DRUGS LINGER OVER 13 STREETS

The South Hall Community's biggest offenders used to be bookies and
bootleggers.

That was a long time ago. Before crack cocaine. Before methamphetamine.
Before marijuana packaged in attractive little packets for resale.

``We've always had numbers rackets. Bootlegging. It wasn't the same,'' said
community activist the Rev. Stone Carr.

Back in those days, those considered neighborhood ne'r-do-wells ``would get
a drink, go home, and get up and go to work'' the next morning, Carr said.

``That's not happening with the drug culture. It tears people apart. It
takes away their personhood.''

Granted, ``personhood''-robbing substances can be found throughout the city
and county, but drug abuse and street-level dealing seems a more pronounced
problem in the 13 Streets, the part of the South Hall community just to the
east and west of Hall Road.

``What makes this community different is that it's so blatant,'' said
Stephenson Street resident Jackie Hill.

Alcoa Police Chief Wayne Chodak warns that looks, and reputation, can be
deceiving.

``The Hall Community has no more drug problems than anywhere else,'' Chodak
said.

`That's not right'

Still, the out-of-town cars prowl by, and young males beckon when a stranger
drives by.

According to statistics from the Alcoa Police Department, Chodak may only be
half-right. While the levels of drug use within the community may not be any
higher than anywhere else in the city, more drug arrests are certainly made
in the 13 Streets area than any other comparable residential section of the
city.

Through Nov. 18 of this year, Alcoa police had made 29 drug arrests in the
Hall Community. That's higher than any other section of Alcoa, with the
exception of the Alcoa Motor Mile, where 42 arrests were made. That's due to
the high volume of traffic on the highway, and a corresponding level of drug
trafficking and traffic stops.

For comparison's sake with other residential areas, Bassel ranked second,
with 13 drug arrests, followed by Springbrook, where police made 10 drug
arrests so far this year. The Oldfield Community saw no drug arrests, while
Rock Gardens saw one such arrest.

Springbrook was the residential community with the most arrests for assault
- -- 40 -- and the Hall Community was the site of 24 assault arrests. The 13
Streets also saw the highest number of warrant arrests of any city
residential community. Twenty-four arrests were made on warrants, compared
with 50 on the Alcoa Motor Mile.

The Blount County Sheriff's Office tracks the South Hall numbers with
interest.

``I get calls from people over there. Some of them feel unsafe. That's not
right,'' said Blount County Sheriff James Berrong. The Blount County
Sheriff's Office provides two patrol cars a night during summer months in
the 13 Streets area.

``The Alcoa Police Department has asked us for the assistance based on the
history'' of the area, Berrong said.

Berrong acknowledges drug problems ``are spread out across the county, but
based on population, geography and size, that's a hot spot.''

For what?

``Crack is the main thing,'' said APD Officer Kris Sanders on a Friday night
patrol of the South Hall community this summer.

Marijuana is also a big street-level seller, said Sanders, who considers
himself ``real interested in doing drug work. Just getting the stuff off the
streets.''

That endeavor is a constant cat-and-mouse game.

``They're pretty organized down there,'' Sanders said. ``More so than what
you would think. There's definitely some kind of system going on.''

Some dealers keep police scanners in their homes to monitor radio traffic,
and, virtually every time a patrol car enters the area, the classic
subculture alert of ``five-O, five-O,'' invariably echoes through the area.

So, how do people buy drugs in the Hall Community? First, a prospective drug
buyer makes contact ``with a front man. He'll tell you to circle the block''
while he retrieves the drug of choice from a secure spot.

Complete the ride around the block, and he's back to make the transaction.

It's not always that simple. If you are a new face on the block, be warned,
Sanders said.

First-time buyers are liable to purchase macadamia nuts topped with an oral
analgesic, or, Sanders said, ``get their money taken.''

Due process

So, if the drug activity is so obvious, and many who know the community say
it is, why can't the police simply swoop down on the block and throw drug
dealers in jail?

Two words: Probable cause. Police have to witness an illegal act -- or have
specific information illegal activity is taking place -- before they can
search a vehicle, residence or individual.

``I can't just go into court and say I searched it because it looked
suspicious,'' Sanders said. ``An attorney is going to tear that apart.''

That doesn't mean the police don't have an eye on suspected offenders.

``We know who's selling drugs, who's using drugs. We can't just go in there
and arrest them,'' Chodak said. ``We have to abide by rules, and they
don't.''

``As far as what's causing a person to go out and deal drugs, we're not
responsible for that,'' Chodak said.

So what's the draw to sell crack, weed and powder? Simply put: Cash.

``Anytime you have a lot of low-income neighborhoods, it's statistically
shown you'll have a high amount of drug activity,'' Sanders said.

``It's an easy way to make a lot of money,'' he said.

It's a temptation some young residents of the 13 Streets can't resist.

``Take someone who has barely been able to eat well in life, that hasn't had
the right opportunities,'' said APD Officer Richard Rose, and they are a
prime, impressionable candidate for illegal drug distribution.

``I've approached some of these people; they've had more than I make in a
two-week paycheck in their pocket,'' he said.

``Job pay is so poor in the area they'd rather do something else than work
for minimum wage,'' said Shirley Clowney, who was valedictorian of the
Charles M. School for Colored Children's 1954 graduating class and one of
the first black Maryville College students.

``There has been a great infiltration of drug dealers'' in the South Hall
community, she said.

Cruel stereotypes

Dexter Stewart, a former Alcoa city commissioner who lives on Edison Street
and serves on the board of the Foothills Development Corp., characterizes
the drug activity in the 13 Streets area as ``ridiculous. People from
outside the community are coming in'' to purchase drugs, he said, and ``that
contributes to the drug problem in our community.''

He rejects any postulation that current drug activity is a mere reflection
of rough economic times: ``There are individuals out there able to work, and
they still sell drugs.''

Again, outsiders are the main reason for the drug business.

``Customers come in on a regular basis.''

The drug activity feeds a cruel, incorrect stereotype, he said.

``You speak of the South Hall community, you speak of a predominantly black
community. Think predominantly black, you think of drugs. You think of
drugs, that's not a place you want to raise your family.''

Those stereotypes are way off, and that's a point several people wanted to
drive home:

``It's not just a community of crackheads,'' Rose said.

``Ninety-five percent'' of residents of the 13 Streets ``are good people,''
Sanders said. ``Five percent are making a bad name for the place.''

Aggressive policing efforts have paid off over the past few years, but there
are still issues of manpower and money.

For instance, Rose said, there used to be four units dedicated to ``power
shift'' patrol of the South Hall community, but ``a lack of manpower shut it
down.''

Ditto for the mobile police precinct that used to be set up in the Hall
community. Manning the mobile precinct uses valuable manpower.

When in use, park it ``in front of the hot spots,'' Rose said. ``When that
thing is in the area, (illegal activity) dies down completely.''

``It's a high-visibility vehicle that can be parked in a high-crime area,''
said Capt. Rick Arnold. However, the police department is ``down'' five
officers, and those positions have not been replaced.

``It's a budgeting thing,'' Arnold said. ``We put in the requests just like
any other department.''

That doesn't mean attention is not paid the 13 Streets. Chodak said there
have been 600 hours dedicated to the patrol of the Hall community over the
past six months. According to police records, the Alcoa Police Department
concentrated 250 patrol hours in the first quarter of the year in the Hall
community, 268 hours in the second quarter, and 305 hours in the third
quarter.

``Visibility is the only deterrent,'' he said.

That, and a unified front of citizens who don't appreciate the drug
transactions taking place outside their homes.

Bottom line, said Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson, it's a matter of balance
between avoiding harassment of the innocent and discouraging illegal
behavior.

``Some people will ask for heavier patrols,'' to disperse, for instance,
loiterers in Howe Street Park, Johnson said. ``Some people call us up to run
those folks off. Another element of the community will say you're picking on
folks. It's a fine balance.''

Another element to discouraging drug activity is getting a handle on the
inordinate amount of vacant houses in the area, some of which are called
``good-time houses'' by members of the Fifth Judicial Drug Task Force,
Berrong said. There at least seven vacant houses on the two blocks nearest
Howe Street Park.

``We know they are using them for drug trafficking,'' Sanders said. ``We
check them periodically, but as patrolmen, we don't have a lot of time to
scope out an area. We're constantly getting calls.''

Getting worse?

Incidentally, Alcoa Highway is the site of most criminal behavior in the
city, Sanders and Rose point out.

But, as for the Hall Community, ``I see it getting worse without some sort
of intervention, without the community becoming involved,'' Sanders said.

But the police department, for its part, appears to be quite aware of the
need for consistent, aggressive patrols of the area.

``Once we get the manpower issues straightened out, we'll have more time to
devote to drug interdiction,'' Rose said.

``When you are down four or five officers,'' it's difficult to do that,
Arnold said.

Until then, the police department wants, and needs, the help and cooperation
of the community.

``We need more people like Jackie Hill taking an interest in building a
better community,'' said Alcoa Assistant City Manager Bill Hammon.

Hill is organizing a Neighborhood Watch program on the 13 Streets, but it
won't focus simply on law enforcement. Chodak says, again, it's a question
of community involvement.

A similar effort a few years ago ``didn't work that well,'' Chodak said.
Police will lay the groundwork. ``It's up to the community to keep it
going.''

One problem, according to a number of people, is the fact that some
residents are afraid to call the law on fellow residents of the 13 Streets.

``But they have to live in that community,'' Rose said. However, he adds:
``There are some people that aren't afraid.''

Candy for respect

One of those people is Faye McQueen, who lives across the street from Howe
Street Park.

She's lived in her home for 28 years, and occasionally, on Friday and
Saturday nights, she'll sell fish, chicken and hot dogs prepared on a grill
in her front yard. It not only allows her keep to an eye on the neighborhood
- -- her entrepreneurial spirit is also helping her pay for college classes.

She offers a verbal shrug when asked about drug activity in the area.

``I see a lot of cars out here that shouldn't be out here,'' she said.
However, she adds: ``I can't swear to what they are doing.''

She has little problem with the police: ``I call the police, they come,''
she said, as they did recently when McQueen, whose home is decorated with
African-American angels, called about a fight that had broken out in the
park across the street.

``I've never seen kids with guns, but I've seen them fighting,'' she said.
``But I like my street. I like living here.''

However, ``I know it's not how it used to be. My husband fusses at me all
the time because I lock the door in the daytime.''

Some people in the community ``are afraid,'' she concedes. ``This is an old
community, and people aren't going to say anything.''

Still, she wages her own war against drugs and irresponsibility with her
grilled meats, candy, and, on occasion, Sunny Delite.

She enjoys watching the children -- the future of the community -- play in
the park, and, to reward them, to earn their trust, she plies them with
treats when playtime ends.

``I watched you playing, and you were playing good,''' she said she tells
well-mannered children on their way home. She then gives them candy and a
cold drink.

But only if they show respect. One child once asked why he hadn't received
any candy. That's because he went on his way without saying ``hello'' or
``good-bye'' to the woman as she sat on her porch.

She tells him, before giving him a treat anyway: ``You need to learn when
you see an adult, you speak.''

Still, the problems of the community sometimes knock on her door, as was the
case of the hungry, drug-addled woman who came humbly in search of something
to eat. She just wanted a bite, but McQueen fixed her a full plate of food.

She sees the woman's name in the paper from time to time, documenting her
run-ins with the law, and her unhealthy habits.

``For her to ask me for something to eat, that really touched me.''