DRUG ABUSE VICTIMS HELP 'REACH' OUT

ASHEBORO -- After a one-year hiatus, "Can You Reach My Friend?"
returned to Asheboro Saturday to raise community awareness of the
drug problem and invoke a bit of spiritual assistance in the local fight.

The event, held at Asheboro High School, was sponsored by the school,
the Asheboro Drug Task Force, Randolph County Concerned Citizens
Against Drugs and the Sandhills Center for Mental Health.

It featured musical performances, testimonials and the title skit,
"Can You Reach My Friend?" acted out by members of Malachi House of Greensboro.

In addition to pleas for involvement from Asheboro Police Chief Gary
Mason and Randolph County Sheriff Litchard Hurley, the audience was
moved by testimonials from people whose lives have been scarred by drug abuse.

Kateria Flowers told of being so addicted to crack cocaine that she
willingly gave up custody of her son. She said she robbed, shot,
stole and did anything necessary to support her habit. Only after a
one-year stint in prison did she begin to come to her senses.

id she came to realize how important her son was to her. She took
part in rehabilitation programs and turned the stumbling blocks in
her life into stepping stones. She had one bit of advice for those
using or selling drugs.

"Think about the things that are more precious than life."

Arit Lucas, 32, had to get a special pass from the Southern
Correctional Facility in Montgomery County to address the audience.
He said his addiction was selling drugs. From the time he was 9 years
old, Lucas said drugs were always a part of his life. Drugs were a
way to get all the things he wanted in life.

But drugs lead to a life in prison, a fate Lucas said he wouldn't
wish on anyone. As he repays his debt to society, Lucas advises
anyone who will listen to have goals and focus in life. With those
assets, he said, there is no limit to what you can do.

The Rev. Cliff Lovick of Malachi House, a halfway house for men
trying to kick the drug habit, had his own struggle with drugs 18
years ago. Lovick said at one time he was using $300-$500 of cocaine
each day. He spent three and a half years in prison before waking up
to the realization that he was wasting his life.

After spending time in a Teen Challenge program in Southern Pines,
Lovick said he learned his purpose in life.

"It was not to do drugs," he said.

Now he is a minister with Malachi House and in the process of
launching a church in Asheboro to preach the Gospel and to mentor
those who fall victim to drug abuse.

The guest speaker of the evening, Jose Palma, who is with the
Juvenile Day Reporting Center, spoke to the audience about the impact
of gangs on the community. He said statistics prove that gang members
are the most common distributors of drugs.

Palma managed to avoid an almost always fatally short life as a gang
member when his family moved to North Carolina from Miami. He said
now his goal is to help the area avoid the problems that gangs
brought to his home city.

Gang activity is increasing in small rural communities, said Palma,
because gang organizers are getting smarter. Drugs are big business,
doing an estimated $80 billion each year in the U.S. Like any
business, the goal is to make money, said Palma. Gang members have
realized that it is easier to elude police in outlying communities
because rural police forces tend to be smaller with fewer resources.

Gangs have also realized a basic tenet of business. There is more
money to be made when there is less competition. Palma said the crack
rock that is sold in New York garners less for the seller than in
Asheboro where it can often be sold for two to three times as much.

Palma urged the audience to get involved to reduce gang involvement
because the community cannot fight its drug problem without also
fighting gang activity. He urged everyone to resist the notion that
gangs are not a problem in Randolph County. Gang organizers have one
great ally when they look to move into rural areas, he said.

"Denial."