'EWA GETS ITS OWN ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM

The federal Weed & Seed program, which recruits area residents to help
reduce drug activity and related crime in their neighborhoods, officially
kicks off the 'Ewa portion of its program next week.

As part of Aloha United Way's "Day of Caring," organizers will hold a 7:45
a.m. kickoff breakfast Sept. 4 at Geiger Park off Geiger Road.

Some 1,000 volunteers will participate afterward in a community-wide cleanup
at area schools and parks, the first step in a program that will set up
neighborhood patrols and crime prevention programs in 'Ewa.

Resident Coby Lynn and others who have pushed for the Weed & Seed program
for the last two years hope that will get things rolling.

"It's been kind of stop-and-start the last several months," Lynn said. "It's
easy to get everyone excited in the beginning. The toughest part is keeping
that excitement going."

The 'Ewa Weed & Seed will be the third on 'Oahu. The program also covers
Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown and Waipahu. It is a coordinated effort among city,
state and federal law enforcement agencies and residents to target violent
crime, drug abuse and gang activity.

Weed & Seed relies on community efforts and tough legal penalties to "weed
out" crime, then applies crime prevention, intervention, treatment and
neighborhood revitalization to "seed" a safer community.

Bringing the program to 'Ewa -- a region that covers 'Ewa Villages, 'Ewa by
Gentry and 'Ewa Beach -- comes in response to crime problems that many
residents say are related to drugs.

Of O'ahu's eight police districts, District 8 (Wai'anae Coast-'Ewa) in 2000
had the most negligent homicides (10), rapes (39), aggravated assaults
(188), and sex and family offenses. It ranked second in murders, burglaries
and other assaults.

Weed & Seed got its Hawai'i start in 1998 in Kalihi-Palama/Chinatown, which
saw a 70 percent drop in crime from 1997 to 2000. The Waipahu site began in
late 2000, and drug crimes there have fallen by 78 percent.

While previous sites have focused on low-income housing areas, the 'Ewa site
is spread over several square miles.

Hawai'i program executive director Maile Kanemaru said yesterday that about
100 residents had volunteered for three committees: drug prevention and
treatment, community policing and community restoration.

She said the first step would be to take on the area's high truancy rate,
working with Ilima Intermediate and Campbell High schools. Campbell had the
highest drop-out rate in O'ahu (10.8 percent) for the 1999-2000 school year.

Acting Major Gregory Lefcourt of the Kapolei police station said officers
already had set up an 'Ewa Beach office to meet with residents on their
concerns.

The Weed & Seed program will also allow better coordination with the drug
courts, he said.

Meanwhile, Lynn said two local neighborhood watch patrols had formed since
last year, and organizers will try to revive neighborhood patrols that have
fallen by the wayside.

In the end, Kanemaru said, community participation is the only way the
program will succeed.

"The people decide what they want, and Weed & Seed works with them to
accomplish their collective vision," she said. "But if they don't volunteer,
it's simply not going to happen."