DRUGS FOUND IN PARK, PARENTS WANT FENCE

Concerned parents at John Mahood Public School in Elmira are worried that
action is not being taken fast enough to protect students from contact with
drug use taking place in neighbouring Gibson Park.

Those parents, led by Shelley DeRose, want immediate action from the school,
its parent council and the township to erect a fence that will keep their
children from coming across drugs and related paraphernalia. The items of
concern have been found in the wooded section of the park that borders the
school's playground. It's officially a no-go zone for children, but DeRose
wants the extra protection of a fence to increase student safety.

"I think it needs to be done before next school year. I'm not waiting until
September," said DeRose, who said she first approached the school council
regarding the fence in February. "If we wait until September, which is what
the council wants to do, it's going to be another year and I don't want to
see that. I want a letter going home before the end of the year and a
response before the end of the year."

For her part, council chair Val Melitzer defended council's position of June
10, stressing the matter needs in-depth study. With summer break fast
approaching, there simply isn't enough time, she added.

"We did decide that because there's only two weeks of school left there's
nothing we can do, we can't do a quick fix. It is going to be put on the
first meeting, on the second Tuesday of September," said Melitzer. "In the
meantime =85 we will spread the word that this is an issue and perhaps send
home a communication to all families to let them know this is an issue that
has come before council. We feel it's important that we have input from the
whole school body.

"Not everyone is aware of this =85 so we are going to be exploring it and
looking at different aspects of the issue such as educating kids on safety
in the park, and what not."

But the drugs found necessitate immediate action, said DeRose. Acting on her
initial concerns, DeRose and another parent, Carolyn Bauman, went into the
wooded area on June 4 to see what they could find.

"We came upon a multitude of zip-loc bags with little papers with Batman
logos and soccer balls and stars and stuff like that. What we did then was
assume the worst," explained Bauman, "and took them down to the police
station and got them identified. The police knew right away what they were.
Some of them have a Batman logo on them, those are called paper acid. The
other ones the officer from the smell said they contained hash rocks."

Once presented with that information at the meeting Melitzer said council
heightened the priority of the issue, and hopes to get information out to
all parents before the end of the school year.

"As an interim measure the teachers will address it. We talked about the
possibility of having the police increase their patrols of the park. We're
asking parents to consider additional adult supervision over the lunch hour
and heavy traffic areas," noted Melitzer. "We're making sure that kids are
aware they don't wander into the park."

Should council decide a fence is needed it can then approach principal
Jackie Frank to request that the board erect a fence.

Chris Smith, the board's manager of planning and cooperative transportation
services, told the Observer it's not common policy to put a barrier between
two public areas. That sentiment was supported by Woolwich's director of
recreation and facilities, Larry Devitt, who was also reluctant to erect a
fence between the school and the park.

"We don't tend to go out and fence our property unless we're required to do
so or there's a real safety issue we've already perceived," explained Smith,
noting that perception isn't always generated by staff. "We need the
direction from the school community =AD which includes the principal, the
council and the broader community."

"It should be a community issue because it is a public park. Parents go
there to have picnics and they let their kids go into that area," replied
Bauman, agreeing with DeRose that there is enough evidence now to show the
issue extends beyond the school and into the community.

"If there is stuff found on the ground that can be absorbed through the
skin, they should be made aware of that situation," she said of the recently
recovered drugs.