Columbia County Florida
Welcome to the hood (Drugs- Part
II) (go
to drugs Part I)
Columbia County, FL (posted
October 29,
2009)
By Stew Lilker
The Old Tobacco Barn welcomes one into the hood in
Commissioner Ronald Williams' District I. The graffiti
has been on this building for years -- tolerated in the
hood and announcing to all "need drugs -- welcome." A
car from the understaffed Sheriff's patrol division
rolls by the welcome sign.
For years drug traffic has run rampant in the hood –
destroying lives and futures. Columbia County and Lake
City don"t have an exclusive. Drugs are a problem in
many communities in America and in the hood in
particular, where drugs, drug traffic and prostitution
have become an integral part of the economic fabric.
The
Observer hit the street. What are the facts and what do
the folks that are or have been directly affected by the
Columbia County - Lake City hood have to say.
Talk is cheap, but a visible police presence on the
street deters crime. Everyone the Observer spoke with
agreed.
Earlier this week, Wendell Johnson, Lake City's
straight talking
City Manager said, "Talking isn't going to do the
job... It's going to have to be a visible presence...
They're going to have to see some action. Every time
they look around the corner they're going to see a
police officer or a sheriff officer... A couple of days
later they're going to see it again... I hope that will
be the approach that you will take..."
Every day life in the hood. White man, black woman -- an
envelope and money changes hands.
In the past twelve years there has not been an
increase of patrol cars on the street by the Columbia
County Sheriff's Department. There are more supervisors
and those in the know will tell you that over time the
Sheriff's department has become top heavy. The recent
addition of a third lieutenant at the jail did nothing
to deter crime or keep drug dealers off the street.
Earlier this year the Sheriff's Department was
eligible for a COPS
grant. This would have put three new patrols on the
street. District I Commissioner, Ronald Williams lead
the charge to reject the grant and the new sheriff,
shrugged. The County Commission rejected the increased
patrol officers as "too expensive."
Ten minutes later. A different street, a different
woman, a different white man. Instant replay.
During the county budget hearings, the Sheriff gave
$75,000 from his budget back to the county because of
the so called county budget crisis -- money that could
have been spent on overtime, keeping "feet on the beat"
in the hood. The County Commission said nothing about
that either, except "thank you." The purveyors of drugs
said "thank you," too.
The Observer spoke with many folks who lived in hood
and some that have moved out.
Cedar Park -- A drug haven
Everybody knows about this drug enclave. Nobody has done
anything about it for years.
One mother, talking about the Cedar Park apartments,
a well known long time drug emporium told the Observer,
"It's ridiculous. My sixteen year old he is over there
in the drug neighborhood -- won't go to school – won't
do nothing. The lady just sellin him all kinds of dope –
marijuana, pills, everything.
The Observer and this mother were close to the Lake
City Police headquarters during this conversation.
Observer: Where is this area?
Mother: Right over here. Over by Cedar
Park.
Observer: It's bad over there?
Mother: Yeah.
Observer: So your sixteen year old boy
won't go to school anymore?
Mother: No. Over there the lady's sellin
him drugs and everything.
Observer: How does he get the money to
pay for them?
Mother: That's what I want to know. I
sure ain't givin it to em. It's not only my child over
there. It's a lot of teenagers over there... It's bad
over there.
Some folks escape from the hood. They may grow up
there, move away, and come back to watch over a parent
or relative. The relative dies – circumstances change –
they move out.
The Observer spoke with one such individual. The
answers are in his/her own words.
A conversation with an escapee from the hood
Observer: Can you tell me anything about
the drug traffic in the hood.
In the hood, see the sign, is the Sheriff watching out
for the children -- or are these the disposable
children?
Escapee: A clue is when you see two
black guys with a white person in the car with them.
Nine times out of ten they are taking them to find some
drugs. I'm not saying it's impossible for black people
and white people to ride around in a car together, but
... Young black guys and they got white people in the
car with them, they are usually ...
The escapee spoke about drug dealing on church
property.
Escapee: There are kids sitting on the
steps of the church – Trinity Church – that's on the
weekend – a pretty common sight.
Down the block, the sign says "no parking on sidewalk."
The Observer: They are selling drugs
while folks are in church?
Escapee: No -- at night.
The Observer: Is there prostitution
going on over there?
Escapee: (gave a brief explanation of
what he/she thought the prostitutes looked like in the
hood – no shoes; shorts; dirty)
Escapee: There is
booming music all times of night. This is not a place
for children.
Observer: Do you think
the Sheriff's Department has known about this?
Escapee: They have to
know there is a problem. It's been a problem for years.
That was the Sheriff's office with zero tolerance. They
are pretty open with it. Everybody knows what they are
doing.
Observer: Can you tell
me anything about Cedar Park?
Is the Columbia County hood going to be another
forgotten neighborhood, again?
Escapee:
Cedar Park -- I don't go up in there. Everything is so
much more dangerous and so much more run down. Now you
have the young kinds that are raised by single mothers
that live in Cedar Park that grow up and go out on the
street and try and make money anyway they can. They are
not worried about school or education. They are just
trying to make money.
Observer: Do you think
this recent talk will come to anything?
Escapee:
It is a problem that nothing can be done about. When you
arrest the ones that are out there, it seems there are
more to take their place. The thing is they don't ever
arrest the people that supply it. They get the people
that are out on the street, but that's not where it is
coming from. They are not the source.