DRUG CZAR TOURS WILLIMANTIC REHAB PROGRAM

WINDHAM, Conn. -- The director of the nation's drug control policy joined
Gov. John. G. Rowland and other officials Tuesday at a tour of a drug
rehabilitation program in Willimantic.

The former mill town, situated between Boston and New York, has been a
prime stop for heroin dealers for nearly three decades. A recent five-part
series by The Hartford Courant documented the history, scope and human toll
of the problem.

"My job is to help the president deploy policies and programs that will
enable people like the people in this community make the problem smaller,"
drug czar John P. Walters said. "As a community we need to stand together.
When we do, we change the dynamics of this problem."

State officials said heroin use is on the rise across the state and
country, while other drug use, such as that of cocaine and alcohol, are down.

"This is not unique to Willimantic," Rowland said. "The drug problem has no
social, geographic or economic boundaries. It's unfortunate one town has
crystalized the heroin issue."

Rowland said he has added $100,000 to the statewide drug task force to help
the Windham region. He also said the state has invested nearly $24 million
in economic development funds for several projects that are ongoing in town.

"Willimantic is a town on the rise," Rowland said. "We've got great
economic development opportunities."

Curry campaign spokesman Roy Occhiogrosso said Rowland hasn't poured money
into drug programs, claiming the governor has cut $52 million to drug
prevention, rehabilitation and alternate incarceration programs.

"For him to go up there and talk about a paltry $100,000, leaving out the
fact he cut $52 million, days before an election, is shameful,"
Occhiogrosso said.

The officials toured Perceptions Program, a nonprofit rehabilitation agency
that serves hundreds of clients a year and is funded by six state agencies.
Walters' visit to Connecticut was scheduled several weeks ago, but his
presence loomed large in a town that recently found itself in the unwanted
spotlight.

"Because The Courant has highlighted a tragic issue that we're facing with
some young lives, appropriately we thought (the visit) should be here,"
Rowland said.

In Connecticut, 48 percent of people in treatment programs today have
identified heroin as their primary drug, compared with 37 percent in 1996,
according to Thomas Kirk, commissioner of the state Department of Mental
Health and Addiction Services.

Kirk explained that Connecticut's approach to identifying and treating
addicts follows a client throughout the process through case managers. The
human services agencies, which include Kirk's agency and the departments of
Children and Families and Mental Retardation, are broken up in the same
regional districts, allowing the agencies to share information and take a
comprehensive approach.

Walters said the Connecticut model is an effective one.

"This state has been a model in linking agencies and programs to make a
difference in people's lives," Walters said.

Windham First Selectman Michael Paulhus said the community has taken many
positive steps in addressing the drug problem. A public forum on Wednesday
night was expected to address a number of related issues, including taking
a regional approach to the problem.

"The community's coming together," Paulhus said. "We want an open dialogue.
We're talking about some of the positive programs like (Perception Program)
that are working. It works because a community accepts it."