WE ALL HAVE A STAKE IN VILLAGE PARK COMPLEX

The nation's much-ballyhooed war on drugs involves a lot of
hand-to-hand fighting.

Victories come slowly -- one house, one block, one neighborhood at a time.

That's why all area residents should be interested in what's been
happening recently at the Village Park Apartments complex in North
Scranton.

Once a haven for illegal drug trafficking, Village Park has been
saved by concerned residents who joined forces with city officials to
drastically reduce the amount of drug activity taking place in the
privately-owned complex.

The residents initiated an effective crime watch effort, police
increased patrols in the area and the city installed a barricade to
reduce rampant drive-through drug activity.

Now, as a result of public safety concerns and a number of other
valid reasons, the city plans to remove the barricade, raising fear
in some quarters that drive-through drug activity will once again
flourish along Curtis Lane, the city-owned street that runs through
the development.

Crime watch officials and police have indicated a willingness to
increase their anti-drug efforts in the area, but Interstate
Management Realty Co., the firm that owns the development, has not
yet joined the discussion about how to keep the project closed to
drug trafficking.

It is important that the firm become actively involved not only in
the discussion but in any resulting action plan.