TASK FORCE IS ANOTHER WEAPON IN WAR ON DRUGS

Drug users and dealers beware. The Bradford County Drug Task Force is
back in business.

Attorney General Mike Fisher signed the documents to re-establish the
task force last week during a visit to Sayre.

The task force has been on hiatus since former Bradford County
District Attorney Robert McGuinness left office, and current District
Attorney Stephen Downs didn't want the task force directly under his
office's control.

The new task force will comprise police officers from municipalities
throughout the county and will be advised by a narcotics agent from
the Attorney General's Office.

It will coordinate its efforts with its sister task forces in Wayne
and Susquehanna counties as well as with narcotics enforcement
agencies on the state and national levels.

Fisher said his office will provide the task force with guidance,
resources, information and anything else needed to collar drug users
and dealers.

He said the new task force is under his office's authority, as opposed
to the previous task force, which was under the command of the
Bradford County District Attorney's Office.

Fisher said putting the task force under his office's jurisdiction
will help to broaden the task force's investigatory abilities into
surrounding counties as well as New York State.

Our feeling is that the county needs a drug task force, and we can see
the advantages of having the unit under the attorney general's control.

Drugs are a problem throughout the Bradford-Sullivan area. They lead
to a myriad of other crimes, from robberies to acts of violence.

They also destroy lives in other ways, as once a person becomes an
addict, he or she loses control of his or her life. The downward
spiral caused by addiction can result in job loss, tear families
apart, and lead to major health and psychological problems.

When you see what narcotics do to people, it's easy to come to the
conclusion that the war on drugs is worth fighting.

We hope to see the task force become operational in the near
future.

Once its members hit the streets, arrests and convictions will
definitely follow.

And Bradford County will be better for it.