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Kelowna should be home to jail site

Dear Editor:The most logical place for a prison in the Okanagan valley is Kelowna.Kelowna is a major crime center, complete with eight criminal gangs competing to supply a hungry clientele.

Dear Editor:

The most logical place for a prison in the Okanagan valley is Kelowna.

Kelowna is a major crime center, complete with eight criminal gangs competing to supply a hungry clientele.

All the components that are required to support this facility already exist within city limits:

Kelowna has a full complement of lawyers, who recognize that a prison will turn the city into a gold mine for lawyers, a fact that is not lost on the lawyers in Penticton.

Kelowna also has a specially trained crime unit, organized and equipped to handle the extra business.

Hells Angels? business office, a court house and a drug rehab center completes the infrastructure package.

The fact that all players are under one roof implies huge benefits, as literally millions of tax dollars will be saved, because prisoners, lawyers, and police no longer have to waste precious resources commuting between facilities.

The explosive rate of growth in and around Kelowna and the huge cost of moving people around should be a compelling motivator for building this facility in the center of or in close proximity to this city.

Another consideration should be that this prison in a relatively short period of time could easily become the biggest in the province.

Space and access are major considerations, and a suitable alternative location would be the abandoned Brenda mine site.

It has four-lane access, a lot of basic infrastructure is in place and literally thousands of acres to expand when the time comes.

Andy Thomsen

Summerland