COUNCIL CONCERNED ABOUT DRUGS IN SWIFT CURRENT

Swift Current city councillor Stacey Ellertson wants parents of high
school students in Swift Current to have a serious talk with their children.

In a city council meeting April 21, Ellertson questioned what was
being done to combat what he calls a serious drug problem in Swift
Current and urged parents, children, teachers and the RCMP to discuss
the issue more.

Sgt. Pat Laybolt and Corp. Quinlan, of the Swift Current city RCMP
detachment, were present at the meeting to present the arrest March
2009 statistics for the city of Swift Current.

The statistics showed there were three drug enforcement arrests for
the month. This number is down two compared to the same period last
year and down 12 from the same period in 2007. The RCMP reports 15
drug enforcement arrests for 2009.

Ellertson, however, believes these numbers are not reflective of the
current drug situation in Swift Current.

"I looked at the line of drug enforcement numbers and it seems to me
that those numbers go in the opposite direction and that our problem
is getting worse," he says.

Ellertson says he has received calls from constituents and concerned
parents regarding reports of wide-spread drug related activity at
Swift Current Comprehensive High School (SCCHS) and in other areas of the city.

"I got a phone call and was talking to someone about the drug problem
here in our city, especially at the Comp (SCCHS) and it was pretty
horrifying to hear about some of the things that are going on there,"
he said during the meeting.

Ellertson, whose daughter attends SCCHS, says he has received
information which would suggest students at the high school not only
have easy access to hard drugs, but are using them on school property.

"(Students are) text messaging that 'this is stoned day and we're all
going to get stoned on the same day' and people will do lines of coke
in the bathrooms," he says.

Laybolt responded by saying the lack of conversation about the
problem makes offenders harder to catch.

"It's an issue that people don't talk about. The offenders are quite
closed-mouthed about it and there's a paranoia that goes with it," he
said. "To actually catch someone in a drug deal is quite difficult."

Although it may be difficult to catch offenders in the act, Laybolt
insists the RCMP is aware of the problem and is trying to combat it.

"Drug enforcement is always there," Laybolt says. "We're always
trying to be vigilant."

Laybolt says drug use in Swift Current is less than other areas in
the province, but doesn't deny there is an issue here.

"The reality is that drugs are a common problem all across the
country and Saskatchewan is no different," he says.

Ellertson knows measures such as the RCMP's efforts to arrest
offenders and a new drug committee recently put together at Fairview
School are a good start to combating the problem, but he wants to see
more done to fight drug use, especially among students.

"I believe that we have to put a spotlight on some of these things,"
he says. "This is a problem we all have to share. We need to be more
aggressive about facing this."