THE EYES OF THE WORLD WILL SOON BE ON DALTON

A production crew from the Spanish-language Telemundo television network
has been in town for the past two days, looking at how Hispanic immigration
has affected the area. Correspondent Angie Sandoval is working on two
stories for the network. The first is part of a series on Hispanic
immigration to small towns in the United States. Telemundo, based in
Hialeah, Fla., outside of Miami, did a story in October on immigration to
small towns in Utah and North Carolina. "We had a lot of positive reaction
to that. People wrote in to say that they didn't even know there were
Hispanics in Utah," she said. Telemundo is available not only in the United
States but in 22 countries in Latin America. "We got responses from many
different countries on that," she said. Sandoval spent Tuesday morning at
Dug Gap Elementary School, observing the school's Family Literacy Program,
which helps the immigrant parents of its students learn English and prepare
for the general equivalency diploma (GED). Why do immigrants choose to come
to small towns such as Dalton? "Many of them have previously lived in big
cities, and they are looking for safer neighborhoods, better schools for
their children and better-paying jobs," Sandoval said. They typically find
out about places such as Dalton through word of mouth. "They find out about
the place from a friend or family member," she said. Sandoval is also
looking at one of the darker sides to immigration. "We are looking at how
Mexican drug cartels are expanding their influence in the United States and
flooding small towns with drugs," she said. Sandoval spoke to local law
enforcement authorities about how Dalton has been affected. "They've
definitely seen an increase in drugs and in crimes related to drugs, such
as theft," she said. Sandoval said that she was surprised when she first
heard about the increased flow of drugs into small towns such as Dalton.
"It's been a real eye opener for me," she said.

The story on drug trafficking will run on Jan. 27, and the piece on
Hispanics in small towns will run on Feb. 12. Charter Communications
carries Telemundo on channel 77 in Dalton.