EDITORIAL – Council should be ashamed for not standing up for Stuart Wood

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

YOU’D THINK Kamloops City council as a whole doesn’t care much about iconic heritage buildings. It’s a natural conclusion after what happened in council chambers Tuesday (Sept. 22, 2026).

Coun. Margot Middleton’s motion to look for alternative sites for a new RCMP building came up for debate, and it passed 5-4. The motion specifically referred to Stuart Wood School as a potential location.

Those in favour of the motion besides Middleton were Mike O’Reilly, Kelly Hall, Bill Sarai and Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson. Those against were Dale Bass, Stephen Karpuk, Nancy Bepple and Katie Neustaeter.

Nobody around the council table tried to have Stuart Wood removed from the motion. Nobody mentioned a letter each of them received from the City’s own heritage engagement group pleading for Stuart Wood to be protected.

Middleton’s excuse for targeted the beautiful old school was that it’s important for the community to have a conversation about it. “There’s a lot of misinformation out there about Stuart Wood,” she said.

Yes, there is, most of it being the impression that the school is beyond repair. The longer it remains all but abandoned, of course, the stronger the case becomes to bulldoze it.

During debate on the motion, the focus was almost entirely on the question of whether looking for places other than the current Battle Street police station property was a good idea. Stuart Wood pretty much got the brushoff.

Mind you, it wasn’t ignored entirely. O’Reilly noted during his remarks that he wouldn’t want to see the school torn down “right away.”

Even those against Middleton’s motion weren’t overly concerned about the future of the school. Bass said if it gets torn down, another educational facility should replace it, not a police station. Karpuk simply wanted to stay the course with tearing down the current police station and putting up a new building on the same land.

Bepple was the only one who extolled its virtues, calling it one of the city’s last and most important heritage buildings, and pointing out the importance of the property for community gatherings.

It was very much reminiscent of a council of old that wanted to tear down St. Andrew’s on the Square. Only major objections in the community saved it, and allowed it to be turned into the grand little meeting place it is now.

So, as it stands today, Stuart Wood is almost bereft of protectors around the council table, and the day may not be far off when the wrecking ball moves in. Council should be ashamed.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and was a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.