ACTING CHIEF SAYS NORTHFIELD HEROIN PROBLEM IS REAL

NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Northfield's acting police chief said Thursday
that high school students here are indeed using heroin, despite
criticism that a police announcement about the use of the hardcore
drug was exaggerated.

"I believe this is a problem in Northfield. I think there is no
question about that," acting Chief Roger Schroeder said after a
meeting with school and health officials. "We are trying to get our
hands around it and find a solution."

He added: "One child or student using heroin is too many."

Two weeks ago, Police Chief Gary Smith startled this leafy college
town about 30 miles south of Minneapolis by saying that as many as
150 young people were hooked on heroin. He said as many as 250
current and former Northfield Senior High students could be involved
in a heroin ring working out of the school, and that the drug abuse
had fueled a rise in burglaries and thefts, some of them at St. Olaf
and Carleton colleges.

High school officials said they were blindsided by the report and
questioned Smith's numbers. Smith has since gone on an unexplained
leave of absence. Schroeder declined Thursday to say why Smith was on
leave or discuss the statistics Smith gave at a July 3 news conference.

Even so, health officials arranged for about 30 health and school
officials to meet to discuss ways to combat drug abuse in the town.
Smith's report wasn't discussed, but the meeting agenda was headed
"Beyond the Headlines."

Ruth Amerman, a junior at Northfield Senior High who attended the
meeting, said it would help if parents had more candid conversations
with their children about drugs. And she said youth in Northfield
need to have better rapport with police.

"I don't know, maybe it's in our blood - being in Northfield - to
fight authority," she said.

At a downtown coffee shop, Northfield resident Jennifer Wolcott said
Smith's report seemed "out of place for my knowledge of the town."

"We have had one inflammatory statement about it, but I just don't
know whether it's true or not," she said.

Cathy Collison, who runs a bead shop, said she thinks there was "a
bit of grandstanding" behind Smith's bombshell. However, she said, it
has prompted many parents to take a closer look at what's been
happening at school. Many parents showed up for a recent meeting at
The Key, a youth center, where the chief's concerns were discussed, she said.

"The adults are asking lots of questions," Collison said.

High school seniors Sam Studer and Abe Henson, relaxing downtown a
few weeks before their soccer season begins, said they've heard about
heroin use at their school but haven't seen it themselves. They said
Smith's estimate must include graduates or students no longer in school.

"It did seem high considering there are only 1,200 students in the
whole school," Studer said.

Before Smith went on leave, he forwarded the results of an
investigation into City Administrator Al Roder to the Rice County
attorney, Smith's attorney said Thursday. The attorney, David
Hvistendahl, said that probe, more than the controversy surrounding
the drug issue, contributed to Smith's decision to take a leave. He
said Smith is undergoing tests for a long-standing health issue.

Hvistendahl said the investigation involving Roder has to do with
contractual and data practices matters.

Roder didn't immediately return a call left on his home machine or an
e-mail to his office account.