POTTSTOWN PA – “A major drug problem” exists within and just beyond Pottsgrove High School that administrators there “don’t want to say anything about,” a former Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township commissioner alleged Monday night (Feb. 7, 2011), during a board meeting in which a North Adams Street couple begged the township for help in getting what they claimed were drug sellers off their neighborhood’s streets.
Stephen Klotz, a local building contractor who served on the Board of Commissioners and in other Lower Pottsgrove positions for several years, charged that students attending the high school, 1345 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA, “have to walk past drugs being sold every day, day in and day out” on Cindy, Lynn and Wendy drives just east of the school’s front entrance. Pottsgrove School District officials, he added, were ignoring the problem.
Klotz’s fiery accusations followed a plea to commissioners by home owners Julie and Ron Umstead, 1346 N. Adams Rd., to do something about what they described as groups of students and others who parked in the residential community and sold drugs from their cars a few hundred yards from the school. The peddlers, they said, were intimidating, profane, and occasionally raced or fought in the streets.
And although the couple presented a petition repeating the request and bearing signatures of other residents, none of them wanted to appear at the commissioners’ meeting “because they’re deathly afraid” of what dealers might do in retaliation, Julie Umstead said.
Commissioners, in response, decided the first thing they needed was more information. “Obviously it’s a serious concern,” said board President Jonathan Spadt, who asked the Umsteads to be part of a group to further discuss the matter. It would initially include Police Chief Michael Shade, who attended Monday’s meeting, and district Superintendent Dr. Bradley Landis, Spadt said.
Landis, however, said late Tuesday night (Feb. 8) he was unaware of the discussion and had not been contacted about participating.
“It’s the first I’ve heard of it, but I’m certainly going to follow it up,” Landis said following Tuesday’s Board of School Directors‘ meeting. “We’ll act on the issue,” he promised. “If high school students are involved we’ll get to the bottom of it and deal with it.”
The police chief acknowledged he had talked with the Umsteads on several occasions, and ordered increased patrols in the area. The couple praised the police department for its interest and responsiveness, although Shade declined to endorse their suggestion that a no-parking zone be enforced along Cindy Drive on Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. as a way to keep dealers out. “It only moves them to another block,” the chief replied.
Klotz, who coaches several youth sports teams, was scathing in his criticism of what he said was a seeming inability to subdue open sales of many illegal substances. “We’ve failed our kids and failed to stop the drugs,” he said. Student abusers “know how to get around the searches in schools. They laugh at your drug dogs,” Klotz told Shade.
The Umsteads, who admitted they had faced but successfully dealt with drug abuse in their own family, were similarly hopeful Spadt’s call for a brainstorming session would yield results. “If you need support,” Ron Umstead pledged, “we’ll drum it up.”
Related:
- School Neighbors Warned Of Drug Deals; Lockers Searched
- Drug Sales A Problem Near High School, Township Told
Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Feb. 7 meeting):
- Drug Sales A Problem Near High School, Township Told
- Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
- Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
This is a No-Brainer…
Get some of those extra cops from Upper Pottsgrove and have them patrol this area around the school on foot during the time period of the alleged activities. If the dealers “move to the next block”, the cops move to the next block too. It sounds like the chief doesn’t really like his job.
Actually, Wolfgang, the Umsteads made it clear they think the chief and the department have taken their concerns seriously and acted on them quickly. Patrolling the area on foot’s a great idea, and so is moving where the traffickers move, but who will pay for that extra police coverage? Given your previous comments on taxes in general and school district taxes in particular, I’m betting it’s not you. Commissioners’ President Spadt said he’s hoping a coalition of the police departments within the district – Lower, Upper and West – might address the need, but that’s still to be discussed. Problem is, the other two townships face the same manpower difficultoies, maybe even more acutely than Lower.
How can someone get involved in the study?
April, I’d let township Manager Rodney Hawthorne know of your interest. The phone number at the municipal building on Buchert Road is 610-323-0436. Great question; thanks for asking it.
This is not a school issue, it is a street crime issue. The crime is not occurring in the school, but on the streets near the school. So, there is no impact on the school budget and likewise no impact on school taxes.
The idea that an increase in township taxes would be needed for the police to enforce a no-parking zone and to protect the quality of life of the citizenry from the alleged drug dealing activities which occur during a few hours of the day, during five days of the week, is, well….weak. What are the Lower Pottsgrove police so busy doing, that they can’t spend a few hours a week making their presence known in that neighborhood?
I’d rather believe that Chief Shade is presenting a flippant attitude towards rigid enforcement because he has some sort of undercover sting operation in the works to nab these guys and send them them off to long prison terms. Hopefully, the resulting reduced Pottsgrove High School enrollment will then reduce my School Taxes.
Time for some surveillance work…
Sounds like Klotz is bored and looking to run for office again…
I can’t speak to his demeanor or motivations, Greg. I wouldn’t bet against another election bid.
It just seems like this should be in the paper AFTER the “drug dealers” are caught!