DRUG TASK FORCE GETS NEW NAME AND NEW OFFICE

The Longview Drug Task Force is not only moving from its downtown offices,
but the city agency is also changing its name to the more accurate Partners
in Prevention.

The change in name, according to project manager Dietrich Johnson, is to
let people know the task force does much more than just work in the area of
drug education.

"From the beginning the name never really represented the work of our
community partnership," Johnson said Tuesday. "We're about much more than
drug prevention."

Johnson said the Partners in Prevention will move its offices to the City
National Bank building at 911 N. Loop 281 on Aug. 7 as part of the effort
to relocate all of the city's offices from the downtown Atrium Building to
allow Network, Inc. to expand its offices in that building.

Johnson said the name "drug task force" is often confusing to both Longview
residents and volunteers who work with the agency, because it implies the
agency concentrates its efforts to only the issue of drug abuse.

"People ask us why we call ourselves the drug task force," he said. "Even
people who work with us have wondered about the name. That is only a small
component of what we do."

The name Partners in Prevention is a more fitting name for the agency that
works with a wide representation of community residents to address issues
that are important to Longview, Johnson explained.

"This different name will allow us to be more effective and present the
message of who we are and what we do."

Johnson said the agency is a true partnership of people involved in the
community and with this new name it moves away from the perception the drug
task force is a law enforcement agency.

The goal of this partnership is to provide education and community
mobilization connecting all of Longview to enhance the quality of life in
the city, Johnson said.

"We want to make this city a safe place to live, work and play," he said.