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Hearing puts city at front of drug war
3/21/08|Rutland Herald| by Brent Curtis, Herald Staff

On Monday, Rutland will go from being part of a nationwide problem among communities with growing drug and crime statistics to being part of a solution.

Starting at 9 a.m. at the Franklin Center, two former prosecutors turned U.S. senators will hear testimony during a rare out-of-Washington field trip of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Scheduled in the wake of a fatal, drug-related shooting on Grove Street, the hearing has been dubbed "The Rise of Drug-Related Violent Crime in Rural America: Finding Solutions to a Growing Problem."

Why was Rutland singled out as a representative for a nationwide trend?

Sure, a lot of it has to do with the committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who said this week he could have just as easily brought the committee to several other cities in the state where similar drug and crime problems exist.

"It could have been Barre or Burlington, but we're always having meetings there," Leahy said.

But Leahy and fellow Judiciary Committee member Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., said Rutland exhibits many of the symptoms commonly associated with a drug-trafficking plague that has been moving beyond big cities in recent years.

That has certainly been the case in Rutland where a steady flow of cocaine and heroin has poured in from cities in Massachusetts and New York for most of the past decade.

For Specter, the ranking Republican on the committee and the only other member making the trip to Vermont, the comparisons between the situation in rural communities in his state and what is happening in Rutland is hard to ignore.

"I think it's a serious problem in Vermont," he said. "And there are similarities to Pennsylvania — the rising crime statistics and the trend of drug activity spreading out from the cities. We've always had a lot of drug activity in Philadelphia. Now you can find it 70 miles north of the city."

Some of the statistics are eye-popping. While violent crime is growing at a rate of just more than 1 percent nationally, Leahy said it's advancing at 10 times that rate in Vermont.

The reasons are a mystery, but Leahy said it's his fear that drug dealers are trying to exploit communities where law enforcement might be softer than in the big cities.

"If that's the case, we're going to have to look at the big picture," he said.

It will be up to the likes of Rutland's Mayor Christopher Louras, Police Chief Anthony Bossi and Superintendent of Schools Mary Moran along with four other witnesses from around the state to give the lawmakers a micro-view in which to frame the issue.

"These are the people in the trenches that we want to hear from," Specter said. "This is a big deal. You don't get the chairman and the ranking committee member to make too many field trips like this."

Leahy agreed.

"This will shape the discussions we have on the (Justice Assistance Grant) program among others," he said. "Our committee is constantly asked to vote on funding and programs that affect the whole country but it's usually the big city perspective that we get. I want to hear from the little cities because what works in the big cities might not work for everyone."

And while listening for the national comparisons inherent in Rutland's problems, Leahy said he will keep an ear open for any specific problems the city's leaders might need help with.

"I want to hear if there is anything not being done by the federal government that can help," he said.

Other speakers who will address the committee Monday include: Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., Vermont Commissioner of Public Safety Tom Tremblay, Hal Colston, director of NeighborKeepers, an organization that helps families in need in Essex Junction, and Bert Klavens, a drug and alcohol coordinator and outpatient counselor with Washington County Youth Services.

The hearing will be open to the public.

 

dedbr

Well here ya go, bud, straight from the little cities.....In 2006 felony arrests in my county were 1,007. In 1997 they went down almost thirty percent. Know why? Herb was put down as "non-essential for investigation." Now, I'm not saying it was all herb, but that's hell of a statistic as far as i'm concerned.

The DEA budget for the next fiscal year is suppose to be 18 billion. 18 billion dollars wasted on a war no one can win........

Stupid bastards.........


Some Where In Ded Land.........................

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