Pubdate: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 Source: Indianapolis Star (IN) Copyright: 2002 Indianapolis Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.starnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/210 Author: Oleksiy Barankevych THAT'S NO BALONEY -- GRANT TO HELP CHASE OFF DRUG DEALERS WITH HOT DOGS From now on, a Near-Eastside neighborhood will be chasing away drug dealers with a hot-dog cart. Literally. The Brookside Bunch Neighborhood Association on Friday received a $4,297 grant from the Department of Metropolitan Development to implement a drug-elimination program. The money will be used to buy a hot-dog cart, which the association will set up near alleged drug houses to give away hot dogs. The theory is that traffic to the free food will deter buyers and sellers from seeking illegal drugs for that day. Bob Childs, former president of the neighborhood group, said he and his wife, Charlotte, have been working on the program for years. They got the idea from a similar project in Florida, where residents ousted unwanted neighbors with the help of hot dogs and cold drinks. Childs and a group of volunteers used the tactic in a Near-Eastside neighborhood two years ago. The success was overwhelming, Childs said. "(Bad neighbors) moved out the next day. It tickled everybody to death," Childs said. "We set up on the corner, diagonally away from the place. We gave out hot dogs and passed out information, and the next day they moved." The new project will be more mobile because it will use a towable cart. It will be moved from neighborhood to neighborhood, with local residents supplying hot dogs, mustard and ketchup. "This will be an ongoing process of eliminating drugs and 'bad neighbors,' " Childs said. The cart also might be used for fund-raising activities. Childs expects to have the cart in operation by Aug. 6. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake