END THE 'HAPPY DEALS'

A state probe of two Fayette County public housing complexes raises a
disturbing image of alleged drug dealing on housing authority property.

Attorney General Mike Fisher described the purported dealing as a curbside
service for drug buyers, similar to a drive-through at a fast-food
restaurant. Nineteen people have been implicated in the state's eight-month
investigation, which is continuing. The offenders are described by police
as low-level dealers, and most are not housing authority tenants.

Thomas L. Harkless, executive director of the Fayette County Housing
Authority, says he was aware of the state investigation, and that any
suspects who were tenants had been evicted prior to the state investigation
and subsequent arrests.

Nevertheless, the alleged "happy deals" were served up in publicly
subsidized communities that come under the housing authority's jurisdiction.

It's no secret that some of the authority's housing complexes over the
years have had drug trafficking problems, including the two housing
projects targeted by the state: Dunlap Creek Village and Hunter's Ridge,
both in Redstone Township. To its credit, the housing authority has
responded by enforcing new rules, hiring new security and, in May, adopting
a drug-testing procedure for employees.

But hardened drug dealers, who are not tenants, can be as persistent as
cockroaches; they'll infest an area and remain until dealt with. If
vigilance isn't maintained, they'll return - sometimes in greater numbers.

Here's hoping the state's investigation and arrests will send a clear
signal to any drug dealers who set up shop in housing authority
communities. More importantly, the crackdown should add some momentum, and
bite, to the Fayette housing authority's anti-drug policies.