Providing a safe environment for students to learn is the greatest respect that can be given to our children. The minority side of an issue usually tends to be the most vocal, so I felt compelled to respond to some of the letters and columns printed. I have read some catch phrases with very little substance to back them up in these articles, such as "Guilty until proven innocent." The only explanation for this headline I could find in Ben Bartlett's (March 22) column is that preventative measures automatically imply guilt. [continues 319 words]
In his thoughtful March 22 column on Oconee County High School's controversial use of drug-sniffing dogs, Ben Bartlett notes that the invasive practice has yielded nothing more than a few minor marijuana busts. Denying at-risk students the chance to graduate from high school won't help them from being productive, taxpaying members of society. Most teen-agers outgrow their youthful indiscretions involving drugs. A criminal conviction and record, on the other hand, can be life shattering. After admitting to smoking pot (but not inhaling), Clinton opened himself up to ''soft on drugs'' criticism. And thousands of Americans have paid the price in the form of shattered lives. More Americans went to prison or jail during the Clinton administration than during any past administration. [continues 86 words]
Bravo! Mr. Kennedy. I commend you on a well-thought, well-versed letter. We do a great many things in the name of children. We even violate their rights in the name of a war that cannot be won. A similar incident occurred at my high school in 1995, my senior year. Administrators and police officers met us at the front doors, metal detectors and search tables in place. They searched every bag, parcel and car. They found many forms of contraception but little in the way of contraband. Many were humiliated. [continues 153 words]
Recently, the doors of Oconee County High School were locked -- not to keep people out but to keep students in -- as members of the private security firm RAID Corps. swept the school with drug dogs in search of any signs of drugs or weapons. Oddly enough, school officials reportedly received no complaints from parents in the days immediately following the search. In light of the high levels of protest seen when other schools around the country have implemented similar lockdowns, it seems unlikely that no one disagrees with the tactics. So why the silence. [continues 484 words]
I am a student at Oconee County High School. The drug sweep that took place at school last week shocked me. It is a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights protecting people from unlawful search and seizure. Or, does that not apply to students? Are we inferior citizens? In our civics class, we learn about our constitutional rights but we do not seem to be protected by them. That seems wrong to me. The goal of attending school is to become better informed and aware citizens. Instead, we are force fed information in a prison-like environment subject to random searches for contraband. [continues 328 words]
Oconee County School Drug Searches Raise Concerns I am a bit concerned about the recent "drug sweep" in Oconee County. I am against drugs and believe that those who use them ought to be prosecuted. But what stops a student or even faculty member from hiding their dope in or under a vehicle belonging to another student and then retrieving it at the end of each day? Will the innocent remain innocent until proven guilty? How would the innocent student "prove" he is innocent if the dope was found in or under his or her vehicle? We used to be innocent until proven guilty, now it seems we are shifting to guilty, even if proven innocent. [continues 129 words]
Courts have routinely upheld the sort of drug sweeps that occurred Monday at Oconee County High School, tacitly acknowledging that in some respects, students check their Fourth Amendment rights at the door in the interest of public safety. ''The (U.S.) Supreme Court has been pretty supportive of school authorities in conducting these kinds of searches,'' said Sam Davis, dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law and an expert on constitutional issues surrounding school searches. ''They've given school officials a pretty wide latitude in ensuring there is a safe environment conducive to learning.'' On Monday, two agents with RAID Corps, a Spartanburg, S.C.-based private security firm, swept through the school with drug dogs searching for indications of drugs or guns around lockers and parked cars. The school's doors were locked to prevent anyone from leaving, though administrators and faculty were posted at exits in case of an emergency. ''If you don't do it all the way, you really jeopardize the security of the operation,'' said Oconee County Schools Superintendent Shannon Adams. Adams said he will propose to the school board that it reserve funds in the next year's budget for regular spot checks. ''I believe it's a deterrent to students bringing drugs and other contraband on campus,'' Adams said. ''We're not naive enough to pretend it's not there, but this is more of a preventative measure.'' Adams said two days after the search, in which two teens were charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana, his office hasn't heard a single complaint from parents. ''We really had not anticipated any negative reaction,'' Adams said. ''By and large parents appreciate the school system's efforts to make schools safe.'' In fact, few legal challenges have arisen from school drug searches, Davis said. ''It may be that in many cases parents don't seek to challenge it; that they support it. Maybe their lawyers do some research and conclude it would be pointless to challenge it.'' In the late 1960s, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tinker v. De Moines School System that students could exercise their First Amendment right to free speech by wearing black armbands protesting the Vietnam War. At the time, conservatives worried that the decision would lead to chaos in the schools, with increased court interference in their operation and students in effect running the schools. ''I think what you're seeing now is the pendulum swinging back in the other direction,'' Davis said. ''The court over the last 15 to 20 years has really gone with preserving the government's interests over the individual's. There's really no question that students have less constitutional rights in a public school setting than they do outside.'' Generally, the Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure guarantees that searches of a person's belongings should not be done without a warrant issued after proof of probable cause is given. [continues 444 words]
Drug Dealer Slips On Appeal RICHMOND COUNTY - An Augusta cocaine dealer had his appeal for a lighter sentence backfire when a federal appeals court decided his punishment wasn't harsh enough. Andrew Webb, who police say bought and distributed 10 kilograms of cocaine per week in Augusta and Waynesboro until his arrest in 2000, received a 30-year jail term Thursday in U.S. District Court during a resentencing hearing. In January 2001, after a jury convicted him, U.S. District Chief Judge Dudley H. Bowen Jr. sentenced the career drug dealer to a term of 22 years. The judge, ignoring federal guidelines requiring a term of 30 years to life, said his 22-year sentence was "more than the appropriate societal response for the conduct Webb has engaged in." [continues 259 words]
A private firm conducted a drug search at Oconee County High School on Monday, locking school entrances to prohibit students from leaving the building while dog handlers walked by cars and went through classrooms. Drug agents hired by the Oconee school system turned two male students, ages 16 and 17, over to the Oconee County Sheriff's Department after finding small amounts of marijuana in their cars. The sheriff's department then charged them for misdemeanor marijuana possession. "We're always concerned with drug issues on campus," said Oconee County High School Principal Mark Channell. "We're very pleased we didn't find any more than we did." [continues 251 words]
I'm writing in response to your article about the BART survey recently administered in the Clarke County School District. I am 18 years old and a senior at Cedar Shoals High School. First, I'd like to say that, no matter how many computers they run those results through, they are probably not going to be accurate. Most of the people I know either gave the worst answers they could or got spooked by the fact that we were herded into the cafeteria by administrators who know our names and faces and asked personal questions, only to have to go up to a lady sitting at a computer, one by one, and hand those responses over to her to feed into the computer. [continues 93 words]
President Bush said Monday that Afghanistan "failed demonstrably" in 2001 to cooperate in anti-narcotics efforts but that the country nonetheless is entitled to receive U.S. assistance because of vital American interests. Bush made the announcement in a brief statement in which he evaluated the performance of 23 countries involved in drug trafficking as producers, transit points or both. For years, Afghanistan had been disqualified from U.S. assistance because it did not fully comply with international drug control standards. [continues 194 words]
I am writing in response to the Jan. 17 letter by Mr. Mark Knick. Mr. Knick believes the Athens-Clarke County Police Department had wrongly seized an 82-year-old woman's home. I question why Mr. Knick is so quick to jump on the defensive wagon? If Mr. Knick were remotely familiar with the circumstances in which this lady's home was seized by police, he most definitely would support our law enforcement in these efforts. Police had been out there numerous times on drug complaints from neighbors and warned this lady several times, yet there was no compliance on her part to stop her son and his "customers" from using her home for their transactions; and yes, Mr. Knick, there are provisions in our law books on this matter, in laymen terms: We cannot allow illegal drug activity on our property and expect to look "innocent." [continues 211 words]
The legal director for Georgia's American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spoke out Monday evening against the Clarke County School District's preliminary plans to implement unannounced random searches by drug dogs and random drug testing at the county's two high schools. Invited by the University of Georgia chapter of the ACLU, Gerry Weber called on the group to organize against the school district's proposed action against drugs, and "poke holes in what they're trying to do." Weber cited a Clayton County case in which fifth-graders were strip-searched over some missing money, and said, "It shows if you hop on a slippery slope, how far you might fall." [continues 586 words]
I am writing in response to an article in Friday's paper, "A-C police seize home in drug raid." I would just like to ask how, in a supposedly free country, an 82-year-old woman can have her home taken as punishment for a crime her son supposedly committed and neither of them have ever even been to court? Where was the jury of her peers? Wake up America! The Constitution is now null and void and has been for years due to this great excuse called "the war on drugs," which is used for everything from seizing private land to banning books the authorities deem inappropriate. While our schools are filling up with armed policemen and search dogs, little old ladies are being seized by the policemen who are sworn to serve and protect. Everyone is blind to the fact that we are losing more freedom each day, and all I see the average American doing is putting flag stickers on their cars and going to sporting events just like they were told to. [continues 114 words]
Mental Health An Athens agency that provides services for mentally ill, mentally retarded and drug-addicted persons in Northeast Georgia could have its contract yanked tonight. But members of a group called the Northeast Georgia Regional Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Board may instead vote at a special meeting this evening to give troubled Advantage Behavioral Health Systems one last chance to shape up. The group supervises the operations of Advantage, which provides services in Athens and nine other surrounding counties, and Gainesville-based Georgia Mountains Community Service Board, which provides services to 13 counties farther north. [continues 385 words]
One widow's tragedy is another person's treasure, it seems. Police phones rang Friday with prospective home-buyers expressing interest in a $20,000 Athens house drug officers confiscated Thursday from Fannie Gresham, an 82-year-old widow accused of allowing illegal drug sales there. Barring court reversals, the state now owns ''Ma's House,'' a tiny home on Julius Drive with a well-tended patch of collard greens in the backyard. Proceeds from a sale will be shared by police and the Western Circuit District Attorney, but Athens-Clarke Police Chief Jack Lumpkin said the rare step of home forfeiture was not taken for money. A neighborhood watch group pushed for the government seizure after Gresham, known to neighbors as ''Ma,'' turned a deaf ear to warnings from friends, neighbors and police, Lumpkin said. Police predict more such seizures as they go after the drug trade in some of Athens' troubled neighborhoods. ''Miss Gresham has been warned numerous times,'' Lumpkin said Friday. ''The issue is for the neighbors to have some peace of mind, and a crime and drug-free neighborhood, where they're not threatened by drugs.'' Some 29 incidents of drug activity were noted by police at her property since 1992, and authorities say drug dealers were caught numerous times fetching drugs from the house for street sales. Based on that, and police claims that the elder Gresham was helping her son's alleged operation, visiting Superior Court Judge Stephen Boswell issued a court order in December allowing the seizure. Gresham's son, 50-year-old Tommie Gresham, was arrested Thursday during the raid on a charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Boswell gave Fannie Gresham 14 days to move her belongings out of the small house, which she and her husband, Tom, built in the 1950s. Tom Gresham died in June. A hearing to delve into the facts of the case is scheduled for February in Clarke Superior Court. Jim Smith, an attorney for both Greshams, said he plans to appeal the forfeiture of Gresham's home to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and he claims her son is innocent of Thursday's drug charge. The elder Gresham was away during the seizure, and is now staying with relatives. Smith described her as ''frail,'' and ''upset'' over the loss of her home. ''They're taking property without any factual basis whatsoever,'' he said. ''That's all she owned.'' [end]
Police have long had the right under state and federal law to seize property if they can show it's linked to the illegal drug trade. Athens-Clarke police have rarely moved to commandeer a house. Thursday, they seized a west Athens house owned by an 82-year-old widow neighbors call ''Ma,'' claiming she was knowingly letting her son use the property as a staging site for drug sales. Police predicted more home forfeitures, as they look for fresh ways to end open drug dealing that still troubles some Athens neighborhoods. ''This community is why we're here today -- it's part of our problem-solving approach to policing the community,'' said Mike Hunsinger of the Athens-Clarke Police Drug and Vice Squad. ''I think we're going to see more of it.'' Fannie Gresham's attorney, Jim Smith, likened the police action to the widespread illegal theft of African-American real estate that tarnishes America's past. ''What they're doing is taking property from black folks,'' he said. ''They don't attack white folks.'' Under the watchful eyes of neighbors, officers entered the tiny Julius Drive home of Gresham and changed the locks. Police on Thursday also arrested Gresham's son, Tommie ''Top Dollar'' Gresham, 50, on a cocaine possession charge after he allegedly dropped several rocks of crack cocaine and fled the scene, returning later while police were still there. His mother was at the hospital visiting a sick relative during the police operation, according to her attorney, who accused police of confiscating the home of an innocent old woman. Neighbors described her as a kindly lady who walked to a nearby church every Sunday for services. ''Right here is a good example of the state taking property'' without evidence, Smith said, videotaping the operation from the street. ''There's not any drugs in this house. They have never seized any drugs in this house. This lady is not accused of a single thing.'' The police complaint alleged the senior Gresham facilitated her son's alleged operation by allowing the house to become a hub of drug activity. Some 29 incidents of drug activity have been noted at the address there since 1992, records show. Police were armed with a court order issued by Superior Court Judge Stephen Boswell, who heard evidence in December of alleged drug activity at the property. Police say drug dealers were caught numerous times by police fetching drugs from the house for street-side sales, and running after cars to sell drugs to motorists. Boswell gave Gresham 14 days to move her belongings. A hearing on the seizure is scheduled for February in Clarke Superior Court. Boswell signed the order as a visiting judge after the Western Judicial Circuit's three Superior Court judges recused themselves in the case. Seized by the state government was a Jim Walter home that Gresham and her husband erected in the 1950s, paying for it partly with money from a job she held at a local poultry plant. Her husband Tom died in June. The sudden lockdown at the address surprised at least one visitor, dropping off a package for Gresham, who she described as a lovely person and a good customer. The visitor found only an empty locked house. ''All I know is what I bring them,'' Mary Brake said.''It's prescription drugs.'' [end]
Dog Searches, Testing In Works For Clarke's Two High Schools The Clarke County School District is moving to implement both random searches by drug dogs, and random drug testing for some students at district high schools in the new year. "I feel very positive about it because to say drugs are not at Cedar Shoals High School is not the truth," said Principal Charles Worthy, who noted that faculty and parents have not expressed many concerns about the searches and testing thus far. The first measure implemented will be random drug dog searches, which Clarke Schools Superintendent Lewis Holloway said will likely begin soon after school resumes in January. [continues 457 words]
I would like to know why people like Dick Mendenhall (Dec. 1 column) support the D.A.R.E. program so much when he himself said, "I don't know how many kids pay real attention, genuinely internalize and actually avoid drugs and violence as a result of hearing the D.A.R.E. message, but it's certainly better than no message at all." So basically what he is saying is that it is better to lie to kids than say nothing at all. The fact is D.A.R.E. does not work; if anything it has been proven to have a negative long-term effect on kids. You can not lie, try to scare or use 50-year-old "reefer madness" propaganda on kids today -- they are way too smart. Most intelligent kids and adults realize that our drug laws cause more harm than good. Your sheriff himself says that 60-70 percent of the people in jail are there because of drug-related crimes. And, the majority of those are not hardened criminals. They are mostly middle-or lower-class youth who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And don't think kids don't see the hypocrisy in the amount of people in jail for smoking a joint, which never killed anyone, when there is a bar opening every week in Athens. I guess it's OK to drink a drug as long as it is heavily taxed. People need to realize that their kid is worth more in prison than on the streets to many businessmen. We live in a nation where prison industry lobbyists wine and dine our politicians to prevent our kids from having the freedoms they have now. Please people, don't believe the drug-war propaganda. Compare the real facts and figures not the ones provided by people who would lose profits if we have more sensible drug laws and less government control over our lives and our kids. [continues 222 words]
This is in response to Robert Sharpe's (Nov. 28) letter about legalizing marijuana. I strongly disagree with Mr. Sharpe. I believe the legalization of marijuana will not decrease the number of teen-agers who use it. In my opinion, if marijuana is legalized, children and teen-agers will use and abuse the drug even more. Those who were afraid to use it before because it was illegal, will now be permitted to use the drug. Sharpe says that legalizing marijuana would ''eliminate the forbidden fruit appeal of illegal marijuana,'' but I don't think that it is true. What about drugs like alcohol and cigarettes? They are legal, yet alcoholism is a major problem in this country, and many teen-agers smoke countless numbers of cigarettes. Why wouldn't there be a similar situation with marijuana? I think the only reason marijuana should be legalized is if it is used for medical purposes and medical purposes only. Doctors should be the only people allowed to prescribe marijuana to patients. Honestly, if marijuana is legalized, we will just have one more drug we have to worry about getting into the hands of more children. Michal Slawny [end]
