'THEY SHOULD GIVE HIM A MEDAL'

Dartmouth residents quick to support person who posted crack-house signs

Whoever posted signs pointing out alleged crack houses on Victoria Road and
Queen Street is a hero to downtown Dartmouth residents.

Police still haven't figured out who put them up.

"They should give him a medal," said nearby homeowner Lewis Warner.

"They really should. That's a good idea."

Drug dealers are selling openly on the street and prostitutes are trolling
for customers in the middle of the day, said Warner, who called the
situation "desperate."

"Some beat cops is what they need," he said.

"You never see any police presence - only if there's a murder or something."

The area was thick with police in June 1997, after Myles Layton Smith
strangled his girlfriend, Deanna Clayton, in their Victoria Road apartment.

Clayton later blamed crack cocaine for his troubles.

The drug squad is investigating to see if claims made on the signs are
true, said Sgt. Don Spicer.

Even when police raided one local crack house Aug. 28, it didn't make a lot
of difference, said Queen Street resident Daniel Dean.

"The next morning it looked like a Tim Horton's drive-through, it was so
busy," said Dean.

Drug dealers have even been spotted wearing pistols on their hips, he said.

"It's just like a war zone down here," said Dean. "I think the signs were a
hell of an idea."

Area resident Bonnie Fisher applauded the anonymous vigilante who put them up.

"If it can bring some attention to the area, especially from the police,
great," said Fisher.

"I'm all for it, to be perfectly honest."

Cars are constantly stopping on the street while people run in to buy
drugs, she said.

"It's just constant fighting between the hookers, and the pimps, and the
johns, and the drug dealers," said Fisher.

"It's a bit scary, especially when you have small children."

Queen Street resident Hugh MacPherson said crack deals are made openly on
the street.

"I can look out my window right now and see one," he said at noon
yesterday. "It's pretty blatant."

While he applauds whoever put up the signs, MacPherson said they probably
won't reveal their identity for fear of retribution from drug dealers.

"You don't know what these people are going to do," he said. "They'd kill
their grandmother for $20."

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski