MikeSimmons's Profile

Forty-five minutes of highway are a gulf between two very different worlds.

A few months ago, I became a crime reporter in Kelowna. My time is now split between the Capital News and the Summerland Review. Travelling back and forth each week sharply illustrates the differences between the two places. A recent death in Summerland where a much-loved and respected winery owner passed away in an agricultural accident was the first I had encountered in that community.

In Kelowna, the city is ground zero for a pervasive drug problem, giving rise to all manner of crime along with the sheer pressures created by more than 100,000 people co-existing. This past week, the city suffered its second homicide of the year. During this same week, an unidentified woman died after being hit by an SUV while crossing the street.
 

While I was surprised by the emotional impact of regularly witnessing the gruesome details of the deadly acts of mankind, to a certain degree I had expected to see the things I have so far. What I was not prepared for was an equivalent display of compassion in the face of our worst moments.

Kelowna's second homicide of the year was a man named Joseph Gregory Pek. On paper, he had a violent criminal history starting in 2000 and continuing to the present day. The editor in Kelowna encouraged me to dig beneath the surface, and find out who he really was. Selena Stearns runs a drop-in centre downtown that is intended to seduce people away from the street life, and slowly back into society. She was the only touchstone media could seem to find who knew Pek.

When I spoke to Stearns, she emphasized that Pek was not a nice man. He had spent the past ten years in the grip of an addiction, and committed many violent acts. But in all her dealings with him, she saw a glimmer of possibility. She believed that Pek had within him the capability to turn his life around.

Her faith is not misplaced. Two members of her own staff came from a life on the street, and she knows many others who have done the same.

I was struck by her compassion, the depth of which is beyond that of anyone I have ever encountered. While Kelowna is home to many desperate situations that Summerland will hopefully never know, those greater crimes give rise to a greater level of compassion for humanity.

The effects of a new cellular tower upon our lifestyle or the design and existence of residential developments are important events that concern everyone who lives in a town. But in our dealings with each other, let compassion take the first step. 

The person across from you is not trying to rob, murder or steal. They are pursuing their livelihood and their interests within the bounds of the law, instead of breaking it. If even for that, please remember to give each other respect.