News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By Jasmine Hjelden

As it happens, graffiti is a bit of a problem in Williams Lake. Those little artists just can’t seem to keep their eager fingers off the spray paint. What I keep wondering, every single time I see another ‘tag’ on a dumpster or a creative mural on, say, the side of a drug store, is why we don’t have some sort of volunteer clean-up program to get rid of this stuff. I know there are a lot of very busy people in this city and it’s very difficult for existing organizations to find volunteers.

So how do we feel about cooperation with the legal system and store owners? Each time a freelance spray paint artist is caught and convicted, have them sentenced to community service in which they are required to remove graffiti for a certain number of hours, based on the number of tags belonging to them. There are many cities throughout North America which have already implemented such a program. It seems to be an effective method. Those perpetrating the crime need to know how much damage and distress they cause others in their community. In addition, it may even be a little more cost-effective. Local store owners and tax payers would no longer have to foot the entire bill for graffiti clean-up. Let these social deviants and ‘good kids doing bad things’ clean up their own mess. Under the supervision of one or two adults, small groups of these kids could do their community service in a way that fixes what they’ve done.

As well as community service, perhaps another kind of system might do these people some good. What if our local art clubs and art teachers were willing to volunteer a little time to teach these kids a little more about art? They obviously have a desire to show off their existing talent. We could make a point of giving them the opportunity to grow their talent in a different way, allowing them freedom within the boundaries of acceptable behaviour.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen pretty interesting work go by on a rail car or two, and some of the color schemes I’ve seen on back-alley fences around town aren’t bad. Maybe all these artists need is a little hard work and the right canvas.

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