Dear Editor:

I have/had some recent concerns with bylaw enforcement in Osoyoos.

Recently at Cottonwood Beach (which is a no-dog beach, leash or no leash) I had to call bylaw twice to come make a decision about a dog situation.

I called the town who said they would send bylaw, and I waited 45 minutes and nobody showed.

I then called 45 minutes later and gave very specific directions about where on the beach the offenders were (100 feet from the Cottonwood Beach washrooms) and waited another 45 minutes, nobody came.

I did actually hear back from bylaw a few days later when I complained through the town’s website. I was told bylaw did remove a set of dogs from that beach, but apparently the wrong dogs in the wrong location.

I have a child who “loves” dogs big and small. Our child will hug and love your dog, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, sometimes with a sandwich in her other hand.

She is a child who has some special needs and lacks impulse control. I do my best to keep her and your dog safe, but sometimes she gets the better of me and I don’t have eyes in the back of my head, and she’s quicker than I am! We choose wherever possible to go where dogs are not, or at the very least are leashed.

I’m also noticing that our lawn is much more brown than many others. We follow the water-restrictions. Others are not.

I can drive down any residential street mid-day and see infraction after infraction of lawn watering illegally.

We need a phone number we can call or text directly to bylaw to enforce water restriction infractions, and dog infractions. We should be able to call and text and catch offenders in the act.

Stop with the molly-coddling “warnings” and start laying down real fines that, if aren’t paid, are nicely attached to the property tax bill at the end of the year.

Handing out warning or tickets in the park to the transients is useless, they will never be paid, and bylaw lacks the training and the teeth to deal with this population anyway.

Let the police deal with anything criminal, let bylaw deal with fining the enforceable.

Bylaw has the potential to be a money-making venture for the town. Quit warning, start-fining.

Go look for easily fining infractions. If they aren’t paid, they get attached to your tax bill or any other licence you may want issued from the town. We could pay for bylaw itself with proper management.

We could maybe even afford more bylaw officers if there was revenue generated by their fines.

Susan Knox

Osoyoos, B.C.