Albany town hall meeting focuses on drug prevention

ALBANY —The city of Albany is not on high alert for drug activity and officials say they would like to keep it that way. Saturday morning, a town hall meeting was held at the East Albany Community Center and Maj. Prurince Dice, commander of the Albany-Dougherty County Drug Unit, spoke on drug usage in the community.

Afterward, Dice said that on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, Albany is at a 3 or 4 in terms of level of concern. He said the meeting was more of a preventative measure so citizens can help keep that level from getting any higher.

During the session, Dice showed what certain drugs looked like, described how they smelled and gave those in attendance tips on what types of signs and behavior they should look for in order to report activity to the authorities. He then fielded questions. Dice said he felt the dialogue created was a very positive sign.

“I feel good. I think that everybody had a legitimate concern and reasonable questions,” he said. “I think that with the questions that were asked, they’ll be able to help us a little bit more in the future on being able to deal with any type of drug activity that may be going on in their community.

“I’ll take those questions back to my staff and we’ll come up with a plan of action on how to deal with some of the concerns that we have.”

He added that it is imperative to have meetings such as the one Saturday to help contain the problem and prevent it from becoming an epidemic.

“Meetings such as this are very important. I can’t stress that enough,” he said, adding that “personally and professionally, I think getting the community involved … will help with reduction tremendously. Over 70 percent of the drug cases that we make come from citizens letting us know what’s going on. It lets us know it’s very important. People can’t be afraid to say something.”

He went on to say that anyone who provides a tip can remain anonymous.

After the meeting, City Commissioner Jon Howard led everyone behind the center to get a sneak peek of The Swimming Pool and Splash Park At The Club at Thornton. He said that, based on the reactions, the attraction should be well received.

“They were ecstatic,” he said. “Some of them were 80 years old, saying ‘I can’t swim, but I think I will come and learn how to swim.’ And East Albany has been almost like the stepchild of the city and the citizens here today are a testimony that they’re so proud that we’re getting a pool in East Albany.”

He noted that it’s been a long time coming and he is proud of what everyone was able to accomplish.

“The importance of having a pool in East Albany is it gives the citizens east of the river a chance to come out and learn how to swim,” he said. “It gives them a place to come and relax during the hot summer days and as a commissioner that represents this area, I am thrilled and excited and just humbled that when we cut the ribbon Tuesday, that it will be a dream come true.”