COURANT SERIES RESTATES THE OBVIOUS

The recent series in The Courant about the heroin problem in Willimantic
[Page 1, Oct. 20-24, "Heroin Town"] is like doing an expose on cold weather
in Antarctica. It's cold there. It's always been cold, and we've known it
for many years.

When I was at Eastern Connecticut State University in the late '80s, the
story was that Willimantic was the heroin capital of New England. On Main
Street, it was rare to not spot syringes discarded at the curb. The Hooker
Hotel was always a junkie's flophouse.

Yes, it is tragic that people are dying from the evil scourge of drugs,
and, yes, something must be done about the problem.

Now The Courant is trumpeting the fact that Gov. John G. Rowland and the
latest drug czar, John P. Walters, visited Willimantic after a scathing
newspaper series reported the heroin problem there.

My question is why is The Courant "exposing" an issue that has existed for
many years longer than Mr. Rowland has been in office? Could it be because
he and the Republican Party need a photo op?

I find it interesting that The Courant published the series just before the
election. Did The Courant hand the incumbent an issue? Has Mr. Rowland ever
publicly addressed the drug problem in Willimantic before? Has any federal
drug czar ever visited a town in Connecticut before?

Did the Courant just discover the drug problem in Willimantic?

Please, don't insult the people of Connecticut by exposing problems that
are as new as the traffic on I-95.

Sean Murray, Newington