These are the haunting words of Barry Golazeski of the Northampton County District Attorney office. Barry was a guest speaker at the Easton Community Forum on Reducing Gangs and Violence. The forum was held at Easton Middle School on February 20, 2008. One interesting fact is the State of PA is one of 12 states where being a gang member or the recruitment of gang member is not illegal.
Over 150 people attend the forum, include Mayor Sal Panto, Larry Holmes, several city council members, and representatives from several local churches.
Other speakers at the forum were Terrance Miller of the Route 222 Corridor Anti-Gang Initiative and Nadine Loane of the Easton Weed and Seed program. I got the pleasure of meeting these outstanding speakers at the break-out sessions.
The most inspirational portion of the program was the introduction of three Community Heroes. These heroes talked about the struggles of living with local gang activity, fighting to save Easton streets from violence, and the pain and sadness of having a son killed by gang members. I was moved by the story of an Allentown couple’s struggle of removing their son from a gang and trying to find mental health support from the legal system. These were heart warming and inspirational stories.
On the way home, I had many thoughts. How my daughter feels as she goes to school in downtown Easton everyday? Do we have gang activity in Forks Township? How lucky we are to live in a thriving and safe community. Then those haunting words from the Northampton County DA office continued to ring in my ears: “Gang activity is not a local problem.”
I think it is time we partner with area law enforcement authorities to discuss potential gang activity in Forks Township. It would be a good idea to have the coordinator of Route 222 Corridor Anti-Gang Initiative brief the BoS on the area gang issues and steps we can take to stop the spread of gang violence in the Lehigh Valley.
If you have any ideas or comments about critical issues facing Forks Township, please share your ideas via our blog.
Get Involved – Every Voice Counts!
Sincerely,
David Billings
d.billings@att.net
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