OSOYOOS TIMES-July 15, 2009

By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times

The Town of Osoyoos is stepping in to help resolve a dispute between Osoyoos’s Good Shepherd Christian School and some of its neighbours.
The feud was brought into the public realm on July 6 when Roy and Sharon Laybourne appeared before Osoyoos town council.
The couple, who live across from the school on Finch Crescent, raised complaints about excessive noise from the school, traffic and parking problems on the street and harassment from the school.
Specifically, the Laybournes said because the school uses its parking lot for a playground, parents have ended up parking in front of or in the Laybournes’ driveway when dropping off or picking up their children.
They said the school has been indifferent or hostile towards them when such complaints have been raised.
One parent from the school, when approached by the Laybournes about his vehicle blocking their driveway, made a derogatory comment about the Laybournes’ faith.
On the advice of police to begin surveillance to back up their claims, the Laybournes gathered videotaped footage of students from the school throwing rocks at their property.
At least one of the thrown rocks caused damage to their home.
They also have footage of a man who school administrators said performs some maintenance work for the school and sometimes drops off mail aiming a camera at the Laybournes’ home and allowing students to look through the viewfinder.
Ultimately, the Laybournes want the school to relocate and at least four of the couple’s current and former neighbours have written letters to the Town about concerns surrounding traffic on the street and noise.
The school is run by Osoyoos’s Grace Lutheran Church.
Angela Westcott, the school’s principal, said the school has made many changes to address the Laybournes’ concerns.
When a complaint was brought forward in September about noise from the school, Westcott said she talked with teachers and students about respecting the school’s neighbours.
To deal with the parking complaints, the school moved parking facilities for staff to the rear of the property and began bussing about one-third of the student population.
Newsletters were sent home asking parents to avoid parking in front of homes on Finch Crescent in an effort “to be good neighbours.”
As for the man aiming a camera at the Laybournes’ home, Westcott said the individual was frustrated because Sharon had been videotaping him.
“We all have been so incredibly patient,” Westcott said. “She’s pushed people until she gets a reaction.”
She added that the man apologized after the school’s administration asked him about the incident and he said the lens cap on the camera was still on when he had set up the camera.
Westcott said the school is hoping for a peaceful solution to the feud and, on top of the costs of bussing students and adding more supervisors when students are outside, the school is spending $2,000 on a better fence for its grounds.
Janis Robinson, who also lives on Finch Crescent near the school, said many of the school’s neighbours don’t share the Laybournes’ concerns.
She said she doesn’t understand the Laybournes’ position that a school does not have a place in a residential neighbourhood.
“Where are schools supposed to be besides in residential areas?” Robinson said.
The solution to the feud, she added, is for the Laybournes to sit down with the school and work the problem out.
And any of the problems the Laybournes have experienced with parents are because Roy and Sharon have antagonized people, Robinson said.
Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski, commander of the Osoyoos-Oliver RCMP detachment, confirmed that police did instruct the Laybournes to videotape their property to provide credibility to their claims.
He said police have looked into the Laybournes’ complaints about mischief, parking and bylaw issues around the school and a thorough investigation was undertaken.
Police are still investigating the incident where rocks were thrown at the Laybournes’ home, Lozinski added.
As for the incident where a camera was aimed at the Laybournes’ home, Lozinski said it was a “tit for tat” reaction by the individual and it happened “out of frustration.”
He added that police spoke with the man behind the camera incident and no charges were laid.
Lozinski also said the uttering of a religious slur was looked into and police spoke to everyone involved and it hasn’t happened again.
He said it was an “isolated incident” and the issue was brought to the school and addressed by its administration.
It was not a hate crime, Lozinski said, as people were acting foolishly on both sides.
The Town has invited the Laybournes, police and the administration of the school and church to sit down with Town staff to find a solution to the dispute.
The Laybournes said they have been reluctant to enter into any discussions with the school as they feel the school’s administration has been deceitful in the past.
Barry Romanko, the Town’s chief administrative officer, said the Laybournes’ wishes for the school to move raise complicated issues and would require the Town to seek a legal opinion.
The school has existed for nearly 20 years at its location and although the area’s zoning does not allow for a school, Town administration issued letters to the independent board which governs the school in 1990, 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003 confirming that the school is allowed on the church’s property.
Romanko said the school has approached the Town about finding a piece of land for a new facility.
A small parcel near Osoyoos Secondary School adjacent to the former test orchard was granted to the Town by the province for recreation purposes.
Romanko said the school could purchase that property from the province to build a new school.
Melvin Kilback, chairman of the Independent School Board which runs the school, said the school has been working with the Town for about four years to secure the 0.8-hectare parcel near the high school.
The school is still considering purchasing the property, he said, and a feasibility study was conducted to determine how much building a new school would cost.
Kilback said the price tag for a new school is $1 million.
Roy said his family would require a “retraction” of what he calls dishonest statements made by Kilback about the feud that appeared  in a July 8 story in the Osoyoos Times before considering attending any meeting with the school or Town.
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