Pubdate: Wed, 02 Mar 2005
Source: Daily World, The (LA)
Copyright: South Louisiana Publishing 2005
Contact:  http://www.dailyworld.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1740

INCREASED LOCAL DRUG TRAFFIC HAS US WORRIED

While The Facts Are Difficult To Come By, There Is Disturbing Anecdotal 
Evidence That Drugs And The Drug Culture Are Growing In Opelousas.

Neighboring parishes say they are seeing more cases in their courts from 
drug activity that originated not in Houston or New Orleans or somewhere 
else, but in Opelousas.

An increase in violence in the home and on the street could be another 
indicator.

And we are surely aware that as Opelousas grows as a center of commerce, 
attracting more people for legitimate reasons, it will also grow as a 
center of illicit commerce. The factors that make a St. Landry Parish that 
is growing in population and in pay scale attractive to all sorts of 
retailers are the very same things that make us attractive to those with 
less than legal things on their minds.

We need to be on our guard.

Opelousas has worked too hard to rid itself of drug traffickers and all the 
bad news that they bring to let them sneak back into our community. We have 
claimed our streets as our own and we want to keep them as our own.

But bad people will come back if good people look the other way when they 
see them. Bad things will drive out the good if we let it happen.

This is not just a problem for our law enforcement agencies to address. 
They have worked tirelessly, and sometimes faced deadly danger head on, to 
restore Opelousas to its decent citizenry, and we are certain that they 
will continue to face the challenge.

But they cannot do it alone. This is a problem for all of us - every 
citizen - to be concerned about. The bad guys will take all the slack we 
give them. Each of us must be vigilant, concerned, and involved.

That does not mean that we must put ourselves in harm's way. Doing that 
will just make the problem worse. But it does mean that we can pick up the 
phone and call the police when we see something suspicious. It does mean 
that we can keep an eye or our neighborhoods and watch for signs of 
trouble. And it does mean that we as a community can declare loud and clear 
that we want every neighborhood, every street to be a place where our kids 
can play.

We also have to remember that getting drug traffickers off the streets is 
only a part of the solution. We need also to address the root causes of 
drug use - unemployment, poverty, peer pressure, boredom - to keep it from 
getting started, and we must continue to build accessible avenues of help, 
here at home, for those who become ensnared by it.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom