MELTON, AUTHORITIES VISIT JACKSON PREP

Wes Lawrence knew state drug czar Frank Melton was coming to his school
Thursday, but he wasn't prepared for the sight that greeted him when he got
to Jackson Prep.

Lawrence, 18, a senior, watched as about 30 officers from the Mississippi
Bureau of Narcotics, Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, Rankin County
Sheriff's Department and Flowood Police Department descended on his
Lakeland Drive school.

"I figured it was going to be one guy, if anything," Lawrence said. "This
was like the SWAT team coming down the hall."

He finds the effect startling. And he doesn't think the impact of the
25-minute visit on students is good.

"It makes them fear law enforcement, not really respect them," he said.

Melton, executive director of the Narcotics Bureau since December, on
Thursday made his fifth walk-through visit with law officers to a
Mississippi school.

It was the first visit by his state agency to a private school. But Melton
and Jackson Prep headmaster Bill McGee are old friends; Melton's wife,
Ellen, a pediatrician, was the family doctor for the McGees when they lived
in Melton's home state of Texas.

Melton and the officers gathered in the school's foyer at 8 a.m., greeting
students as they arrived. When the bell rang for classes to start, officers
walked through the halls and chatted briefly.

Melton said his officers have not searched for drugs or contraband at the
schools, and they aren't trying to scare kids. "This is strictly about
prevention and education," he said.

"The purpose is to go around and greet kids," Melton said. "The message
we're sending is we care about them. The answer to our (drug) problem is
education and prevention."

Jessica Kinnison, 16, a Prep 11th-grader, finds Melton's message and
methods impressive. "He has great passion for what he does, and it shows in
what he does."

Melton plans in coming weeks to visit Durant High and schools in Greenwood,
Clarksdale and Southaven. He's already visited Jim Hill High, Lanier High
and Provine High in Jackson and Madison Central High.

For years, Melton, a state Board of Education member since 1992 and chief
executive officer for the TV-3 Inc. Foundation, has visited schools across
the state, taking his blunt, fiery message to teens about making good
choices, getting an education, respecting themselves and shunning drugs and
sex.

Melton said it's a good use of MBN resources to send agents into the
schools as they open, then go on with the rest of the day's work.

"I've gotten a chance to see 200 or 300 kids. The key is to protect the
kids doing the right thing. That is very important," he said. "The easiest
thing to do is chase a bunch of street-corner kids."

John Colette, a Jackson lawyer, doesn't believe the visits to schools help
the kids who aren't doing drugs feel supported.

"Seeing law enforcement en masse I don't think sends that message. I don't
think he's using the proper means to accomplish the goal he has in mind,"
he said. "If I were in school ... and a bunch of policemen showed up, I'd
be scared to death."

Sen. Tommy Robertson, R-Moss Point, a member of the Senate Judiciary
Committee that will consider Melton's appointment as agency head, said he
sees nothing wrong with the walk-through.

"If they're talking to them about drugs and things like that, I don't see a
real problem with it. I'd like to see the officers out there in the field,
too," he said.

Before he visits a school, Melton first talks with administrators. Some
students and teachers may be in the dark.

On Wednesday, McGee announced on the school intercom that Melton would be
coming Thursday.

"Frank has done a lot of great things," he said. "We have a great
relationship with law enforcement, especially Flowood police. They're
always welcome."

"I think that the kids have always responded well to Frank Melton. Meeting
kids where they are is a great start to prevention," said Tricia Walters,
whose son, Alan, is a Prep eighth-grader. "I really applaud him. It's an
innovative approach. I'm sure it got the children's attention."