POLICE, COMMUNITY UNITE TO ADDRESS DRUG PROBLEM

WILMINGTON - Local police chief, Lt. Wally Evans, believes the
community should face head-on its serious problem with illicit drugs.

"You can either lay it out and attack it, or hide your head in the
sand and let it build," he said Wednesday. "It's in every step of
society. So, if a community is going to say it doesn't have a problem
it does have a problem."

The drive to do something about the growing problem of illicit drugs
in the community, including crack cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl-laced
heroin, began when Deputy Chief Michael Boyle came out of management
to work the streets again, and found a drug problem existed in the
school system.

"Several people approached us about the problem," Evans noted. "We
said we were not going to hide it. We were not going to bury our
heads in the sand. We held an open forum on Aug. 22, and Deputy Boyle
brought an addict he'd arrested and who had done some prison time.

"He and we talked about 90 minutes during the forum. It really opened
some eyes in the community."

Another eye-opener is in the planning stage for mid-September.

In the meantime, Mar Theater co-owners Denise Issert, Rick Smith and
Mark Shell are committing their business as a drug-free workplace,
and are urging other business people to follow suit.

Transparencies are being prepared for placement in the windows of
participating businesses. The transparencies state:

"We at the (name of business) are committed to a drug-free workplace.
Any employee of the (business) will participate in random drug
screening. The (business) is partnering with the Wilmington Police
Department to promote a drug-free environment for your children."

Additionally, every Mar Theatre employee found a notice to that
effect in their pay envelopes last week. The notice read:

"We, the owners of the Mar Theatre, are committed to maintaining a
drug-free workplace. To insure this, all existing employees of the
Mar Theatre will be screened.

"Then on a random basis, all employees will participate in an ongoing
drug screening program.

"There will be no cost to Mar employees. Employees under 18 will also
require a parent's signature on a release form."

The random drug screening is being done in conjunction with Silver
Cross Hospital in Joliet, Issert noted.

Evans said the co-owners are also involved with the Wilmington
Chamber of Commerce.

Boyle is calling the idea "fantastic."

"I've never heard of another community that's done this," he said.
"The reaction we've gotten from the business community and schools
has just been phenomenal as far as cooperation is concerned.

"It's that we've got a problem, and we're going to correct it. When
we use the theater (for the September public forum), we will do a
PowerPoint demonstration on the theater screen"

"We've also printed up some cards for our officers to hand out to
youngsters," he added.

"When we see someone helping an elderly person across the street, or
picking up a broken pop bottle, the officer will approach the
youngster and give them the card that says, 'You've been caught being
good, and you're entitled to a pass for one free movie at Mar Theatre.'"

Boyle said he has received only one negative comment to date.

"From someone who was concerned what it was going to make people
think of our community because we drug-test our kids," he noted.