TOWN ORGANIZES TO FIGHT DRUG USE

SOUTHINGTON -- Police and counselors will say that drug use in town
is nothing new. But what is new is a recent level of concern about it
that has not been seen in many years, if ever.

Efforts to crack down on drug use among youths have been stepped up
in the past year. Police are going after drug dealers in town,
parents have started publicizing the problem and there has been
increased chatter about the issue.

"We want Southington to understand that we owe it to our children to
protect them from danger, and that sometimes that danger comes from
young people themselves," Mary Marcuccio, a parent, said in a recent
interview. She spoke to the board of education in April about the
need for schools to be proactive about drug use among students.

"I think Southington has failed children in some respects," Marcuccio said.

Many who have gotten involved recently say they were prompted by
anecdotes circulating around town about the number of suicides by
local young people.

"When people heard about the number of suicides in town, they were
shocked," Bonnie Sica, a parent, said. "People need to realize that
the drug problem in this town is much bigger than they think."

According to statistics provided by the office of the state's chief
medical examiner, from Sept. 2003 through Aug. 31, 2007, 40 people 18
or younger committed suicide in Connecticut. In terms of individual
cities or towns, the most suicides in that age group during that time
- - three - occurred in both Southington and Bridgeport. The chief
medical examiner's statistics indicate that two of the Southington
youths who committed suicide were 16, and the other was 17.

"It seems that in the past five years we've been dealing with grief
issues among children very often," Susan Saucier, director of the
town's youth services department, said about her staff's work. "We
have been called for crisis intervention more and more lately."

Grass-roots interest in the issue comes at a time when the police
department has formed a three-man narcotics unit, something new for
the town. The department recently announced the arrest of nearly a
dozen people accused of selling drugs in Southington. Those arrests
were the result of investigations by the narcotics unit and include
two students, 17 and 14, at Southington High School.

According to statistics compiled by police, the number of drug
arrests in town went from 82 in the 2004-05 fiscal year to 138 in
2006-07, which ended June 30. That represents a 68 percent increase.

Of particular interest to police is the increase in felony drug
arrests, which include charges of drug sales. Police say there were
35 felony drug arrests in fiscal year 2004-05. That number was 41 the
following fiscal year and 58 in fiscal year 2006-07.

Those felony cases include the arrest of Jeffrey Tomcak in June.
Police reported finding 73 bags of heroin in his Queen Street
apartment, along with 4.8 grams of cocaine and prescription drugs.
Tomcak's case is still pending.

Sica helped form a committee this spring - including high school
administrators and police - that will focus on doing things at the high school.

School board Chairman David Derynoski said he welcomes the work being
done by Sica and others.

"It's difficult to handle this just as a school issue," he said. "We
need to get other groups involved. The chances of success increase
dramatically when you have more people involved."

A police officer is posted at the high school, and the police
department checks for drugs at schools periodically with a K-9 unit.

"This is an issue that we are conscious of, but there are limits to
what the board can do," Derynoski said. "I don't think the drug use
issue is any worse than it has been before, but the awareness of it
has increased."

Marcuccio helped start a loose-knit group this year called Parents 4
A Change, and it is focusing on spreading awareness about drug use
among young people.

"I have two children at the high school and they come home and talk
about what's going on there," said Lana Burns, a member of Parents 4
A Change. "From what I hear, I know there is a drug problem at the
high school and I can't believe that people don't think there is a problem."

A third group that includes Southington YMCA Director John Myers and
town council member Victoria Triano formed this winter. Myers said he
hopes the group is ready to propose a program in the fall. One model
they have looked at is the Upbeat program in Berlin. That program is
run by the school system there and gets students involved in
community projects.

In addition to the groups that have formed in recent months, there is
the Southington Drug Task Force. The drug task force got started in
1990, but recently has seen a decline in members and activity.

"I think the renewed interest will invigorate the task force,"
Saucier said. "I'm encouraged that people are getting together and
talking; it makes me optimistic."

People involved with the groups say getting the word out about drug
use among youths in town is their top priority. But they say this is
also an uphill battle.

"At first, we were labeled as a bunch of nuts," Marcuccio said. "This
is not Hartford, which has an established drug problem. But
Southington is in denial about its problem and we need to change that."

Parents 4 A Change has held two public forums on drug use in town and
now has about 30 members.

Another priority is getting the town to hire more police officers.
The department has 62, and Chief Jack Daly has said it is
understaffed. The narcotics unit has three members, and Daly said at
a recent meeting that he had to cut back on other things the
department has done to staff the unit.

"More police officers is a matter of public safety," Sica said.
"Southington is growing, but we are not growing our public services."

Sica said the committee she's involved with at the high school will
focus on getting students to talk about issues there. She said the
group has discussed finding a way for students to talk anonymously to
avoid embarrassment and peer pressure not to speak out.

"We want to open up communication between students and adults," said
police Sgt. Lowell DePalma, who is on the committee Sica started at
the high school. "The students know what's going on, but getting that
information to adults is difficult because there are so many issues."

Sica said she thinks school officials are paying attention to the
issue. The board of education is looking for a new superintendent of
schools, and Sica said a focus group run by the search consultant
earlier this year focused on the need to address drug use issues. But
Sica said that, ultimately, it is not simply a schools problem.

"The schools are looking to do more, but you can't say it's all about
schools," she said. "Schools are only part of things."