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Addiction team plans White City meeting By JILL BRISKEY One person�s drug addiction affects the entire community, say the people behind an area addictions-awareness group. They have organized a public meeting Wednesday to raise awareness about addictions problems in Jackson County. The event by the Family Addiction Community Team, known as FACT, takes place at 9 a.m. at the Rogue Family Center, 3131 Avenue C, White City. "Most people don�t understand how substance abuse affects the whole community," FACT coordinator Les Couch said. "We collaborate on all of these issues and work together on the same page." The event will include several speakers, followed by a question-and-answer period. Lt. Jim Anderson, director of the Jackson County Narcotics Enforcement Team, will talk about targeting drug trafficking organizations , Couch said. Medford school resource officer Shirley Peters will address truancy issues and how they relate to the substance abuse. Medford Sgt. Mark Bell of the Gang Street Drug Unit will talk about how school and law enforcement officials work together. "We deal with all of those issues, as far as drugs and gangsters," Bell said of substance abuse and the many crimes that often accompany the problem. "Most of the gang activity we have is property crime and dope." During the last few years, gang-related crimes in the Rogue Valley have dropped, Bell said, including graffiti. Medford has a handful of gangs, from those known as Brown Nation and Brown Pride to white supremacists, Bell added. "It�s gotten better. It�s more underground. It used to be more visible." Other speakers will include Rich Miller of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission; Carl Erickson, director of the county juvenile justice system; Jan Jansen from the Ashland Police Department and Abe Huntley of the Adult Parole and Probation Unit. FACT, a coalition formed in the mid-90s, is made up of social-service workers, educators, law enforcement and court officers, treatment personnel, medical staff, business people and private citizens. For more information, contact Couch at 774-7808. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.