Springfield residents say Union Street is one of the worst streets in town.
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How Springfield hopes buying drug houses will keep kids safe
Posted: May 26, 2017 5:30 PM EDT
Updated: May 26, 2017 6:38 PM EDT
By Taylor YoungCONNECT
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. -
Springfield residents say Union Street is one of the worst streets in town.
"Not all of Union Street is problematic," said Lori Claffee of Springfield. "It's just one part of Union Street."
Claffee says there has been a history of issues and she's tired of it.
"I want to see a drug-free street; I want to see a crime-free street," she said.
In the latest major search and drug arrest there, a man and woman were arrested for selling heroin. The location? Just a couple of hundred feet from an elementary school.
"Basically, the house has been shut down so that no one can be living in it at all," Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston said.
This isn't the first building with drug activity near the elementary school or the second.
"We were concerned about some of the activity that was happening in that building," Springfield Schools Superintendent Zach McLaughlin said.
For nearly five years, McLaughlin says an abandoned blue house sitting directly in front of the school worried parents, residents and staff. This past year, the school budget included about $90,000 to buy it.
A white abandoned building facing the school was also a drug house. The town plans to buy it, too.
"We have issued orders for fix or demolish," said Kristi Morris of the Springfield select board.
Morris says drugs aren't a new problem. But their concern is how they're going to keep kids off drugs when they're so close to their schools. Both Morris and the chief say educating kids early would help.
But McLaughlin says drug prevention programs like D.A.R.E. haven't been so successful in the past. He says the focus should be on parents.
"What we are seeing is families who have young kids, where the home life has been destroyed and now we have these kids who coming in to us who aren't sure how to function in an institution like a school," McLaughlin said.
In four years, the district has gone from zero to three full-time social workers who approach parents in a nonconfrontational way.
"We are saying, we are aware of it because we have the kids with us all the time. Then we are figuring out what we can do to support this family to get them on their feet," McLaughlin said.
Public safety officials are holding a forum to address the drug problem. It's Tuesday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Riverside Middle School in Springfield.
Maybe the Superintendent of Schools should do press releases, he seems to have a better grasp on the drug situation and what needs to be done. "Good ole boys" have been fumbling for years.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they are focused on kids who come from families with parents who are druggies, but they are useless when it comes to kids who get hooked on drugs and families who are looking for guidance to get the kid back on track. I had a very poor experience with the HS. They don't care or want to help.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it is the High Schools responsibility to solve an individuals drug problem. Their job is to educate. Not to treat. There are may other state provided programs to help kids with addictions.
DeleteI agree its not their responsibility to treat, but a list of resources would be helpful as opposed to a shrug of the shoulders. And it is not easy to get someone into treatment, particularly when under 18.
DeleteYeah, it's the "good ole boys" and the High School's fault for being an idiot and injecting heroin, one of the most known addicting drugs on earth, into people's arms. Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteDATELINE SPRINGFIELD 2027: Hapless authorities raze last remaining residence. Conclude they're stumped to deter opiate distribution.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that you don't believe the opiate issue is secluded to Springfield, Vt..? The issue is much larger then Springfield. If you have any realistic solutions to the national opiate issue at hand, feel free to fill the rest of us in. I am sure the rest of the world would love the solution.
DeleteI am just glad those shacks will be torn down.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I understand some of these comments. The Supt. is correct that the children in the custody of heroin addicts are streaming into the schools without social skills capable of coping with the traditional school. The costs of trying to remedy this within the school system and outside the school system is astronomical. In addition, the emphasis has been aimed at blight zones which are in essence the school zones. Eliminating the blight in these areas reduces the amount of exposure the students from all over the community have to the drug culture (needle debris, seeing people dealing and high, and watching people shoot up) -- I would think that would be considered a positive.
ReplyDeleteAnd in other news, while druggies run amok in town, Chief of Police Doug Johnston continues to battle to keep big trucks off of Springfield streets, complaining that their constant rumbling down Clinton Street prevents him from taking his daily naps.
ReplyDeleteThere was a meeting tonight from 6:00 to 8:30 at RMS, where you there to voice your concerns? I'm guessing not.
ReplyDelete