CAN'T HIDE STREET CRIMES

Re the Recent Series "A Serial Killer's Stomping Grounds: The City
You've Never Known":

I am very happy that the editors of such a fine newspaper put such a
masterpiece on the front page. This is a problem that needs to be
addressed. I, for one, am disgusted with the readers who complained
that such an article on the front page will hurt tourism. What do
they think the tourists think when they come to Daytona Beach and see
the prostitutes, crack users and dealers firsthand? No matter where
you go in Daytona Beach, eventually you have to use or cross Ridgewood Avenue.

This problem has become an epidemic because we don't want it on the
front page, let alone mentioned. Forgetting or hiding the problem
doesn't fix it; so, yes, it does need to be on the front page. It
needs to be made public. What does it tell the young people when our
community says, "Let's keep this quiet, not address it and act as if
it's not happening"? That is not the way we deal with problems.

Last but not least, "the crack trade." Sentencing someone to 15 years
in prison because of a drug problem isn't going to solve anything.
These people need help. Not all of them deserve to go to prison.
Anybody who suggests giving someone with a drug problem 15 years in
prison obviously has never had a drug problem or a family member with
an addiction.

Anthony Aramis Eason

Daytona Beach