DRUG CRACKDOWN'S SUCCESS IS EVIDENT

We have been pretty vocal in our support for an ongoing crackdown on
illegal narcotics trafficking by local law enforcement agencies over
the last few months.

The effort is a joint operation by the Oktibbeha County Sheriff's
Department, the Starkville Police Department, the Tri-County
Narcotics Task Force, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the
Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Mississippi Highway
Patrol.

As of May 11, the crackdown has seen a good bit of success, with some
160 drug offenders arrested, many of whom are known by authorities to
be significant drug dealers and remain in custody.

Several news stories in our newspaper have documented the efforts of
our drug agents, sheriff's deputies, state troopers, corrections
officials and police officers in this crackdown.

Anyone who doubts their efforts are making an impact should think
twice. The numbers of arrests - an average of 13 drug offenders per
week since our last report - speak for themselves.

The impact on our neighborhoods and streets, we believe, is even
greater. Tuesday's newspaper contained two prime examples.

Early Sunday morning, Tri-County agents, county sheriff's deputies
and Starkville police officers, acting on information each agency had
received, raided an apartment on Central Avenue and seized a good
quantity of powdered cocaine and crack cocaine and a small amount of
marijuana, arresting a man many said had been dealing drugs for
several months.

The powdered cocaine, in particular, was bagged to be sold in one
gram amounts, with between 50 and 60 rocks of crack cocaine also
ready for sale.

What's even more disconcerting is that a woman approached the
officers as the raid winded down and tried to buy crack cocaine. But
she will not be able to get it in that neighborhood.

Another example is a news story about one Starkville police officer,
Shawn Word, who made several drug arrests last week on various
traffic stops throughout the city.

In each case, marijuana and drug paraphernalia were seized, some in
significant amounts. While Word made a significant number of traffic
stop drug arrests, officers and sheriff's deputies are seeing
increasing numbers of these types of arrests on our city and county
streets and roads.

That is another reason why this drug crackdown is important,
especially considering that local law enforcement officials estimate
that two-thirds to three-fourths of all crime that occurs locally is
related to drugs in some form or fashion.

We encourage residents to report suspected drug activity to
authorities. Our law enforcement officers are determined to stem the
flow of illegal drugs in our community.

With help and cooperation from all of us, that can happen, and our
community will be all the better for it.