ROUTE 65 IS NARCOTICS PIPELINE, QUAKER VALLEY PARENTS TOLD

Route 65, the main artery through the Quaker Valley region, is also a
pipeline for drug traffic.

That was the disturbing news Allegheny County District Attorney
Stephen A. Zappala Jr. delivered last week at a convocation on drug
and alcohol use by young people in the 11 municipalities of the Quaker
Valley School District.

About 70 people, including representatives of local law enforcement
and municipal government, local civic organizations and parents,
attended the Jan. 28 event in the district middle school.

The school district hosted the gathering in hopes of forming a
standing committee, with members from all the community entities
involved, to seek solutions to adolescent drug and alcohol problems in
the Quaker Valley community.

In his address, Zappala gave the audience a crash course on the drug
trade in Allegheny County and the efforts to stop it.

Zappala said Route 65 is an important artery for drug traffickers
making their way to Moon, Aliquippa and the highways that head toward
Youngstown, Ohio.

He made it clear that the Quaker Valley communities are no different
from the rest of the county -- drugs, particularly heroin, are cheap,
potent and readily available.

"The No. 1 drug threat in the county is heroin," Zappala
said.

His speech was accompanied by graphic photos of victims of drug-
related murders, a display board of various illegal drugs and another
of weapons confiscated from drug traffickers on the city's North Side.

"We have places under surveillance right now on Route 65," Zappala
said after the event.

But while Zappala was blunt with the facts, he also sounded a positive
tone, telling the audience his office would do whatever it could to
help community efforts, including providing financial support.

"There are certain battles that we certainly can win, and the school
environment can be protected," Zappala said.

A contingent of Quaker Valley High School students expressed concern
about what they view as a growing substance abuse problem among teens
in the district and presented a petition asking local leaders to serve
on the committee. They asked community entities to name
representatives to the committee by Feb. 14.

Zachary Sparks, 16, of Sewickley, died in July of a heroin overdose.
Brandy French, an Ambridge Area High School student who previously
attended Quaker Valley, died in 2001 after taking Ecstasy.

Though much of the discussion focused on "hard" drugs such as heroin
and Ecstasy, Quaker Valley High School junior Jasmine Rogers said she
believed a "huge alcohol problem" existed in the district as well.

District Superintendent Gerard Longo said it was imperative in the
fight against substance abuse for adults to get involved in young
people's lives.

"We've gone from the front porch to the back patio. The adults are in
the back and don't know what's going on at the front of the house.
We've got to get back to the front street," he said.

The district will assess response from the communities before
scheduling more meetings.

Alisha Hipwell is a freelance writer.