands of dollars worth of drugs. “I hope there’s no more crime going forward,” said Jevyn, who spoke to KTW on the condition her last name not be published. “My concerns are for my children. I have children who play around here and drug addicts tend to be thieves.” Jevyn said she’s lived in her 13th Street home for about a
year and, in recent months, has worried about drug dealers on her street becoming violent. “It’s scary,” she said. “It’s scary to think how close to home it is and how easily something like that could happen. I’m just hoping this is the end of it.” The search warrant executed by police on a home in the 900-block of 13th Street was on May 5. See RAIDS, A7
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