LEADERS OF ALL AGES COME TOGETHER TO FIGHT DRUGS

A group of community leaders from all walks of life decided Monday morning
that a grassroots campaign was the key to solving drug abuse in Spartanburg
County.

Former school principal J.R. Wright told fellow community members at Silver
Hill Memorial United Methodist Church that the schools need to develop a
drug education curriculum.

"I don't think they need any money to do this. From what I'm told about the
budget, they won't get it if they ask," Wright said.

The forum drew various government representatives, from state Sen. Glenn
Reese and Rep. Brenda Lee, to County Councilwoman Johnnye Code Stewart, to
sit alongside retirees and young businesspeople.

Seventh Circuit Solicitor Trey Gowdy said a third of the cases his office
has to prosecute are drug offenses. He said he always hears from parents,
usually mothers, saying they had no idea their child was involved in drugs.

"I had to kiss my mother every night before I went to bed. I thought it was
because she loved me. Now I know she wanted to know if I'd been drinking,"
he said.

A tip-off for parents that their child is selling drugs would be if the
child has unexplained wealth.

"Ask why," Gowdy said. "You cannot have money without working. Parents have
an obligation to know what their children are doing."

Dr. Audrey Grant, acting superintendent of Spartanburg County School
District 7, said it will take a grassroots effort to combat drugs, and that
has started with an organization made up of the presidents of the
Parent-Teacher Organizations in the district.

Robin Days with the Spartanburg Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (SADAC)
said the key to dealing with the problem is education and realizing that the
behavior is bad, not the person. She said that last year SADAC served 2,757
clients, with 268 of them being 17 or younger. Of that number, 10 were 11 or
younger.

By far the greatest problem was alcohol abuse, followed by cocaine use.

Public Safety Director Tony Fisher said drugs come into Spartanburg from
South America, Mexico and Turkey.

"People in our community have to have the moral authority to say no," he
said.

Non-violent drug offenders chosen by the solicitor's office and law
enforcement may attend drug court. Probate Court Judge Raymond Eubanks, who
donates his time to hold the court one day a week, said 46 people are
enrolled in the program now.

The court takes them through stages and four people are in the fourth stage,
near graduation, now. Twenty defendants have been dismissed from the program
because they wouldn't comply with the rules.

People in the program must be employed, participate in counseling sessions,
treatment sessions, be screened for drugs and pay a $25 per week fee.

The program gives people who would otherwise be in jail a second chance. "It
costs between $15,000 and $20,000 a year to house a prisoner and $4,000 for
drug court," Eubanks said.

Drug court has been funded by a federal grant, but the money runs out this
year. Eubanks, who takes no salary for presiding in drug court, hopes
churches or church groups will "adopt a person" for $1,300 for a year.

Members of the community need to know what's available for people with
addictions and support the drug court to give offenders a second chance,
Eubanks said.

Mayor Bill Barnet hopes the gathering is the beginning of something that
will end "the pervasive sense of hopelessness" he's seen in some people in
his year in office.

It will start in the churches and the outreach of the churches and be done
through education and activities for youth, he said.

"We have to figure out how to make hope from hopelessness," he said.

The Rev. Dr. George Ashford, pastor of Silver Hill and the forum's
organizer, said he thinks the churches must be a part of the solution.

"Until the pulpits cease to be silent, the schools can't help and the
community can't help," he said. "We can attack from the top down and the
bottom up, but we have to break this vicious cycle."