ONLY A STRONG, UNITED FRONT WILL RID CITY OF DRUGS, DEALERS

Learning that Huntington is a prime location for dealing crack cocaine may
come as quite a shock to some. Others may be thinking, "That can't happen in
my neighborhood. My children are safe."

If you are feeling complacently isolated by the recent deaths of those
four young people who were just beginning their lives, you are wrong.
Your children could be dead wrong.

This horrible event should outrage all citizens of Huntington. Let
these senseless killings shock us into action. Not vigilante, but
cooperative and constructive action. Unification of purpose by every
Huntington resident is the only tool that will be effective against
this evil which pervades our city. We need to demand, not only from
our city leaders, but our state and federal officials to bring
multiple resources to us that will cut this drug pipeline. I once
lived on a quiet street above Ritter Park. Nearly all residents on our
street were professors, doctors or teachers. We regularly got together
to celebrate birthdays and graduations, and hold Fourth of July
picnics. We knew each other and the names of all the children and
pets. It was the Neighborhood of Perfect.

One night we went to bed and awoke the next day to find a crack house
had appeared on our street. Yes, all you residents of Huntington who
are feeling smug and secure in your homes, it can happen on your
street, no matter where you live. This is a true story, and this is
what we did to rid our wonderful community of its terrible blight.
First, we united together. We became major pests of our city
officials, police, federal drug task force and FBI. We wrote letters
and made phone calls every day. We held meetings in our homes and
invited all those civil servants to speak. We sought advice about how
we could constructively help, and we followed them by delegating
tasks. We allowed law enforcement access to our homes for
surveillance. Above all, we kept the pressure on all of our officials,
city, state and federal, and made certain that our purpose of
eliminating this crack house was not forgotten by anyone. It took
nearly a year before the house and the dealers were eliminated.

The FBI regional head came from Pittsburgh and gave our neighborhood a
plaque. He said if all citizens would work together as we did, there
would be no "safe" place for a drugs. Our street again became the
Neighborhood of Perfect. Huntington can get rid of the drug problem.
We can again make it the All-American City it once was and a safe
place to bring up our children. Our neighborhood saw this evil cancer
eliminated. I know our city can do the same. However, it will not
happen unless everyone - poor and affluent, churches and synagogues,
blacks and whites - come together as one united city and own this problem.

Accept your responsibility and be a part of the solution. We are all
united in this tragedy.

Brenda Philips is a Huntington resident.