Eight Mexican illegal aliens arrested in Moon were members of a group responsible for smuggling and distributing black tar heroin in Allegheny and Beaver counties, according to arrest affidavits filed by the state Attorney General's Office. Agents from the state Bureau of Narcotics Investigation and Drug Control, working with local police, seized six ounces of the heroin and 485 balloons filled with the drug, containing an unknown amount. The drug would have sold for an estimated $50,000 on the street, authorities said. A balloon can contain a gram or more. [continues 633 words]
FRANCONIA - A sea of 140 elementary school students dressed in white DARE T-shirts filled the Earl-Bowl Lanes on Sunday, aiming for victory and cheering for Retro Bill, who made a guest appearance from Beverly Hills, Calif. "He's the most in demand K through 12 speaker in the United States," said Tim Boyle, a Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer with the Franconia Township Police Department. Retro Bill, who sports a 50s-style pompadour, is the Official DARE Safety Buddy for the national program. As a representative for numerous children's programs, he spends 300 days a year on the road and his visit on Sunday was hosted by the police department. [continues 489 words]
Palisades School District should be commended for considering random drug testing as an employment requirement. This affects the quality of work and unexpected costs associated with work outages. How about the insurance costs of health-related drug complications, not to mention the simple question, ''What the heck is wrong with our society?'' Drug use is simply not a behavior that should be in any way accepted. Marie Guido Peterson Bethlehem Township [end]
A hot topic in the news lately is the court case of Morse v. Frederick, or more commonly known as the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case. This is a case regarding a high school senior displaying a sign across from his high school that stated "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" when the Olympic torch passed through his hometown. When the school administration caught wind of it, they forced him to take it down, and then suspended him for 10 days. Logically, this case should not even be up for debate. The principal obviously violated the student's First Amendment rights when she made him take the sign down, and then suspended him. A lower court decided that the sign did not cause a disruption. It was also displayed off of school grounds during a non-school-sponsored event. The jurisdiction of the school ended at the schoolhouse gate. The student was in violation of no school rule, and was simply exercising his free speech rights. [continues 386 words]
While watching an Olympic Torch Relay in 2002 pass through his hometown of Juneau, Alaska, Joseph Frederick and several of his classmates unveiled a banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus." He was suspended from school for displaying the banner. In justifying the suspension, the school principal stated that Frederick's banner contained a message contrary to the school's educational policy to discourage drug use. In other words, the principal suspended Frederick because of the content of his speech. Regulating the content of Frederick's speech by suspending him from school is clear violation of Frederick's First Amendment free speech rights. It makes little difference that Frederick did not speak his message. The U.S. Supreme Court has granted First Amendment protections to expressive actions - -- actions with a communicative element -- such as the display of a banner. Frederick's stated purpose in displaying the banner was not to promote drug use, but to exercise his free speech rights. [continues 379 words]
We have opposed mandatory drug testing in schools because they are intrusive and presume students to be guilty until they demonstrate otherwise. The argument about requiring people to prove their innocence was made last week in opposing the use of a drug-sniffing dog in the Peters Township schools, but we don't believe it applies. As we understand it, the dog would simply stroll through the school and react if it catches the scent of drugs. Even if it gets a positive whiff, it doesn't attack anyone, it simply lies down. [continues 132 words]
Archye Leacock Among Group Trying To Save Black Kids From A Life Of Crime - Or Death THE YOUNG MEN are baby-faced but old and world-weary around the eyes. They have been caught with a gun or a knife for the first time. They haven't shot or stabbed anyone. Yet. Some of them are only 14. All of them are juveniles on the brink of embracing the street life that could kill them, maim them or land them in jail for destroying another human being. [continues 1901 words]
Looking back, Teri Appleton sees lots of red flags. Like the times Appleton discovered money missing from her purse or couldn't find a piece of jewelry. She had trouble rousing her teenage daughter from sleep. While driving, Appleton recalled looking in her rearview mirror and seeing the girl nodding off in the back seat. When Appleton opened a roll of coins, she found them stuffed with tinfoil and hardware bolts. But the moment she knew - really knew - came on an average ho-hum morning inside Appleton's comfortable split-level home in Pennsauken. [continues 1668 words]
Editor's note: The following are a selection of letters on violence in Philadelphia written by Terry Saskin's eighth-grade class at the Frederick Douglass Elementary School in North Philadelphia. To the Daily News: Have you ever considered listening to the voices of inner-city teens? We want people to know that, as young adults, we suffer just as much as the next. We wake up every morning scared to walk outside. We walk the streets, scared that a stray bullet is the last thing we will feel. [continues 1204 words]
Board Studies Legality. Official Says Program Boosts Graduation Rate. The Tamaqua Area School District is considering drug tests for its students. The school board on Tuesday discussed implementing some sort of testing, but was warned that privacy laws would mean the tests couldn't be random unless students or guardians consent, and it couldn't target student groups. But students enrolled in extracurricular, school-sponsored activities, such as interscholastic sports, could be tested as part of a unified code of conduct, high school Assistant Principal Steve Behr told the board. [continues 379 words]
The case is Morse v. Fredrick, 06-278. The issue is First Amendment rights. And the heart of the matter? A 14-foot banner suggesting Jesus Christ sucks marijuana vapors from a bong. However, before anyone can dismiss the odd marriage of Jesus and drug paraphernalia as irrelevant, one must understand a notable facet of the case: religion, God and Christianity have nothing to do with it. In fact, there is only one higher authority at work and that is the U.S. Constitution. And even though this controversy doesn't carry with it the ideological weight of other similar cases, Morse v. Fredrick does pose an interesting question: When is freedom of expression less relevant, or less important, than institutional authority? [continues 507 words]
MILFORD - Social Worker Mary Stanley has seen horror stories of drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers on television, in newspapers and glorified on the silver screen. That's why she decided to offer Pike County teenagers - and their parents - a place full of hope, the Pike County Teen Alcohol and Drug Resource Center. The Center offers teenagers and parents a place to learn, talk to others and express their feelings. Recently, Stanley enjoyed the official Grand Opening of the Pike County Teen Alcohol and Drug Resource Center, located inside Milford Health & Wellness at 111 East Catharine Street. She also celebrated her membership to the Pike County Chamber of Commerce. [continues 221 words]
Bradford County solicitor Jonathan Foster reported Thursday that he is looking into the federal grant received by the sheriff's office to combat the local methamphetamine problem in the area. Foster said that he would probably be able to provide a legal opinion about the grant in about a week. The solicitor said he has already contacted the sheriff's office on the matter, but has not yet received a reply from the sheriff. Bradford County Sheriff Steve Evans applied for the $246,000 grant in August 2006 to assist his office in certain anti-methamphetamine efforts. The grant was eventually received through Congressman Don Sherwood's office. [continues 260 words]
Hostettler Refuses To Back Down TOWANDA -- Bradford County Sheriff Steve Evans insisted Wednesday that allegations he misrepresented his office to obtain a federal anti-drug grant were "absolutely false" and "totally irresponsible." He also said the $246,000 federal grant is being used to fight the area's methamphetamine problem "on several fronts," and that his office has the authority to make arrests in drug-related cases. Evans was responding to allegations made by former Troy police Chief Greg Hostettler. Hostettler is a candidate for sheriff, running against Evans in the May primary election. [continues 587 words]
Sheriff Steve Evans "misrepresented" his office in the application for U.S. Department of Justice money that resulted in a $246,807 anti-methamphetamine grant being awarded to the Bradford County Sheriff's Office, according to Greg Hostettler, a candidate for sheriff in the May Republican primary election. Hostettler, in an interview on Monday, contended Evans wanted the money to buy equipment and conduct training to further what Hostettler said was Evans' interest in establishing a countywide police force using sheriff's deputies. [continues 1141 words]
TOWANDA -- Athens attorney Daniel J. Barrett, who is running for Bradford County district attorney, said it is far too soon to say whether he would be in favor of an expanded role for employees of the county sheriff's department, in which they would be included in a county-wide drug enforcement police team. Barrett said that, if elected, he would consult with the county commissioners and the county sheriff on whether they would be in favor of such an expansion. [continues 463 words]
Most of us have become apathetic about the so-called war on drugs. It would appear to be another empty government promise. Advertisement After spending billions to stop drugs from entering the United States, there is no victory in sight. Drugs are readily available on any street corner and easily obtained in our schools and prisons. Clearly, the war on drugs is lost. Illegal drug use finances an underworld of crime that affects each and every one of us. Many drug users have to steal $300 a day to support their habit. As taxpayers we struggle to work and earn a living. The government taxes us and distributes the revenue as it sees fit - public assistance, housing, shelters, welfare, grants, etc. [continues 165 words]
NORTH BUFFALO -- Implementing stiffer penalties, more education programs and increased rehabilitation efforts were just some of the recommendations suggested by local police and prosecutors during a special task force meeting to discuss the state's war on drugs. State Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Ford City, who was chosen to head the House Task Force on Drugs and Law Enforcement, along with several other state representatives on the Republican Policy Committee, heard from county police officers, district judges, prosecutors and treatment professionals Thursday during one of six meetings across the state to discuss the issue. [continues 389 words]
They Fear District Is Trying to Blame Them for Principal's Actions. The internal investigation into former Nitschmann Middle School Principal John Acerra's questionable work habits hit a wall this week when the Bethlehem Area School District's $400-an-hour lawyers had trouble finding teachers willing to talk to them, according to district sources. School board President Craig T. Haytmanek said interviews with employees have been rescheduled for next week because of PSSA testing and teachers who are unwilling to attend meetings without their union attorneys. [continues 608 words]
Inside Pennsylvania
