Task Force Being Formed To Tackle Drug and Alcohol Issues in Lacey Township

For months, members of the Lacey Township Municipal Alliance talked about the need to partner with other groups in town to make real inroads in the fight against drug and alcohol abuse. Now, that dream is coming closer to reality, according to Alliance Coordinator Heather Scanlon.

Scanlon said she's met with the police chief, the school superintendent and religious leaders in town and they've agreed to participate in a new task force.

"We've faced frustration dealing with it as a group on our own and feeling we weren't getting participation from parents," said Scanlon. "The task force will have weight behind it."

The task force would include members of the Alliance, police, school administration, municipal officials, and business and religious leaders, and the first order of business will be to define the group's mission, Scanlon said. 

"I want to see, as a group, what are the most important issues before us," said Scanlon. "We will get together as a group and determine the right way to approach it. It could be education, awareness or dealing with students through the school system."

The Municipal Alliance receives a grant from the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse to provide programs and activities which assist in preventing the abuse of alcohol, drugs and tobacco. However, Scanlon has said that moving forward, the grant will require the Alliance to show their efforts have produced measurable changes.

"The task force is going to give us more punch when we try to get our message out," she said. "This is a community that thinks it's important that parents listen."

Scanlon said it's likely that the group's initial meeting could be set within a month.

"We need to look and see where our problems lie," she said. "I'm excited that we will be working together to make the community safer for kids and seniors."

High School Principal William Zylinski, who was at the Municipal Alliance meeting, declined to comment on the district's involvement with the task force.