DRUG SEMINAR HOPES TO HELP NEIGHBORHOODS

Ask people in many neighborhoods, and they might be able to point to
examples of where drug use has caused a blight.

The Gadsden City Council is inviting people to attend a seminar about
a little-known law that can be used to rid drug nuisances from a
neighborhood. Under the law, the attorney general, district attorney,
county or city attorney, a citizen or a community-based organization
may file action in circuit court to "abate, enjoin and prevent the
drug-related nuisance." That means a house being used for drugs can be
condemned or its owners can be fined until the property is cleaned.

The seminar will be from 6-8 p.m. Monday in the Senior Activity Center
on Broad Street downtown.

"I would encourage anybody in Etowah County, and that includes the
municipalities, to be at the meeting," said Councilman J.R.
Countryman, who first suggested the meeting earlier this summer.

He said the law can be beneficial for people not just in the city but
also in the county.

The law allows people to bring action against neighbors who have
engaged in drug-related activity. After certain steps have been taken,
the property owner can be sued in civil action.

A judge can order the house be torn down or impose civil penalties of
up to $1,000 per day that the nuisance exists.

The law has been used successfully in Jefferson County, but few people
in this area know about it.

"It's a state law that we haven't used in our city before," Councilman
Bill C. Stewart said. "I want everybody to come out and see how it
works." Walt Higgins asked everybody in his district to attend the
meeting, and Countryman said he hopes for an overflow crowd onto Broad
Street. "If we have to," he said, "we'll put out loudspeakers."