Fallburg Enters Drug Wars

It is no secret that illegal drug use and abuse is plaguing Sullivan County. Each and every day we read the headlines about drug related crimes and arrests.

The headlines are shocking and often come back to the use of heroin or painkillers. These drugs are being used in epidemic proportions in Sullivan County.

Drug abuse is crossing every socioeconomic barrier and age group. As a society we must all get serious about prevention and treatment. This is not just a mission for our law enforcement agencies to arrest and convict. The problems are far bigger than that.

For example, during the past several months the Fallsburg School District has been making headlines with stories pertaining to the subject at hand.

First there were revelations that heroin and other drug paraphernalia was found at the Benjamin Cosor Elementary School, then two parents were arrested for a drug transaction involving painkillers. A teacher’s aide was also arrested for criminal possession of a controlled substance.

Fallsburg Schools Superintendent Ivan Katz has taken a lot of heat for his handling of the heroin incident. Now it appears Katz is attempting to be proactive in the war against illegal drug use and abuse, and we hope other School Superintendents will follow the lead.

The Fallsburg Central School District will be hosting a Community Drug Awareness and Prevention Forum this Saturday, December 6, 2014, from 10 AM to 1:30 PM in the Fallsburg Jr.-Sr. High School Auditorium.
This event is in response to concerns from community and staff members about various incidences of drug use and sales in Fallsburg’s schools.

The forum will feature a presentation from Dr. Michael Nerney, a noted consultant on drug problems in schools.

Dr. Nerney will speak with the Fallsburg parents and school community members and address their concerns, such as:

● How drugs can be prevented in schools

● How to relate to drugs as a community issue

● How parents can talk about drugs with their children

● What to do when drug transactions are witnessed

● Signs and symptoms of drug use

Immediately following Dr. Nerney’s presentation, community members will be able to engage in small-group breakout sessions where ideas can be heard and discussed. Members of the Superintendent’s Community Advisory Council (SCAC) will facilitate these sessions and note the ideas discussed for further review.

Katz, and the SCAC created this forum as a way of directly working with community members to enhance awareness of the challenges surrounding drug abuse and existing prevention programs.

Katz emphasized that the Fallsburg Central School District will be persistent in its goal to root out illegal activities on district grounds. “By doing so, as a district and as a community,” said the Superintendent, “We will deny safe haven to any person or persons that feel it is appropriate to conduct themselves in this manner both on school grounds and around our children. We will be unrelenting in the pursuit and maintenance of this goal.”

For more information, please contact Dr. Ivan Katz, at 845-434-6800, ext. 1215 or by e-mail at ikatz@fallsburgcsd.net.

The Benjamin Cosor Parent-Teacher Association is also taking the lead to fight illegal drug use and abuse.

According to Jack Hayes, “The country is riveted on scenes of violence in Ferguson Missouri and all the while a silent and insidious killer of our children exists and multiplies in a location that should be a safe haven, our schools. You have seen the series of reports of drug paraphernalia, usage and sale at the Benjamin Cosor Elementary School in Fallsburg NY. How can our youngest children be exposed to this sick culture and not be affected? When parents and teachers become suspects who can our children look to as role models?”

Hayes notes that “Hundreds if not thousands of children in our area will be lured into substance abuse and the pain and misery of addiction. This is not a Fallsburg Central School problem – This is an epidemic that affects our entire region. Plase act to save our children.”

Hayes is asking all those wishing to join in this important fight to join the Benjamin Cosor Parent-Teacher Association, PO Box 143, Fallsburgh NY. The $6 enrollment will help fund activities to address drug culture problems.

“I am asking everyone to Get Involved. You don’t have to live in the Fallsburg District to care about children. Please join me in identifying solutions to this evil. Let’s eradicate drugs in schools, one school at a time.

Please attend the Community Forum on Drug Concerns at Fallsburg Central High School, Saturday December 6, 2014 from 10AM to 1:30PM.

Let’s hope we can all work together to find some solutions to this epidemic that is destroying our communities.

Bill Liblick has made a name for himself of National TV Talk Shows where he spouted his outspoken views from the front row. Now he offers you his opinion every week in the “MOUTH THAT ROARS” Column in the Sullivan County Post SullivanCountyPost.com Join in on the Conversation on Facebook in the group Sullivan County Post