PUTNAM RESIDENTS MEET TO STOP DRUGS

WINFIELD - When Kent and Susan Smith decided it was time to fight back
against the youth drug problems in Putnam County, they thought about the
future of their adopted 3-year-old daughter.

They said they worried about what kind of school environment she will face
as she grows up. So they put out a call to other concerned parents. At a
community meeting Thursday night, Kent Smith said he is afraid the county's
drug problem is just getting worse.

His fears were reinforced later in the meeting when Putnam County
Prosecuting Attorney Mark Sorsaia told the crowd at the county's board of
education offices that the worst of the county's drug problems have not yet
hit. "We don't know what the solutions are here. We just want to fight
back," Kent Smith said. "We've witnessed through talking to people and
personally witnessing this how bad it is."

In the days before the meeting, Susan Smith said she stuffed meeting fliers
in mailboxes around her neighborhood in Scott Depot. Her 17-yeard-old son
and his classmates at Winfield High School were on her mind as she thought
about other students who have been lost to drugs.

She fielded calls at her home from parents who were concerned about their
kids who are, or could, get involved with drugs.

"I'm just a mom who is worried sick about the drug problem here," she said.
More than 60 people showed up for the Smiths' meeting. Some of them were
law enforcement officials and county officials who told the crowd about
plans for the county's problems. Some members of the local Narcotics
Anonymous chapter spoke as well.

Kent Smith told the crowd he is ready to get the ball rolling. The Smiths
hope that the gathering will lead to future programs and meetings. Debbie
Trent, who started a similar community effort in Mingo County several years
ago, encouraged the Smiths and everyone who turned out. "Our group started
for the same reasons you are here. It was desperation. We had too many
young folks dying," Trent said.

Putnam County already has strength in the area. It has always been a
frontrunner with promoting drug programs for schools, said Bill O'Dell, a
community development specialist for substance abuse in Putnam, Cabell and
Wayne counties. He said that is important because today's students are
exposed to more drug use than ever before. "We're here because school-aged
kids are doing drugs," O'Dell said.

He said most of the drug problems for students begin on nights and
weekends, and communities that rally can have an impact.

Mark Smith, Putnam County's sheriff-elect, said he plans to start going to
schools personally to identify problems.

"Young people just don't realize. They think they are invincible and they
don't think that what they do today will affect them in the future," he
said. "We've got to get everybody involved in this and start on the young."