PRAYER BANQUET TARGETS DRUGS

ASHEBORO - Community activists will rally the forces of prayer again this
month at a banquet focusing on the city's drug problem and how people can
help law enforcement fight it.

Sponsored by the Asheboro Drug Task Force, the prayer banquet will be held
on May 16 starting at 6:30 p.m. at AVS Banquet Centre, 2045 N. Fayetteville
St., Asheboro.

"We are gathering for a time of fellowship, but the main emphasis is going
to focus on the drug problem and how we as citizens can help law
enforcement in addressing that problem," said the Rev. Johnny Henderson,
the task force's vice chairman and the pastor of Cross Road Baptist Church.

The banquet is the task force's next step in spiritualizing the war against
drugs and encouraging churches to get involved in the fight.

"We feel that the churches ought to be on the front lines in combating
drugs in our community," Henderson said. "We're seeking divine help."

The Asheboro Drug Task Force was formed to promote community activism in
the fight against illegal narcotics.

Serving on the organization's leadership committee are the Rev. John Butler
of Wesley Chapel AME Zion Church, chairman; Henderson; the Rev. Boyd Byerly
of Sunset Avenue Church of God; Linda Carter, First National Bank; Jerry
Hill, Christians United Outreach Center; David Jarrell, mayor of Asheboro;
Annette Jordan, The Courier-Tribune; Olin Lee, Lee Printing; Carmen
Liberatore, Family Crisis Center; Gary Mason, Asheboro police chief; the
Rev. Anna Morrison, Adonai Methodist Mission; Helen Gaines Settle,
Montgomery County Juvenile Services; Charles Spivey, Asheboro City Schools;
and Tim Woodle, Asheboro City Schools.

The task force's past events have included a drug summit and gang awareness
seminar. This spring marks the beginning of an effort to get the religious
community more involved in the drug fight.

The May 16 banquet will be an opportunity for churches to learn more about
Asheboro's drug underworld.

Mason is slated to talk about the city's drug problems and his department's
efforts to counter it. He will also offer ways that people can help
officers. His comments will be supplemented by a video task force members
have created about drug activity in Asheboro.

Mason's statistics show that the street value of the drugs his officers
have seized between 2000 and 2004 has tripled, increasing from $1.01
million to $3.87 million. A breakdown shows that the amount of cocaine
seized increased from 3,965 grams to 18,429 grams during the same years.

At the same time, the amount of marijuana declined from 65,853 grams to
27,085 grams. But methamphetamine, a synthetic stimulant, became a problem,
with officers finding none in 2000 and 500 grams in 2004. Seizures of the
drug peaked in 2002, when police seized 2,998 grams.

Local law enforcement officials say federal authorities have told them that
Randolph and some surrounding counties have become a distribution point on
a busy drug trafficking pipeline. Mason compared trying to stop the flow of
drugs to a "chess match."

"There's all kinds of innovative ways it's coming in," he said, describing
secret compartments in vehicles and drugs hidden in tractor-trailer loads.
"It's a constant battle, coming up with strategy and trying to think of
ways to get one up on (traffickers)."

Even street-level dealers have gotten harder to catch, Mason said: Thanks
to the spread of high-tech wireless phones and pagers, they don't have to
stand on corners like they used to selling drugs.

Byerly said he believes that although Asheboro and Randolph County are
wonderful places to live, with tremendous potential, people here have been
largely complacent about drugs. It's time for those days to end, he said.

"Anytime there's an escalation in evil, Christians need to step up," he said.

The prayer banquet is expected to last about an hour to an hour and 15
minutes. It will pick up where a courthouse vigil against drugs left off on
April 25, and organizers hope to build on the momentum and spirit of that
event.

Task force members have been emphasizing that illegal drugs affect everyone
in the city, and that it will take people from all neighborhoods to fight
the problem. They were pleased by the diversity among the crowd of about
250 that turned out for the courthouse vigil.

"We're all in this together," Mason said. "We all live here. This is our home."

"The thing that excites me is people coming together from all walks of
life, different churches, different denominations for a common focus," said
Byerly, who's been organizing the banquet with Henderson. "It was really a
representation of our community - white, black and Hispanic."

Organizers say they'd like to have the same attendance for the prayer
banquet. AVS will seat 400. So, Byerly said the task force isn't as
concerned with attracting a large crowd as it is with drawing a diverse group.

Byerly said letters have gone out to the pastors of about 40 churches
inviting them to the banquet with some of their "prayer warriors."

"I think we'll have a great turnout," Henderson said. "Our community has
always turned out for something that's a good cause or a problem that needs
to be addressed. We have a history and a heritage of uniting together to
make the community better."

People will have more chances to get together and get involved in upcoming
weeks. Task force members are planning vigils against drugs in
neighborhoods around Asheboro beginning in June and ending in September or
October. Information about the events will be released later this month.

Tickets for the prayer banquet are $5 and may be purchased through the
Sunset Avenue Church of God, 900 Sunset Ave. Call Nancy Hinshaw, the
church's administrative assistant and office manager, at 625-3551 for more
information.