"I ask that every member of this community join forces with this administration and the school board to combat this ever-growing menace to our children and our citizens."
It was Wednesday night, March 1, 1972, and these words came from then Mayor James Lettis, commenting during a joint meeting of the Common Council and Oneonta Board of Education.
The menace the mayor referred to was a growing drug abuse problem.
During that meeting, held at the Oneonta High School library, police Chief Joseph DeSalvatore painted a grim picture of what his department was dealing with, as reported in The Oneonta Star.
"A 15-year-old Oneonta girl has a 'speed' kit -- complete with spoon and cotton."
"Another has made a hash pipe out of a lipstick case."
"An Oneonta boy uses a strip of rawhide as a tourniquet before shooting drugs."
"A local boy bought a coke downtown. Someone adds an LSD Tablet."
DeSalvatore told those in attendance that drug use in Oneonta had increased by about 47 percent in recent years.
The chief said the city's first drug arrest came in 1968.
In 1971, 25 arrests were made.
DeSalvatore asked for money so that brochures could be distributed to Oneonta residents. "Involvement by the total community is the right step," he said.
Frederick Bardsley, then superintendent of schools, said the key to the problem is getting parents together with their children.
He said parents need to know where their children are and who they are with.
He asked for an enlightened, concerned and responsible public.
DeSalvatore confided there was more of a drug problem in the junior high school than in the senior high.
He added that several burglaries were caused by youths supporting a drug habit.
DeSalvatore added that it was well known that when pushers at the colleges cannot sell on campus, "the goods are brought into the local community and schools."
That first meeting spurred action.
Some 200 parents gathered at the Junior High School cafeteria on Academy Street on Tuesday, March 13, and were essentially told by a staff of school personnel to "be parents."
Another "cross section of concerned citizens" met at St. James' Episcopal Church on Thursday, April 27, to organize an effort to battle drug abuse. Oneonta had already lined up professional assistance to create an educational program.
From May 12 to 14, a weekend of information on drugs with several discussions were held at Oneonta High School and Oneonta Armory, planned by the newly formed Oneonta Drug Task Force Committee.
The initial session had a guest speaker from Broome County, which had a drug abuse program in place.
Proposed during that weekend was a program patterned after the Broome County Narcotic Guidance Council, with a "drop-in" center open to anyone, with any problem and any age level. The program would be completely on a volunteer basis.
The first drop-in center opened the week of July 3 in the Puritan Building, 172 Main St.
It operated on weekends only at that time.
The effort had begun to battle what Lettis had called the "menace."
While this effort to battle drug abuse began, another had begun a bit more quietly in 1970. That was the year "Project 85" opened at the large house at 85 Chestnut St.
Eighty-five was opened, according to the Star, "by a group of concerned clergy, the Campus Ministry Committee."
In the first years it was open, Project 85 addressed the need for drug abuse help, but gradually shifted their counseling to other problems, such as financial aid, shelter, legal referral, abuse, rape, runaways, suicide or depression.
It should be noted that Project 85 helped train the volunteers at the new drop-in center on methods used in answering and handling phone calls.
During its years in Oneonta, Project 85 was funded by a variety of sources. Later known as The Otsego Area Consortium, then found at 259 Chestnut St., the agency closed in late 1987.
This weekend: As our days get closer to spring, we'll explore some local news briefs from the winter of 1912.
City Historian Mark Simonson's column appears twice weekly. On Saturdays, his column focuses on the area during the Depression and before. His Monday columns address local history after the Depression. If you have feedback or ideas about the column, write to him at The Daily Star, or email him at simmark@stny.rr.com. His website is www.oneontahistorian.com. His columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/marksimonson.
Columns
Battling drug problems reaches 40 years in Oneonta
- Big Chuck D'Imperio
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My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
Ask any hospital administrators if they've ever heard of a closed hospital in New York state that has ever been re-opened. They will say, "Impossible." In a half century of going through records you can't find any.
Continued ... - Catching a whiff of 'Vermont Vapor'
- Selections from the virtual mailbag
- Recalling days of 'Doughnut King'
- Opera great's visit still a thrilling memory
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My pal Brucie, savior of Sidney's hospital
- Cary Brunswick
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We've become our own worst enemies
The past month has been marked by a seeming unprecedented number of man-made tragedies, as distinct from those caused by violent outbursts of the natural world, such as earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis.
Continued ... - Plenty of blame to go around for Bangladesh horror
- Obama is going against his word on Social Security
- Reflecting on a Florida trip
- Those magnificent spies in their flying machines
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We've become our own worst enemies
- Chuck Pinkey
- Guest Column
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Records seizure is an insult to free press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
Continued ... - The evangelical view of same-sex marriage
- Manor's fate will be Otsego board's legacy
- A closer look at our economy - Part II
- Use fracking to fill budget gaps
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Records seizure is an insult to free press
- Lisa Miller
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A view from above
Fire towers in the Catskill Mountains have always been destination points, built to capture some of the region’s best views. These sentinel stations served an important role for the earliest possible sightings of forest fires in the remote mountain ranges. But the fire towers and those who manned them fulfilled a multitude of other roles as well.
Continued ... - Being a parent is a constant learning process
- Healthy doesn't have to mean expensive
- A family era ends with close of Potter series
- Independent stores make up for loss of Borders
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- Mark Simonson
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General Clinton Canoe Regatta got a new home in 1972
Ever since 1963, when Charles Hinkley and a group of Tri-Town businessmen came up with the idea for what we know today as the General Clinton Canoe Regatta, people lined the shores of the Susquehanna to watch the canoeists as they made their 70-mile trek from Cooperstown to Bainbridge.
Continued ... - Sunday movies in Oneonta finally shown in 1934
- Politics, fitness and landmarks dominated local news in May 1968
- Local people sought income in many ways in 1933
- Local windstorm in 1983 caused tense moments
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- Rick Brockway
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Kids have sparkle in their eyes
When I was in my teens, old Bill Naatz told me about a stream north of Lake George where a man had panned out enough gold to make his wife a wedding band. It was all rumors, but to his grandson and myself, it sounded like the makings of a great adventure.
- People make the outdoors even better
- Turkey season has ups and downs
- Spring air isn't always the freshest
- Adriondacks keep growing and growing
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Kids have sparkle in their eyes
- Sam Pollak
- William Masters
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
As the time to vote draws near, we need to remember how money can run politics more than we can. Raising funds is a prominent (if not the dominant) task of getting elected. Raising issues is also crucial, but those efforts are subject to distortion and fear-mongering.
- Republicans feelentitled to allthey can garner An entitlement is a legal benefit available from the government to individuals who are within a defined category of recipients, such as needing insurance for unemployment or health services.
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Romney focuses on self; Obama emphasizes unity
Mitt Romney criticizes President Obama for saying a person's success is rooted in his community, and is not all his alone. Romney belittles this with his belief in individual initiative. He is better at the put-down than the push-up.
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Romney shows little regard for common man
The Republicans in Congress have voted over and over, 33 times, redundantly and uselessly, to rescind what they call Obamacare.
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Scouts' gay ban creates problem where none exists
The Boy Scouts of America's "emphatic reaffirmation" of its vow to exclude any and all homosexuals from its hallowed ranks is ill-considered and pathetic, especially in view of its having reviewed the matter for two years.
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Schreibman tops Chris Gibson on women's issues
