Car theft.聽 Property theft.聽 A colorful variety of vandalism.聽 Ignoring danger and caution signs.聽 Dumping garbage at night to avoid paying a charge.聽 And apparently, if the social media postings are legit, beatings and physical assault.
Life sure is getting interesting in Outlook, isn鈥檛 it?
And before the emails come firing in, let me make it clear right now: I鈥檓 not spotlighting these things to try and scare people, I鈥檓 merely pointing out that this town is certainly not immune to the kind of trouble that arises in similar towns in similar areas across the prairies and across the country.
In short; every town鈥檚 got a dark side.聽 That dark side may equate to juvenile, immature stuff such as vandalism or ignoring the signage on a closed-off bridge, but it鈥檚 all part of the same side of the same coin.聽 Every town鈥檚 got a story, and the ongoing story of Outlook is a mostly-positive one, but some characters do their part in filling the antagonist roles.
So when something such as vandalism goes down, how exactly should it be handled?
In recent times, there have been some more unique punishments that have been doled out in certain cases of vandalism.
Earlier this year in the Virginia community of Ashburn, five teens were given a sentence that sounds like a homework assignment for defacing an old school building.聽 They painted it with swastikas, obscenities and the phrase "white power." 聽Their sentence was that they had to read books and watch films to expand their world views.
Specifically, the sentence required the teens to read one book per month for the next 12 months from a list including titles like Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," Elie Wiesel's "Night" and Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart".
That鈥檚 definitely a different take on punishing vandals than perhaps most are used to.聽 But I wonder if it did more to change the views and mindset of those teens rather than a fine or proverbial slap on the wrist?
In Outlook鈥檚 case, I tend to think the punishment should fit the crime.
Almost two weeks ago, newly-installed flower planters were upset in Outlook and the contents were thrown out on the street for everyone to wake up to the next morning.聽 OK, so if I were the one in charge of handing down a sentence, I鈥檇 turn the 鈥渓ove鈥� of those vandals for everything flower-related and turn it upside down.聽 They would go door-to-door of anyone in Outlook with a garden and volunteer their time to watering, pruning and basic garden upkeep.聽 Have a flower bed that needs taken care of?聽 All you鈥檇 have to do is register at the town office, where the lovely ladies in the office would jot your name down on a list with your home address, and you could expect a visit during a certain time period to have your weeds pulled, flowers watered, vegetables picked and washed, and whatever else your garden needed.
I just happen to think putting people to work - especially people who appear to be so bored with their small town lives that they feel like destroying amenities that tax dollars pay for - is a better alternative than levying a fine and expecting them not to do it again.
Take the negative aspect of their actions and spin it into something positive, you know?
Same goes with these local 鈥渁rtists鈥� who buy some spray paint and decide to unleash their inner Banksy around town.聽 You wanna paint so badly?聽 Fine, let鈥檚 get you some buckets of paint and some rollers from our trusty local Home Hardware and put you to work at any number of homes in town that need some touching up!
It鈥檚 too bad that there are a handful of bad apples whose actions are so visible that they almost spoil the whole bunch that makes up Outlook as a community and collective townspeople.聽 I don鈥檛 live here (yet), but I鈥檝e worked here and covered every possible event and happening for over a decade, so I know a good town when I see one.聽 Outlook is most definitely one of those good towns.
In the end, the good shines through the bad.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
