Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Aug 29/05) - In a town where the high school is purple, a new paint job for the Hay River RCMP detachment almost led to a popular uprising.

The vast majority of Hay Riverites were outraged when the detachment began to be painted dark blue.

Even the RCMP themselves didn't like the blue, and the colour scheme was quickly switched to gray with a dark blue trim.

"I've never had such a controversy in the community in over 25 years being here," says painting contractor Andre Dziewa, the owner of PDQ Painting and Decorating Ltd. "It floored me."

Dziewa says people walking by would look at the blue and ask him, 'You're not leaving that?'

Others would be more blunt, some calling the colour "(obscenity deleted) ugly."

One wall of the detachment was painted blue on Aug. 17 and 18, but by Aug. 22 it had been painted over with gray. That will be the new exterior colour for the whole building.

Dziewa estimates 90 per cent of people didn't like the blue.

"It was bizarre," he says. "I was totally shocked."

However, the contractor admits the colour was "pretty loud." Plus, he says the one side of the detachment painted was high and didn't have windows, meaning there was a big wall of blue.

As for the gray, Dziewa says most people seem to like it.

One of the loudest voices against the blue was Hay River South MLA Jane Groenewegen, who owns rental property next to the detachment.

"It was horrible," Groenewegen says. "It would have really changed the look of the downtown."

She even phoned the RCMP's 'G' Division headquarters in Yellowknife to voice her objection.

Groenewegen says she has an interest in what the town looks like, and the blue was inappropriate.

"It was actually incompatible with the downtown core."

She is not a big fan of the gray, either, preferring the building remain its original brown.

As the MLA was standing across the street from the detachment explaining her concerns, one woman walking by quipped, "Paint it hot pink!"

Cpl. Jim Forsey says the RCMP had wanted a very light blue, but it turned out to be very dark and glossy.

"It went up and it didn't look good, and we took it down," he says.

Forsey says the RCMP decided on the switch to gray. "Nobody twisted our arm to change the colour."

People seem to like the new colour scheme, although others like the building's original dark brown, he notes.

However, Forsey says the colour change is not just for appearance, but is really a health and safety issue. The original brown retains heat and the building is unbearably hot inside during the summer.

"Our staff is just cooking in here," he says, noting improvements are also being made to the air conditioning system in the 25-year-old building.