HUNTERDON SUMMIT TO ADDRESS DRUG WOES

RARITAN TWP. - With at least eight confirmed heroin deaths in Hunterdon
County this year, a collection of county agencies is getting ready to roll
up its sleeves and tackle the problem.

Representatives of the state Human Services Department, county prosecutors
and freeholders are slated to hold a countywide drug summit 7 p.m. Oct. 29
at the county administration building on Route 12.

Substance abuse counselors, school officials and parents will also be
involved in the meeting, which will address the scope of drug use in
Hunterdon and how to make inroads toward stopping it.

Stakeholders in the committee holding the forum are expected to unveil an
action plan aimed at curbing drug use, according to a statement from Angelo
DiOrio, Human Services administrator.

The meeting will focus on interdiction, identification and intervention,
along with making help available, according to the statement. This
information is a vital component of anti-drug efforts, one official said.

"Our kids (those ages 13 to 25) are the ones using drugs in this county,"
said Kenneth Harding, a lieutenant in the detective division of the
Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. "The answer to this problem has long
been to do this. When we talk about kids, their parents, probably 75
percent of the time, don't know what they are doing."

Harding said in a county such as Hunterdon, which does not have a
centralized, local source of the drugs tracking them can prove difficult.
He said parents can play a vital role.

Harding said heroin leads the list of priorities, along with more
traditional drugs such as marijuana and new club drugs like Ecstasy. Many
of the drugs come from Newark and Trenton, he said.

"When you are talking about heroin we don't have a place in Hunterdon
County where people go to buy heroin," said Harding, who added having to
send detectives to various locations throughout the state taxes resources.
"They are going, buying, using it and coming back."

The drugs kids and adults get can be fatal.

In January, 17-year-old Gregory Baltz of High Bridge died of a heroin
overdose at his borough home. One teen involved in the fatal night, Brandon
Winters, is awaiting trial on charges in the drug-induced death.

Another teen involved in the trip to Newark to buy the heroin that killed
Baltz, 18-year-old Leonardo DiPasquale of Califon, died in July after an
overdose.

One Monday authorities reported another death in Flemington, this time
25-year-old Fernando Ledesma of Regional Court.

DiOrio could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His agency is leading the
charge against drugs.