DRUG ARRESTS DON'T ALLAY FEARS

Elmira Residents Who Live Near Raided Homes Say They're Still Worried.

It's not the drug dealers that make Deanna Coolbaugh, of Davis
Street, apprehensive.

It's the unpredictable nature of their customers and their
habit-supporting petty crimes that she and her neighbors worry about.

Coolbaugh lives less than a half-block away from two of the nine
apartments that were raided by police Thursday. Nineteen suspected
drug dealers were arrested during the initial sweep and two others
were arrested on Friday. Police say more arrests are pending and
those already in custody face a variety of state and federal charges.

Coolbaugh and others who would not give their names but also live
near the raided apartment were pleased that 21 drug pushers have been
taken off the streets. But they also said it is just a matter of time
before they are replaced by new drug pushers.

"I'm not afraid of the dealers, I'm more afraid of the crackheads and
what they'll do," she said. "I still feel safe because everyone knows
I'm a mother of three small children and I don't have anything."

For the most part, Hathorn Court -- where Coolbaugh lives and where
two of the drug houses were located -- has been relatively quiet,
when compared to past summers.

"People are getting their tires slashed, and it's noisy, people party
until 3 a.m.," said Melissa Peterson, who lives on Warnick Street.
"People talk about having guns. I think it's just talk because I
haven't heard any gunshots. But I was living on the corner of Fifth
and Magee streets when (Anthony Hall) was killed so after that, a
drug bust is nothing to me."

Peterson and Coolbaugh both said they were not surprised by
Thursday's drug sweep. But they also said they doubted the long-range
effectiveness of the arrests.

"It was just a matter of time before these ones got arrested, but
they'll never get rid of them. (The dealers) will find a vulnerable
single mom, and throw some money at her. That's how a lot of them get
in here and the police are just getting the small fish," said Coolbaugh.

Peterson said if those arrested get out of jail, it's likely they'll
return to their old drug-dealing ways.

"That's the only way to get money in a place like this, unless you
want to work two or three jobs, which is crazy. But I'm that kind of
crazy," she said.

Keith Callear, who lives on Walnut Street near another apartment
raided by police Thursday, learned of the early morning raids as he
walked by the apartment house and saw police preparing to execute
their search warrant.

"They had the battering ram and were peeking in the windows," he
said. "One of the police had his hand on his gun, so it wasn't hard
to figure out what was going on. But I wasn't surprised because I've
seen the foot traffic in and out of there. They got rid of 21 of
them, and that's good, but there are probably 40 replacements waiting
to come in."

However, Callear said the arrests haven't made him feel any safer,
and like Coolbaugh, he's especially concerned about the muggings and
robberies that seem to follow the drug trade.

"I make sure I'm home before dark and I don't carry more than $20 in
my pocket, so what does that tell you?" he said.