REPORT SHOWS EXTENT OF ILLEGAL DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Traces of heroin were found at seven Rapides Parish schools last school
year, including three middle schools.

Nine schools tested positive for cocaine, three showed methamphetamine
residue and seven have had the club drug ecstasy inside the building in the
last few months.

Those results came out of a detailed Trace Detection drug report released
by the Rapides Parish School District Tuesday that shows exactly which
schools have traces of illegal drugs. The report shows which schools tested
positive after swabbing various areas within the school, although more
schools may have undiscovered drug traces as well.

Most schools cut down on the painkiller codeine and over-the-counter
"upper" ephedrine after the first drug report came out in the fall.
However, illegal drugs ran more rampant in the spring semester.

Not all the illegal drugs were found in student areas of the schools. Some
teachers' lounges, personal staff mailboxes and janitor closets also
revealed illegal drug traces. The Town Talk agreed not release the exact
location of the drug traces to prevent interference with ongoing criminal
investigations.

While heroin was found in seven schools, the traces found in Plainview,
Lessie Moore and Tioga High School were not in student areas of the school.

The Trace Detection report released Tuesday is a more comprehensive version
of one released last week detailing drug traces found in each of the
parish's 20 middle and high schools. The report reveals that Rapides Parish
has fewer drugs than most districts this size, said Andy Anderson with
Trace Detection. Trace Detection is a private company based in Alexandria
that offers services to numerous districts, including the Dallas
Independent School District.

This more detailed report was released after Superintendent Patsy Jenkins
previously withheld parts of the drug report, including which schools
housed illegal drugs. The Town Talk's public information request
specifically asked Jenkins for "which drugs were found at each school."
Jenkins claimed the newspaper's request didn't ask her to specify which
schools housed drugs like heroin and methamphetamines.

District Attorney James "Jam" Downs said the public has the right to know
which schools were found to have traces of illegal drugs.

Marijuana hit urban schools in the spring, the reports reveal. Traces of
the drug were found in the spring at Brame Middle School, Alexandria Middle
Magnet School, Pineville High and Peabody Magnet High School and Tioga
Middle and minimally in other urban schools.

Morphine hit the rural schools in the spring, with high rates of the
prescription painkiller found at Glenmora, Plainview, Oak Hill and
Northwood high schools.

Three hits of methamphetamines were found in the entire parish, one each at
Carter C. Raymond, Buckeye High and Tioga Junior High School. Anderson said
methamphetamines are typically found in rural, more isolated areas where
people "tend to cook up their own stuff."

School district officials warn that "hits" found by Trace Detection can be
minimal remnants of drugs that may not mean the drug was actually in the
building. People can leave traces if they have recently touched the drug or
if they have ingested the substance and breathe heavily on a bathroom mirror.

Buckeye High School mostly had traces of illegal drugs, including cocaine,
methamphetamines and ecstasy.

More ecstasy was found at Carter C. Raymond Middle School than any other
school in the parish. Marijuana was frequent and one hit of methamphetamine
was also found at the school.

Plainview High School had only two hits of legal drugs in the fall, but the
spring brought much more morphine and newfound hits of heroin and cocaine.

Pineville Junior High saw several hits of cocaine residue throughout the
school. Heroin and ecstasy traces were also found.

Trace Detection did not necessarily test the same places in the fall and
spring inspections.

Arthur F. Smith Middle Magnet School had many hits of ecstasy and very
faint traces of cocaine in the fall, but none showed up when Trace
Detection went back in the spring. Principal Norvella Williams thinks the
gym lockers where the traces were found may have been installed in Arthur
F. Smith this year from another school and the traces wore off after some time.

After many traces were found in Brame Middle School's fall check, only a
couple of marijuana traces were found when Trace Detection went back in the
spring.

Principal Wally Fall's theory is that the students didn't want to bring
anything else to school after they saw Trace Detection checking lockers and
other areas. He also thinks that construction workers from Brame's
remodeling project may have brought in some of the drug residue.

Peabody High School Principal Lee Dotson has the same theory about the
origin of his school's major traces of heroin and marijuana. The brand new
building was under construction all year, and he thinks some workers may
have brought in the drugs and drug traces.

Peabody had no traces of the common legal drugs like morphine, codeine and
ephedrine.

Alexandria Senior High had fewer traces of ephedrine and codeine after the
fall semester. Principal Joe Moreau said that's because he forbid students
to bring any open fast-food drinks or water bottles from home, a method
many were using to bring in the drugs.

"We feel that made a difference," Moreau said. "We also put more staff
monitors in key areas where the drugs were found."

Moreau is concerned about the one hit of heroin found at ASH in the spring.

"Any time you have a hard substance it's an obvious concern," he said. "We
made more of an effort to bring the dogs in on a regular basis."

Moreau also said Trace Detection led him help his staff be more aware of
drugs. He said students sleeping often in class show signs of possible drug
abuse and parents are called and told about the private Trace Detection
reports they can have done in their own homes.

Jenkins said she feels that when student resource officers from the
Sheriff's Department are placed in each school next year, students will
think twice about bringing the drugs to school.

"I think that will alleviate a lot of our problems," she said.

Emily Peters: 487-6372;

epeters@thetowntalk.com

Drug traces found in Rapides schools

Alexandria Middle: heroin, 1; morphine, 1; codeine, 11, marijuana, 2.

Brame Junior: cocaine, 1; amphetamine, 29; morphine, 1; EDME*, 2; Ecstacy,
2; codeine, 2; marijuana, 2.

H.R. Lawrence Middle: morphine, 2; codeine, 1.

Lessie Moore: heroin, 1; marijuana, 1.

Pineville Junior: heroin, 1; EDME*, 6; amphetamine, 1; morphine, 1;
Ecstacy, 1; codeine, 1.

Poland Junior: amphetamine, 2; codeine, 1.

C.C. Raymond Middle: methamphetamine, 1; morphine, 4; Ecstacy, 6; codeine,
3; marijuana, 3.

Arthur F. Smith Middle: EDME*, 8; Ecstacy, 3.

Tioga Middle: cocaine, 5; amphetamine, 1; methamphetamine, 1; codeine, 7;
marijuana, 2.

Alexandria Senior High: heroin, 1; cocaine, 1; EDME*, 1; amphetamine, 7;
morphine, 4; ephedrine, 36; codeine, 21; marijuana, 30.

Bolton High: cocaine, 1; codeine, 2; marijuana, 1.

Buckeye High: cocaine, 1; methamphetamine, 1; amphetamine, 1; morphine, 1;
ephedrine, 3; Ecstacy, 3; codeine, 6; marijuana, 1.

Glenmora High: amphetamine, 11; morphine, 24; codeine, 5.

Northwood High: cocaine, 1; EDME*, 1; morphine, 3; codeine, 5; marijuana, 2.

Oak Hill High: amphetamine, 1; EDME*, 1; morphine, 3; codeine, 8; marijuana, 1.

Peabody Magnet: heroin, 4; marijuana, 13.

Pineville High: cocaine, 2; PCP, 1; morphine, 1; Ecstacy, 1; ephedrine, 2;
codeine, 8; marijuana, 16.

Plainview High: heroin, 1; cocaine, 1; amphetamine, 2; morphine, 15;
codeine, 1.

Rapides High: cocaine, 2; amphetamine, 13; codeine, 2; marijuana, 1.

Tioga High: heroin, 1; morphine, 1; ephedrine, 1; Ecstacy, 2; marijuana, 1.

*EDME is aged cocaine residue. PCP is also known as "angel dust."