LOCAL DRUG BUST WAS EYE OPENER

The recent drug bust in our community was an eye opener for all of us.
Arrests have been made in communities all around us from Watford City to
Williston to Glendive. Did we think that Sidney was immune to such drug
trafficking? I think not. No community is immune.

The Sidney Herald had on its view's page a few weeks ago an editorial
speaking about how rural areas, like Sidney, are hot spots for drug
peddling. It's hard for us to believe these reports, but the Sidney Police
Department proved that this is a reality. We can't shut our eyes to this
anymore, not as a community, not as parents, not as school officials and
especially not as a newspaper.

Keeping the public aware of such issues is our job. Not only what law
enforcement officials and the courts are doing to protect us from such a
horrendous problem, but how we can educate and protect ourselves.

The murder of a young man in Glendive involving drugs to high arrests of
meth labs in Williston, should make us realize how our MonDak region has
become a traffic area.

We must realize it is not just the trafficking of drugs, but the use of
drugs. I am not just talking illegal drugs; this includes over-the- counter
drugs, too.

Businesses in our small community have seen items from their shelves
disappear. These items are being used by our youth to get high. Items such
as cold tablets, cold syrups, along with aerosol sprays and ag fertilizers
are being used. I recently had conversations with several businesses, along
with the drug and alcohol counselor, who gave me some real insight on how
na.ve we, as parents, teachers and community residents, are to this
problem. Yes, it is a problem.

We all must be aware of this. Businesses must keep in contact with each
other and with the local law enforcement, sharing knowledge on what
products are disappearing. Several of the businesses have already taken
items off their shelves and moved them behind the counter to help with this
problem.

Parents must keep their eyes open at all times, continually watching for
out of the ordinary items in their child's room, backpack or automobile.
Don't ignore it. Take the extra step to question it. Drug use today is not
easy to detect. Mixing and using products right out of cupboards in the
home is what's happening.

We must work together. It takes our local law enforcement to our local
businesses to our local schools to our own homes to combat this. Each
entity has to do its part and not hide its head in the sand and pretend it
will go away, because it won't.

Congratulations to Brockton on taking the District 2-C championship. But I
would like to apologize to Brockton for the mistake in last Wednesday's
good luck page. We inadvertantly placed the Bainville team picture in place
of the Brockton team picture, with Bainville's picture then being in twice.

Technology is great, but sometimes doing it the old-fashioned way, where
you physically paste the picture on the page, would be nice. In this case,
the composing department imported the wrong picture in the Brockton spot
and it wasn't caught until it was too late. We apologize for the technical
screw-up.

We would also like to thank Elk River Printing and Schwartz Photography for
providing the Herald with team pictures for so many of our good luck
tournament pages. You guys are the best!