CITY'S SWIFT ACTION AGAINST DRUGS

I would like to congratulate the mayor of Rutland on his swift action
on behalf of the people of his city. It has become obvious that
violent organized drug crime is making Rutland County a scary place
to live. The level of the violence that has happened in the county
over the last two years is unprecedented in this county. The state of
Vermont and the federal government cannot expect the Rutland City
Police Department, or the small local police departments, to foot the
bill and provide the resources to stop or even slow the influx of
organized crime coming from New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and
parts beyond. Rutland City just by the nature of its location as a
city located on the major east-west corridor, between New York and
Maine, and the north south corridor between Montreal and major cities
in southern New England, makes it the ideal area to set up
distribution points for the drug cartels. This county and this city
need support from the governments beyond our own local governments.

In addition, we need our citizens to be vigilant to what is going on
in their neighborhoods and make the calls to the authorities to
provide information on suspicious activity. We also need those
authorities to be responsive in a professional courteous responsive
manner. The public is the front line on this war on drugs. The public
and the police department need to be very respectful and supportive
of each other on this matter. If the police have the manpower and
resources to do their job, I am sure that we can make Rutland County
and Rutland City a better place to live and raise our families, and
own businesses and properties.

RITA PHELPS

Brandon