News Release

Councillor Urges Media to Do It's Homework

(Monday, August 28/2000) - Faculty and students at J.L. Ilsley High School, and residents of the surrounding community of Spryfield, are getting a "bad rap" over alleged security issues at the school, says the Councillor for the area.

Councillor Stephen Adams (District 18-Spryfield/Herring Cove) said recent media reports about student safety at J.L. Ilsley are "grossly exaggerated" and unfair to both the school and the community.

"I'm getting a little tired of everybody taking critical shots at Spryfield. I was raised in the community, attended the Spryfield School system, later graduated from university and I still live and work in the community. I am very proud to be a resident of Spryfield, " he said.

Councillor Adams said the latest round of criticism stems from a decision by the Halifax Regional School Board to transport students from Halifax West High School, in Fairview, to J.L. Ilsley, in Spryfield, this year. Those students will attend classes on a split-shift basis for the 2000/2001 academic year while multi-million repairs at being carried out at Halifax West.

"There has been a lot of foolish talk about having to install video surveillance cameras in J.L. Ilsley and about having to hire security guards. We never needed them before, and there is no reason to need them now. This is totally absurd, " he said.

Councillor Adams challenged local media outlets to do their research and find out how the Crime Rate in Spryfield compares to other communities throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality.

"I'll bet they'll be surprised at what they find..... and I hope that they are willing to print and broadcast the outcome of their findings to their readers, viewers and listeners to set the record straight," he said.

The Councillor said "When good things happen, it's always Halifax or Mainland South. When bad things happen, Spryfield makes the headlines. And to further cloud the facts, some crimes are reported to have taken place in Spryfield when, in fact, they occurred in neighbouring communities."

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Councillor Stephen Adams
(902) 497-8818