MAHONING COUNTY Authorities gather for summit on drugs

A DEA agent says drug education should be in every grade of school.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR HEALTH WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Between 85 percent and 90 percent of property crimes in Boardman can be attributed to drug users who steal to support their addiction, said Jeff Patterson, township police chief.
Heroin is making a comeback in northeast Ohio, said U.S. Atty. Ronald B. Bakeman, chief of the Northern District of Ohio Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force/Narcotics Unit. Bakeman was one of a panel of law enforcement officers who participated in the Mahoning County Drug Summit III on Friday in Boardman.
Youngstown is a major drug distribution area, but the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force goes all over the area -- to the suburbs that didn't know they had a problem, said Canfield Police Sgt. Bob Magnuson, task force commander.
"Sometimes we fool ourselves and are a little naive about the amount of drugs coming into our area. Let's not delude ourselves, drugs are a major problem here. The demise of neighborhoods is because of drugs," said Bakeman.
"When crack cocaine comes to a neighborhood, crime and violence follow," said Patterson.
Sharing ideas
The summit was sponsored by the Mahoning County Alcohol & amp; Drug Addiction Services Board. Its purpose was to bring together people from law enforcement, court, education and treatment communities to share perspectives and ideas on the drug problem and how to deal with it, said David L Schaffer, MCADAS executive director.
Summit speakers included Gary Q. Tester, director of the Ohio Department of ADAS, who said the drug prevention and intervention community needs to do a better job of articulating to the state Legislature the financial savings of treatment compared with other options, such as incarceration.
A breakout session on "How We Keep Drugs Out of Mahoning County" featured comments by Patterson; Doug Lamplugh, resident agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency's Youngstown office; Magnuson and Bakeman.
"We as adults are not putting the right resources into fighting illegal drugs," said Lamplugh. "We ought to have drug education in every grade, kindergarten through 12. Fifteen or 20 hours in one grade is not enough," he said.
Austintown program
In another work session, "Keeping Our Kids Drug-Free," Delores Kunic, who pioneered and coordinates Austintown Schools C.A.R.E. -- Chemical Awareness Recovery Efforts -- agreed with Lamplugh.
Kunic, a high school English teacher, described what she believes are the main strengths of the Austintown program. There are prevention and intervention programs in every building, each with coordinators or teams of coordinators; the program is continuous; and it is interactive between buildings, with high school students going to the middle and elementary schools to do drug education, and vice versa, she said.
Another panelist in the same session, Ilene Dixon, program director for Youngstown Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program, said her agency partners with the Youngstown City Schools to operate drug prevention programs. YUMADAOP has in-school and after-school programs at Hillman Middle School, where she said, "we're part of the curriculum and kids get graded."
Dixon said YUMADAOP has a monitoring program for young men, and runs a six-week summer camp at Hillman school. "The safety of our children at all times is our main thrust. We stress discipline and the need for rules and guidelines. We give children a chance to bond with positive adults," Dixon said.
"I think it is a miracle that some of the children get up every day and come to school, given the problems they are facing," she said.
alcorn@vindy.com