SILENCE IS WRONG RESPONSE TO PORTER COUNTY'S DRUG PROBLEM

The Issue: Porter County Officials' Response to Drug Abuse

Our opinion: For the sake of all citizens of Porter County who have
been affected by illegal drugs, let that response not be continued

It's easy to sum up the response from the Porter County commissioners
and County Council President Dan Whitten to The Times' recent series
on the county's drug crisis:

Zip. Zilch. Zero. That's right. Their response is silence.

Neither has responded to requests from The Times for comment.

The appropriate thing to say might be that they're aware of the
situation and working on how to respond to it.

They could say the county is willing to commit sufficient resources
to provide not just adequate law enforcement but also treatment and prevention.

They could say they grieve the loss of human life and potential to
illegal drugs like heroin.

They could say they plan to appoint a blue ribbon panel of community
leaders to study the issue in depth and propose an appropriate plan of action.

But to not respond at all is to do exactly what caused Porter
County's drug problem to escalate.

It's not as if they aren't aware of the problem. Commissioners
President Bob Harper commented in one part of the series that Robert
Taylor, who heads the Porter County Drug Task Force, "has a good
handle on what an insidious problem this is."

Harper also said for that story that the county needs more
rehabilitation options, though he wasn't specific on how to provide them.

But those comments, while part of the series, were offered before the
series began. Since then, there has been no response.

Ignoring this problem won't make it go away. The lack of a strong
response in the past is proof.

So, commissioners and council members, what's your response going to be?

Voters, this is an election year. Demand a response on this critical issue.

For the sake of all citizens of Porter County who have been affected
by illegal drugs, let that response not be continued silence.