IN PORTSMOUTH, ANTI-DRUG IDEAS REVIEWED

PORTSMOUTH -- Community leaders at the city's July drug summit offered a
wish list of solutions for preventing drug crime but expressed doubts that
the programs could be put in place. On Thursday, federal officials
presented 136 ideas from the summit, which was designed to help address the
city's struggle with drugs and related violent crime.

The recommendations focused on helping people find healthy alternatives to
drugs, strengthening families and encouraging individuals to improve their
lives.

Suggestions included providing vocational training to reduce the high
school dropout rate, developing after-school and summer activities and
educating teen mothers about parenting.

Enforcement ideas, such as beefing up citizens' roles in clearing drug
crime from neighborhoods, were less popular among people who attended the
summit.

Participants who evaluated the recommendations reported that they believed
few of the ideas were highly feasible. Out of the 136 recommendations, only
seven were regarded as most likely to happen.

Some of the top ideas, however, already exist, including a list of city
recreational facilities and a children's library reading program.

"You guys are doing some great things," said Michael Wood of the National
Crime Prevention Council, which co-sponsored the summit. "But guess what?
You've got to get that message out."

The summit was part of a new Drug Enforcement Administration program that
couples law enforcement with a community treatment and prevention plan.
Portsmouth was one of three cities nationwide chosen for the program.

The next step will be for a community committee to put together a plan,
said Anne Lyons, who heads the group.

"If we have the plan together and work it, we're going to see a difference
in Portsmouth in the next year," Lyons said. "We are not going to make the
mistake of trying to do everything and getting nothing done."