SURREY — This editorial is about having to pay, literally, for the sins of others.
We could go on about how texting drivers cause traffic collisions, injuring and killing others and driving up everyone’s insurance premiums. Same goes for impaired drivers and speeders.
And so on.
In the spotlight this week, you’ll read in our focus report how illegal dumping in Surrey is expected to cost ratepayers $530,000 this year (watch for Part 3 in our series on illegal dumping later today). That’s the cost of picking up junk that’s been carelessly tossed by lazy people into ravines, on vacant lots and at the sides of roads.
And that’s only city crews responding to sites of illegal dumping that they are aware of.
This week, Surrey School District’s Safe Schools asked residents to keep their “eyes and ears open” and report suspicious activity to help keep vandalism down after the district spent $317,052 to repair vandalism last year.
That money — no small sum at all — could have been profitably used in improving Surrey children’s education.
Instead, it’s being used to scrub away graffiti and fix smashed windows.
As Charlie Brown says, Good Grief!
So what can we do about this? Well, the obvious is to not text while driving, don’t speed, don’t drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and don’t illegally dump stuff. Is it asking too much? Don’t hold your breath for immediate change.
In the meantime, on the school vandalism front, the district is asking residents to watch for anyone ‘hanging around’ our schools, particularly after dark, and report suspicious incidents to the authorities.
Typically, kids are to blame for school vandalism. Adults, typically, are to blame for the rest.
How about giving the rest of us a break?
Remember, these transgressions affect you as well.
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