DRUGS SPREADING TO RURAL AREAS

Westminster resident Connie Malcomb woke up on March 3 to see an unfamiliar
car sitting in her driveway.

Five more police cars and K-9 dogs arrived an hour later, and officers
began searching the house next door.

"You don't expect that of this town," said Malcomb, who has lived in
Westminster for 25 years. "I don't care if it's right next to Fitchburg."
Officers from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration seized approximately
531 pounds of marijuana, and two loaded handguns after arresting five men
living at 82 Ashburnham State Road in Westminster, believed to be part of
an international drug trafficking ring.

"It's like watching TV," said Malcomb. "It makes it very unreal."
Neighbors, like Malcomb, were surprised to learn alleged drug traffickers
lived and operated in their town of about 7,000 residents. "It was probably
just the opportunity," said Westminster Police Chief Salvatore Albert.

Albert said the rural atmosphere of the town could have attracted the
suspected drug dealers to the house, which was up for rent. The house is
also far from the center of town.

"I didn't know anything was going on (before the raid)," said Malcomb. Many
residents in towns surrounding Fitchburg, Leominster, and Gardner believe
drugs are not a problem where they live.

But police say drug-related crime is a growing problem in the smaller,
rural towns outside of the bigger cities.

Small-town police departments are trying to combat the region's growing
drug trade and protect residents from drug-related crimes. The federal
investigation leading to the March 2 drug bust started after a Templeton
man was murdered in 2003, according to Worcester County District Attorney
John Conte.

Templeton Police Chief David Whitaker said his officers make two dozen drug
possession arrests a year, in addition to robberies and break-ins they
believe are drug related.

A cause of many problems "Drugs are unfortunately a root to many other
crimes," said Whitaker. Police chiefs say violent crimes are still rare in
smaller towns, but they agree drug-related break-ins and robberies are on
the rise. Westminster police charged three individuals with armed robbery
this summer, after police arrested them while returning to Fitchburg after
allegedly robbing the Depot General Store.

Westminster and Fitchburg police suspect they needed the money to purchase
heroin. The three suspects had tried to rob a supermarket in Fitchburg less
than an hour earlier.

Ashby police, who patrol a town with 3,000 residents, arrested just 33
people in 1997, but that number jumped to 82 in 2000.

Ashby police made 75 arrests in the first seven months of 2004. "It's not
just a Fitchburg problem," said former Ashburnham Police Chief Roy "Skip"
Bourque, who resigned from his position earlier this month. Ashburnham
police helped arrest three men in November 2003 for drug trafficking, after
they found 200 pounds of marijuana, several thousand OxyContin pills and
other prescription medication at the home where they lived. Officers also
arrested a 54-year-old Ashburnham resident for trafficking cocaine after
finding three kilograms of cocaine, and more than a pound of marijuana in
his home in February 2004.

But many residents of these small towns will not admit that drugs have
penetrated their communities.

"A lot of (Ashby) residents have mythological opinion that we're dealing
with missing children and car lockouts," McLatchy said.

Malcomb agrees most people are naive about drugs in smaller towns, but says
they are "in any town."

"I'm afraid of who they are going to put in next," said Malcomb.
Westminster resident Richard Henchey said "as a town, it's pretty clean."
Henchey thinks Westminster stays pretty clean because many of the
department's police officers live in town.

"I don't think (drugs are) the number one issue," said Westminster Police
Chief Albert. "It's in the back of everyone minds."

Drug-related crimes Townsend Selectman Peter Collins said two break-ins at
his home have made him aware of the increase of drug-related crimes.

"They were described as a 'classic drug burglary,'" Collins said. "I felt
violated, but as I became more aware, they're just junkies feeding their
habit. It's an addition. It's a disease."

Residents often notice the regional drug problem after they become a victim
of a drug-related crime, said Whitaker.

"That's when they become aware, and they become a victim at the same time,"
he said. Templeton, a bedroom community, has experienced visible signs of
the increasing drug market, such as vandalism and breaking and enterings.
"It's more prevalent then people think," said Whitaker. Many small-town
chiefs say their towns' proximity to larger cities, which have more
drug-related crimes, contributes to the growing number of drug crimes in
their own neighborhoods.

"Much of our drug activity comes from Fitchburg and Leominster," Lunenburg
Chief Daniel Bourgeois said. "We're not unlike any other community. The key
is to stay proactive."

His staff has noticed an increase in drug deals in town, as Fitchburg and
Leominster Police have worked harder to push the drug problems out of the
cities. Lunenburg police made 11 drug arrests in 2002, and had 21 drug
violations in 2003, according to annual town reports.

"It's not drug houses in the traditional sense. We're a very mobile
society. Everyone has cars, cell phones and beepers," Bourgeois said. A
Westminster police officer arrested two suspects connected to at least six
local robberies, after a high-speed car chase in November from Westminster
into Fitchburg.

The suspects admitted to committing the crimes to get money for cocaine,
which they usually buy in Fitchburg, according to the police report. "We're
located right here on the Route 2 corridor, right between Fitchburg and
Gardner," said Albert.

Albert wants the Westminster Police Department to focus more on the
education portion of fighting the drug problem, but said the department
still work the enforcement end.

Albert said most of the town's drug arrests take place during routine
motor-vehicle stops.

Drug investigations show that young heroin users travel from small
communities, even as far east as Harvard and Pepperell, to buy cheap drugs
in Fitchburg, said Pepperell Police Chief Alan Davis.

Drug overdoses "They drive to Fitchburg, make a score up there, and bring
it back to Pepperell. We don't suspect it's happening. We know it's
happening," Davis said. Several Pepperell teenagers have overdosed on drugs
during the last few years, said Davis, a Pepperell police officer since
1975. "It's a phenomenon I've seen take over a lot of peoples' lives,
particularly over the last three years," Davis said.

Davis said connections students make in school, through friends and the
Internet, make them feel more comfortable about buying drugs in Fitchburg.
"From the eastern side of town, it's probably quicker to go to Lowell, but
in general, I think there's more of an attraction to Fitchburg," Davis
said. "Fitchburg's about half the size of Lowell. It may not be as daunting
to them to go up to Fitchburg."

People driving into Massachusetts on the small highways from New Hampshire
also contribute to the area's drug trade.

New Ipswich, N.H. Police Chief W. Garrett Chamberlain said heroin and
marijuana are present throughout small towns across the New Hampshire state
border, but they do not have the time or the manpower to address the
problem. Small-town police departments are struggling to stretch their
budgets to investigate drug crimes, which require money to pay for the
overtime and manpower, while also dealing with more immediate problems.

"It all comes down to budget and resources," Bourgeois said. "We've always
been fighting for officers. We need more people on the street." The small
number of officers makes it harder to dedicate time to investigate
drug-related crimes, especially trafficking.

"Time is the most valuable resource for an investigation," said Bourque.
Ashburnham's police department has six officers, typically allowing for
only two officers on duty at a time, said Bourque.

Ashby Police Chief Steven McLatchy was the only officer on duty when town
resident Garrett Ojala, high on heroin, ran into the thick woods behind his
home, after his father and a friend used CPR to revive him from an
overdose. "I thought I had some medical emergency and within minutes or
hours, that he could be dead," said McLatchy.

The call resulted in a full-fledged manhunt, requiring a helicopter and
backup from local and state police.

One of Ojala's neighbors described the scene as "something that belongs on
T.V., not here."

The Ashby department attempts to provide 24 hour-a-day coverage of the
town, but there is only one officer on duty at a time.

McLatchy said the lack of manpower makes it easier for criminals to go
undetected, even if they are dealing drugs in public areas, like the state
park. "In many ways, we're treading water right now," McLatchy said of the
department's efforts.

McLatchy also said a lot of criminals will listen to police activity over a
scanner, and then simply go to where the cops aren't. But Albert said the
Westminster Police Department has a handle on what is happening in town.

"The guys know that's why we are here," said Albert. The Westminster Police
Department has eight officers, two sergeants and a detective serving the
community of more than 7,400 residents. The department received
approximately $1.2 million to operate the department in fiscal 2005, which
is about 10 percent of the town's budget. Police chiefs say a regional
network of information gleaned from drug task forces can help solve the
manpower problem.

"Having that network of information is really important," said Whitaker.
Westminster and Lunenburg are members of the North Worcester County Drug
Task Force with Fitchburg, Leominster and Gardner.

Ashburnham, Templeton and seven other towns west of Fitchburg, formed the
Regional Anti-Crime Taskforce last year to share manpower and information
during investigations.

"We try to have a good rapport with all contiguous towns," said Whitaker.
Police involved with the taskforce agree they work well in many situations.
Taskforces are able to share information for investigations and conduct
undercover operations.

"You have to have some cooperation between the cities and the towns," said
Albert.