'WEED AND SEED' PLANS GROW

The federally funded "Weed and Seed" program is going to pursue two
initiatives in Springfield - branching out into the Lake Victoria
neighborhood and inaugurating a new computer lab -thanks to a
donation from the nonprofit Urban Technology Center.

The announcement was made Thursday at a reception celebrating the
renewal of Springfield's official recognition as a Weed and Seed
site, one of only eight in Illinois.

"I'm very excited at having received official recognition," Robert
Blackwell, coordinator for Weed and Seed programs in Springfield,
said to an audience gathered at the Springfield Art Association, 700
N. Fourth St. "We're working in the three most challenged
neighborhoods in the city, and we're taking our strategy to the Lake
Victoria neighborhood."

The U.S. Justice Department's Weed and Seed program funds Safe Havens
in needy neighborhoods. Current Safe Haven sites locally are at
Feitshans-Edison Magnet School, 1101 S. 15th St.; Washington Middle
School, 2300 E. Jackson St.; and McClernand Elementary School, 801 N.
Sixth St.

Those gathered for the reception included U.S. Attorney Frances
Hulin, as well as Springfield Police Chief John Harris and
representatives of the FBI, the U.S. marshal's office, the Drug
Enforcement Administration and Illinois State Police.

The Safe Havens offer after-school activities such as homework help,
arts and sports for needy children from third grade through high
school.

That's the "seed" portion. The "weed" portion is the Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of personnel from local,
state and federal law enforcement agencies. Their biggest anti-drug
effort, Operation JAGUAR, has netted more than 40 arrests since its
inception in 1998.

Blackwell said Weed and Seed decided to expand into Lake Victoria, a
neighborhood that includes Lake Victoria Drive, just north of
Stevenson Drive, after business owners and residents, as well as the
neighborhood police officer, inquired last year.

"There are a lot of safety issues there," Blackwell said. "In the
past couple of years, they have had two murders in the neighborhood.
They're right on the edge of having real major problems."

Just when a Safe Haven can be established in the neighborhood remains
uncertain, however, because of the lack of a school in which to house
one.

But computers that will be provided by the Urban Technology Center
may solve that problem, Blackwell said. The New York-based outfit
works with the Justice Department to provide hardware and software
for Weed and Seed Safe Havens for "SEEDTECH" computer labs, and has
offered to make computers available to Springfield's Weed and Seed.

Blackwell said the technology center's software and curriculum will
be implemented at the Feitshans Safe Haven because of that school's
readily available computers. If negotiations with Abundant Faith
Christian Center, 2525 Taylor Ave., pan out, that church, near Lake
Victoria, could become the home of six work stations from the
not-for-profit.

"Discussions are under way with Abundant Faith, and if we can use the
SEEDTECH model to begin programming a computer bank there, then that
may lead to more in the area." Blackwell said.

The technology center's contribution is a $30,000 value, said Justice
Department spokeswoman Sharon Paul.

Weed and Seed has been in Springfield since 1991, Paul said. With the
renewal of Springfield's "official recognition" status, the next step
is to apply for a $175,000 federal grant by May 31. There are
approximately 270 Weed and Seed sites nationwide.