By Sara Strong
A group of concerned residents attended the Luverne City Council meeting Tuesday night to ask for help and support in stopping the county's drug problem.
Members of Parents: The Anti Drug and Violence Task Force represented many community members by speaking at the meeting.
Lila Bauer, Luverne, said, "I think we've had our heads in the sand for too long."
Realizing that the City Council can't necessarily fund more officers or dictate how the Sheriff's Department is run, the group still wanted a show of support.
For the Task Force, that support can be shown through serving on committees, helping to network in the community or advising the group through a grant-writing process.
They hope to find grants for educational programs for parents to teach what to look for in young drug users. Also, ideally, the group hopes to get an officer or some type of staff person to work with drug issues at the school level.
The city is a joint partner in Rock County law enforcement, and the Task Force has already been at a Rock County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Not the first task force
Council member Keith Erickson said, "It'd be nice to get more people involved than just those who are affected."
As a former high school teacher and counselor, Erickson was a key member of a similar task force in the 1980s. He said, "ItÕs ecstasy and meth now, but it's always been booze and marijuana."
The former task force got a good response at first, Erickson said, but by the second round of community education, turnout was scant.
"About 30 of us met monthly through the '80s," Erickson said. "And the biggest number of parents came [to one particular meeting] because we fed them chicken."
Parents of addicts at the council meeting admitted they hadn't expected drug problems to visit their families, but said more education would have helped them.
"Maybe the parents we tried to educate then are now grandparents," Erickson said, indicating a new task force may reach parents of todayÕs younger people.
Stan Nelson, Hills, said, "It's important to start thinking about it, talking about it."
Even though the parent task force is speaking very vocally about drugs like methamphetamines, it acknowledges that cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana are as big a problem as other substances.
Parents: The Anti Drug and Violence Task Force scheduled a public meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Luverne Pizza Ranch.
In other business,
the City Council:
Is proceeding with the application for the Small Cities Grant program that could bring $1.4 million for home and business improvements to Luverne. In order to apply, the target areas of town had to answer surveys at a 70 percent or better return rate.
Joined the Minnesota Community Capital Fund for $25,000. The Luverne Economic Development Authority recommended the city join because, as a member, it can borrow up to 10 times what it's invested to use for economic development projects. The city can also get the $25,000 back if it wants to withdraw from the organization.
Approved a new policy manual for the Luverne Fire Department. The constitution and by-laws were updated. Notable items in the new version are that firefighters are required to respond to at least 35 percent of the calls and must live within seven minutes of the fire hall to be members.
All current Luverne Fire Department members already comply with these updates, according to assistant fire chief Don Deutsch.