Pubdate: Mon, 16 Sep 2002
Source: Times Argus (VT)
Copyright: 2002 Times Argus
Contact:   http://www.timesargus.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/893
Author: Stephen Mills

HEROIN IN CENTRAL VERMONT

MONTPELIER ­ Three years ago, the capital city rallied to concerns about 
teens "hanging out" outside City Center on Main Street.

The fact that they were congregating outside an icon of American youth 
culture, the (Ben and Jerry's) ice cream parlor, seemed lost on most 
people. They were more concerned about teens who were rude and obnoxious to 
passers by.

Efforts to address the problem included the police receiving a federal 
grant to fund a survey of teens and downtown businesses and hold a 
community meeting, and greater law enforcement.

In the end, the City Center management found a way to move them on. City 
Center is private property, and teens were told they could not congregate 
there.

Around the same time, there was mention of the H word: heroin. There were 
already reports that a new cheap, pure version of the drug had reached 
Vermont. Its purity meant it could be "snorted" (sniffed) instead of 
injected, eliminating the stigmatism of being a "junkie" that many young 
people had associated with the drug. Its low cost, at about $35 a bag, also 
made it readily available.

In the three months that followed, Montpelier police said they arrested 
some 25 people on drug-related charges that included large seizures of 
heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

They included Devan Conoscenti and Megan Wolfe of Plainfield who were 
busted with 100 grams of heroin, more than an ounce of marijuana, 
quantities of methadone and morphine, and six handguns.

With the high-profile death of Burlington teen Christal Jean Jones in 
August 2001, who was lured to New York City and reportedly forced into 
prostitution to fund her heroin habit (although she actually died from 
asphyxiation), it marked the beginning of aggressive law enforcement by the 
Vermont Drug Task Force to combat a growing heroin problem in the state.

The Scene In Montpelier

Back in Montpelier, the problem of youth congregating has moved down to 
State Street, along the Rialto Bridge, and outside Capitol Grounds coffee 
house, where owner Bob Watson complains frequently about teens hogging his 
outdoor coffee tables, doing drug deals in his bathrooms and driving away 
customers.

Neighbor Glen Sturgis of Mail Boxes, Etc. has had similar problems with 
teens blocking the steps leading into his business.

The problem returned for both this spring and summer, and also spread 
across the street, where teens continue to gather around the tourist 
information center that has been vandalized.

Watson has been the most vocal critic of the activity, saying the police 
are not doing enough to combat the problem that scares off tourists from 
the information center and is affecting his business in tough economic times.

"I've called the police many times, although I've never called for a drug 
disturbance," he said. "There have been many times when I've wanted to 
call, but my perception is that I'm being a pain.

"I've witnessed fighting when some kids were sitting at the tables outside, 
and they started pushing and shoving. I was also sitting with a friend at 
the window looking out on to Elm Street and witnessed what I'm sure was a 
drug deal. Someone pulled up in a car and someone went over, and there was 
an exchange of some sort and then the car drove away.

"The police have told me that they're devoting more energy and resources to 
the problem down here. My problem is that it's going on, and I know it's 
going on. But it's not my job to deal with it… it's their job. This problem 
is parents' responsibility. I would say to them that if your kids are down 
here, chances are they're going to come home with a problem because they 
are involved with drugs."

Sturgis said he is similarly affected by young people sitting on his steps, 
smoking and leaving trash, although he said the it is less of a problem 
this year than last.

"There's a problem when there's a perception of a crowd or a gang," he 
said. "The image that it gives to the downtown concerns me. On the plus 
side for the police, they've been a lot more visible. I see them out there 
on bicycles and around a lot more. That helps, having the physical presence 
of the police," he added.

Across the street at Julio's, where diners can watch the drug trade, owner 
Jane Edwards said she did not believe it had affected her business. She 
said she had taken a proactive approach, giving work to some teens that 
were in recovery, and calling the parents of teens she recognizes caught up 
in drug activity.

"My business is secondary to the health and welfare of our community," said 
Edwards. "Our community isn't healthy. There is a part of our community in 
town that is sick. We need to talk to kids, and talk to each other about 
the problem," she added.

The Pocket Park

Christ Church pastor, the Rev. David Hall -- who moved from Washington, 
D.C. to Montpelier because of drug problems in his community -- said his 
parish staff has talked about the problem, but were not sure what to do 
about it.

In addition to drug activity under the trees bordering the pocket park, he 
said a small playground on the other side of the church is frequently used 
for drug-taking and sex. Several people in the community have expressed 
concern at the number of young girls mixing with drug users and trading sex 
for drugs.

"We would find used condoms, needles and panties in that playground," said 
Hall.

He said the church plans to remove the fence around it and turn in into a 
garden to open up the space and make it less attractive to drug users.

"One of the things we talked about was doing outreach to these kids and how 
we could be helpful to them," he said. "Some of them need food. We give 
them clothing and household goods that people in the community donate. The 
thing that bothers us the most is the vandalism… the way they treat the 
property. But where do these kids go? Not all the kids out there are doing 
heroin. It's a really tough problem, and there are no easy answers."

What About The Police?

Montpelier Police Chief Doug Hoyt bristles at Watson's claims that the 
police are not doing enough to combat drug crimes. He noted that the only 
call from Watson in the last six months was to report a fight outside 
Capitol Grounds.

"If he witnessed a drug deal, did he call us?" he asked. "We spend an 
inordinate amount of time down there at the information center with 
patrols, at the expense of other areas of the city. We have residents 
calling us about speeders in their neighborhood. Do we go after the 
speeders, or the drug dealers? It (drugs) is here, and given all the 
situations that we're dealing with, we're doing the best we can."

Hoyt and Sgt. Tony Facos, who patrols the area, said teens have become more 
brazen and aggressive in their drug activity.

"I've talked to people down there, searched cars, and have told them this 
is a bad area to be hanging out," said Facos. "They're starting to 
challenge us."

Hoyt said the Montpelier and Barre police departments had jointly filed a 
grant application for a $90,000 federal interdiction grant to combat the 
problem. Although some of the money had started to arrive, it was not clear 
how much would be awarded or when.

Hoyt noted that drug statistics for the first six months of this year 
compared with the same period last year were down by more than 50 percent: 
four for marijuana and two for heroin in 2002, compared with 10 arrests for 
marijuana and three for heroin in 2001. However, during the same periods he 
said there had been a more than three-fold increase in burglaries, from 
nine in 2001 to 31 in 2002 that may be related to drug activity.

"I think there's been a slight increase in crime this summer," said Hoyt. 
"But, truth be known, the crime in most areas is actually down compared to 
2001."

However, school resources officer Mark Moody, who spends much of his time 
trying to keep students out of the corrections system, said there is also 
much "anecdotal" evidence to suggest that the heroin problem is getting 
much worse.

"We're getting a lot more kids coming to us saying they have a drug problem 
and need help," he said, adding that he Central Vermont Medical Center has 
seen a growing number of teens and young adults who have overdosed or 
seeking help with addiction and withdrawal problems.

On The Street

On the street, teens milling about at the information center were 
contradictory about drug activity, and dismissive of police efforts to stop 
it, and seemingly impervious to the dangers.

"I just got out of jail," said Michael Gilpin, 20, of Montpelier. "They 
locked me up for eight-and-a-half months for drinking. I guarantee there's 
nothing like that (heroin) going on down here. I know who does it and if I 
saw them down here, I'd pop them in the eye. I've seen it really hurt some 
of my friends.

"I think they (the community) need to come up with some place for us to go 
and hang out."

"I've heard about there being a lot more heroin in Montpelier," said Ashley 
Palmisano, 17, of Montpelier. "I don't think heroin is the biggest problem. 
There are more problems with cocaine than heroin.

"If anything, there's been weed and maybe some coke. I don't think there's 
much they (the police) can do about it. It has more to do with breakdowns 
in the family and less attention for kids.

If parents knew where there kids were, there would be a lot less of this," 
she added. "I see a lot of 13-year-olds buying drugs."

The Barre scene

In Barre, teens were much more brazen about drug activity, and also 
critical of the police. There is irony in the place they choose to 
congregate, the street corner outside Dunkin' Donuts on Main Street. Nearby 
is the Washington County District Court where many would face sentence if 
arrested for drugs, and the state Corrections Department office where they 
would return if paroled.

"The more you tell people not to do it, the more they will do it," said 
Erin Paronto, 21, of Barre.

Asked if the drug trade had anything to do with people in town involved in 
the corrections system, Paronto replied, "I think it's mostly kids on the 
street every day, but I do think the prison population does have something 
to do with it. I know a couple of kids as young as 13 and 14, and also kids 
in my age group (who do drugs).

"One of my friends overdosed on heroin, and now his whole left side is 
paralyzed. I've also had a couple of friends die from it and then they were 
brought back to life," she said referring to friends who had been 
resuscitated after overdosing.

Others on the same street corner speak candidly about their drug use.

An 18-year-old, Max Brendell, who said he moved to Barre three months ago 
from Evansville, Ind., admitted to being a regular drug user and said there 
were many others like him in Barre.

"There are all kinds of drug users here," he said. "There are lots of 
heroin users and there are people who like using drugs but don't get hooked 
on them. I first smoked pot, and since then, I've done acid (LSD), ecstasy 
once, and I've done coke. I liked coke, and I'm sure I would like heroin, 
which is why I don't do it."

Barre City Police Chief Trevor Whipple said drug crimes in the city were 
more-or-less static for the first six months of this year compared with the 
same period last year: three arrests for heroin and 16 for marijuana in 
2002 compared with three for heroin, two for cocaine and 15 for marijuana 
in 2001.

"There's been since the beginning of time, drug problems," said Whipple. 
"They're not at epidemic proportions, but we've seen a bit more activity in 
Barre.

"We've not arrested anyone in a while (for heroin). There's heroin, but 
there's probably been heroin here for years. Yes, there are folks who come 
in from out-of-town, but a lot of the people we deal with are local people.

"With overdose calls… we do have some, but the numbers aren't huge. I don't 
want to say that we don't have a problem. I don't think we're in a huge 
crisis, but I do think it deserves attention."

'Significant' increase

in activity in Berlin

Despite having no town center to speak of where teens congregate, Berlin 
Police report a marked surge in drug-related crime, particularly during the 
summer months.

Berlin Police Chief Bill Jennings said most of the drug arrests were the 
result of traffic stops, and calls from residents reporting suspicious 
activity.

In 2001, he said there were a total of 51 drug arrests, 48 for marijuana, 
two for cocaine and one for heroin.

In the first six months of this year, he said there were 35 arrests for 
marijuana, one for cocaine and one for heroin.

"That was an increase, for the first six months of the year compared with 
20 for the same period last year," said Jennings. "That's a very 
significant increase. "I'll think we'll be up to 90 cases this year."

Over in Waterbury

In Waterbury, police chief Bill Wolfe said there had been few arrests for 
heroin, although a recent seizure of 3.2 grams of the drug after a man was 
shot in the knee at a local residence last month was an ominous sign.

"We've not seen a significant problem with heroin to this day, but it is 
here," he said. "We've had isolated events where we've recovered heroin, 
but it is not of the magnitude of the problem in Barre and Montpelier."

He said there was no discernable street drug activity, but noted there had 
been a 25 percent increase in burglaries in the last six months that could 
be drug-related.

"I'm inclined to believe that it is (related)," he said.

He also expressed concern at state budget cuts that could limit law 
enforcement efforts to combat heroin.

"I'm almost certain that will trickle down to drug enforcement efforts, 
which is discouraging," he said. "It's a huge problem statewide and we 
actually need to do more enforcement work."

Jo Romano, a substance abuse counselor in central Vermont who works on 
preventative programs said there is a pattern of drug dealers arriving at 
motels in the area on Thursdays to ply their wares, first selling drugs 
cheaply to get teens "hooked," and then raising prices.

And she warned of more problems to come, with a surge of ecstasy, a 
so-called "rave" drug popular at all-night dance parties, flooding the area.

"The same thing is happening now with ecstasy, starting out cheap," she said.
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