Title: July/August 2001
Series: Magazine
Author: Executive Office for Weed and Seed
Published: August 2001
Subject: youth mentoring, drug abuse prevention and education, crime
prevention, conflict resolution
33 pages
69,632 bytes

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U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Executive Office for Weed and Seed

July/August 2001
Volume IX, Number 3

Weed & Seed In-Sites
MAGAZINE

Celebrating a Decade of Weed and Seed

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Weed & Seed In-Sites
is a publication of the 

U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs

Executive Office for Weed and Seed
810 Seventh Street NW.
Washington, DC 20531
Phone: 202-616-1152 
Fax: 202-616-1159

www.ojp.usdoj.gov/eows

Stephen Rickman, Director 

Robert M. Samuels, Assistant Director

Nancy Ware, Director of Technical Assistance and Training

Cheryl Driscoll, Supervisory Grants Manager

Paul Casagrande, Special Projects Coordinator

Louise Lucas, DEFY Coordinator and Reentry Programs Coordinator

Kathleen Severens, Director of Community Dispute Resolution

Edison Aponte, Faith Baker, Michael Connor, Jonathan Faley, Sharron
Fletcher, Romia Gore, Robert Hendricks, Erin Holbert, Dionne Johnson,
Katherine Mera, Andrew Press, Shannon Taitt, Geroma Void, Program
Managers

Claude Thomas, Chief of Staff

Mary Breen, Anita Snyder, Special Assistants to the Director

Linda Hawkes, Administrative Officer/Grant Specialist

Prince Cummings, Program Analyst

Romia Gore, Public Relations Specialist and In-Sites Editor

Lisa Huff-Galloway, Secretary 

Jessica Caldwell, Tracy DaCosta, Special Assistants, Technical Assistance and
Training Division

Please send all submissions, comments, or address corrections to the above
address.

----------------------------

From the Director

Operation Weed and Seed was introduced at a time when many other
comprehensive inner-city programs were being implemented or created by the
Federal Government. Early evaluations of these initiatives rated Weed and
Seed as one of the most successful and cost-effective Federal initiatives
implemented at the community level. From the beginning, Weed and Seed was
successful because it targeted a very specific area, required that local law
enforcement work with the community to identify and solve community
problems, identified approaches to cleaning up the streets, and helped the
community identify prevention, intervention, and treatment options. Finally, the
Weed and Seed strategy gave targeted communities and their local law
enforcement agencies the support of their district's U.S. Attorney's Office
(USAO) for organizational leadership and prosecutorial support.

For close to a decade, communities have been working together to form and
implement their own Weed and Seed strategy. At Session II of the
Accreditation Series training in Phoenix, Arizona, many law enforcement
officers stated that once their communities received Official Recognition,
weeding activities kicked off very quickly. Coordinators of weeding efforts
credited much of their success to the support of task forces and Federal law
enforcement agencies and the National Guard. However, keeping criminals off
the streets has remained one of local law enforcement's biggest challenges,
especially where support from the local district attorney's office is lacking.
Communities that work closely with their district attorney's office and their
USAO have the most success convicting criminals and keeping them off the
street, which helps local authorities keep drugs and guns out of the schools and
neighborhoods of Weed and Seed communities.

This past June, I welcomed a guest host to the Weed and Seed Community
Training Broadcast Series. Cliff Keenan, the Office of Justice Programs'
(OJP's) Counsel for Community Prosecution, led a panel of experts in the
1-hour satellite broadcast, "Community Prosecution." Community prosecution
offers prosecutors a new way to respond to neighborhood issues by working in
partnership with law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, county and city
code enforcement agencies, residents, social service providers, and other
neighborhood stakeholders. EOWS coordinates this series on a bimonthly basis
and broadcasts it live from the Law Enforcement Television Network in Dallas,
Texas. Weed and Seed residents, police officers, businesses, schools--in fact,
anyone with satellite downlink capacity--can view these broadcasts for free and
learn more about partnerships and successful weeding and seeding approaches.
I encourage anyone interested in viewing these broadcasts to contact Mary
Breen at EOWS or visit the EOWS Web site. Your suggestions for future
broadcasts are always welcome.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your positive
feedback on In-Sites magazine. For this issue, as well as for planning the
upcoming Weed and Seed National Conference, we looked at past issues of
In-Sites to collect milestones from the past 10 years. Only some of you will
remember the "early years"; however, all of us should be encouraged by the
progress we have made. Visit the EOWS conference Web site for updates on
A Decade of Weed and Seed . . . Leave No Neighborhood Behind. We look 
forward to seeing many of you in Philadelphia!

Stephen Rickman
Director, EOWS

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In This Issue

Inspiring Change In a Community

o In-Sites: Archive for Weed and Seed History

o EOWS Director Visits Las Vegas Weed and Seed

o Celebrating a Decade of Weed and Seed: 1991-2001 Timeline

o The Weed and Seed Accreditation Series

o Truancy: A Link to Crime?

Police in the Community

o Angry Residents Take a Stand With Lemonade

o Police Officer Encourages Youth To Succeed in Life

Implementation

o How To Be an Effective Weed and Seed Coordinator

What's Working

o Art and Youth Bring Community Together

DEFY

o A Few Words From DEFY Campers

Winners

o Youngstown Resident Recognized as a True Hero

o U.S. Attorney Honors Site Coordinator in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Conflict Resolution Series: Part III

o Developments and Trends in Conflict Resolution

Departments

o Web Sight

o Conference Corner

o EOWS News

o Resources

A Decade of Weed and Seed

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In-Sites: Archive for Weed and Seed History 

Since 1993, In-Sites has brought national Weed and Seed news and EOWS
resources to thousands of readers. Like the number of communities that have
adopted the Weed and Seed strategy in the past 8 years, the number of readers
subscribing to In-Sites has grown significantly. With each issue, the number of
subscription requests sent to EOWS increases; this month, EOWS has
increased the magazine's print run to meet the demands of those people
involved or interested in Weed and Seed.

The history and growth of Weed and Seed are chronicled in the In-Sites
archives. Previously published stories broadcast the triumphs of and challenges
to sites across the country. Partnerships formed by EOWS with Federal
agencies and nonprofit organizations serve as a compliment to these stories and
are covered thoroughly in past issues. This issue of In-Sites features a few
milestones that may be of particular significance to readers new to Weed and
Seed, as well as to those readers who have subscribed to In-Sites since the
very beginning!

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EOWS Director Visits Las Vegas Weed and Seed

On May 26, 2001, EOWS Director Stephen Rickman visited the Las Vegas
Weed and Seed site to participate in a live call-in talk show with City
Councilman Lawrence Weekly. The featured topic that day was ex-offender
reentry into the community. Councilman Weekly represents the Weed and
Seed target area and has promoted reentry programming by sponsoring a series
of community forums and town hall meetings. For more information about the
Las Vegas Weed and Seed, call site coordinator Franklin Simpson at
702-229-6011.

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EOWS and the Urban Family Institute Welcome Nine Weed and Seed Sites to
the Kids House Program for 2001!

Gary, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Baltimore, Maryland
Salisbury, Maryland
Flint, Michigan
Highland Park, Michigan
Durham, North Carolina
Eugene, Oregon
Wheeling, West Virginia

Kids Houses now operate in homes, churches, schools, and public housing
developments in neighborhoods across the country, including 17 Weed and
Seed sites. Kids Houses offer children a safe, family-like environment during
afterschool hours to learn, create, and grow under the supervision of nurturing
volunteer adults. Learn more about Kids House in the Millennium Issue 2000 of
In-Sites (page 8).

----------------------------

Police in the Community

Angry Residents Take a Stand With Lemonade

Eric and Jane Albury had a hard time living in their neighborhood because drug
dealers worked the streets and apartment complexes along University
Boulevard in Melbourne, Florida. The couple moved from Naples, Florida, to
Melbourne in March 2000. They knew living in a new neighborhood would not
be easy, but living in Naples had not been easy either.

Like the neighborhood in Melbourne, Naples had its fair share of drug
problems. "Drugs were everywhere down there," said 62-year-old Eric Albury,
"but the community decided to fight back. They marched through known drug
neighborhoods, chanting and cheering while frustrated drug dealers sat idly by
watching their buyers drive away."

Unfortunately, one of those marches ended when a police officer got hurt, so
the neighborhood had to come up with another way to stop the drug dealers.
"We decided that if you have lemons in your neighborhood, you take a stand-a
lemonade stand," said 78-year--old Jane Albury.

In November 1997, with a card table and four folding chairs, the couple set up
a lemonade stand outside the Naples home of a known drug dealer. They
passed out free lemonade and candy to anyone who asked, including the drug
dealers. This program was a success from the start. In the first hour alone, three
known drug dealers turned around when they saw the bright yellow stand and
two uniformed police officers.

In March 2000, the Alburys decided to move to Melbourne to manage an
apartment complex. They had no idea that they were moving into a drug
neighborhood until they arrived. Once again, the Alburys faced the wrath of
drug dealers who were taking ownership of the neighborhood.

A few of the Alburys' tenants were dealers and several were squatters, but that
did not worry the couple. Instead, they brought their lemonade stand concept
to the Melbourne Police Department, where they were paired with Community
Policing Officer Mark Jennewein. On December 1, 2000, the lemonade stand
was up and running in Melbourne. Officer Jennewein named the project
Operation Squeeze to symbolize the community's effort to squeeze out the
drugs and sour the drug dealers' business.

The group had collected donations from local businesses and the Alliance for
Neighborhood Restoration Program, a Weed and Seed grantee, and had even
received $1,300 from a local Weed and Seed grant. Home Depot donated the
generator and lights needed to run the stand in the evening.

From 5 to 10 p.m. every Friday, the Alburys and Officer Jennewein--along
with some volunteers--set up their stand on University Boulevard, an area in
which drug dealing and violence are commonplace. "We're not here to single
out anyone," said Officer Jennewein. "This is not a confrontation; it's a
community service."

"We love having the kids out here because lemonade is not addictive--drugs
are," said Eric Albury. "But what we really love to see are those cars turning
around. They aren't going to make any money as long as we're here."

Officer Jennewein and the Alburys recently took their "stand" to another
drug-plagued neighborhood in nearby Palm Bay. Volunteers from the
community and staff of the Brevard County State's Attorney's Office provided
their services for the evening. "We have been working with the residents to
clean the area up," said Sheralyn Blake, neighborhood advocate for the State's
Attorney's Office. "The residents live in fear."

Blake said residents worry about drug sales and the types of people that hang
around street corners and local businesses. Many parents will not allow their
children to walk alone to the neighborhood store.

The program has proven effective not only as a deterrent to drug dealing, but
also as a tool to empower the community. Operation Squeeze has received a
lot of media attention; every television station in Orlando, Florida, has reported
on the lemonade stand and continues to ask Officer Jennewein for updates. The
Brevard County Sheriff's Office, Cocoa Police Department, and Brevard
County Housing Authority recently expressed interest in starting their own
Operation Squeeze efforts to help gain the support of residents in their
communities.

Funding will certainly help the program to expand. One of Officer Jennewein's
long-term goals is to secure funding for a recreational vehicle so Operation
Squeeze can become fully mobile. "I have big dreams and big goals," he said.
"But there is a need, and where there's a need there's got to be a way. As word
gets out about how successful the program is, funding should become a bit
easier."

Shakeia and Shakuina Owens, sisters who live in the apartment complex
managed by the Alburys, do not care about funding, recreational vehicles, or
donations. All that matters to 6-year-old Shakeia is that for those hours in
which the lemonade stand is up, her neighborhood is quiet. "Ya'll need to come
back every day," said 11-year-old Shakuina. "When we come home, there's a
lot of grown men and boys out selling drugs and fighting. They aren't going to
do that now that the cops are here." 

This story was adapted with permission from several articles written by Jennifer
Ellis of Florida Today, a local newspaper in Melbourne, Florida.

----------------------------

DEFY

A Few Words From DEFY Campers 

This is perhaps the busiest time of year for sites that participate in the Weed
and Seed DEFY (Drug Education for Youth) program. While DEFY planners,
mentors, and campers are recovering from Phase I summer camps and
activities, let this section of In-Sites serve to remind everyone of the role
volunteers play in the lives of DEFY youth. The hours that a mentor, planner, or
transportation provider dedicates to the DEFY mission help the youth of Weed
and Seed communities follow the path to a positive future. Phase I activities can
be demanding and draining, but the voices of DEFY graduates make such
efforts worthwhile. 

At the Phoenix DEFY graduation, two DEFY alumni thanked their mentors and
offered words of encouragement to the 2001 DEFY graduates. Here, In-Sites
presents a few excerpts from their speeches. 

"Hello, my name is Jonathan Arrdondo, and I've been with DEFY for 4 years
now. DEFY has helped me in many ways, but most important, it has shown me
how to be a true leader. A leader should not rely only on himself to do all the
work and leave everyone else out. A leader shows others what to do and how
to handle the situation so one day these others can become leaders. Because of
this lesson I learned from DEFY, I have joined the teen council and sports
programs and helped out in community events that show others how to make a
difference in the world around them. Now I've decided to join the U.S. Air
Force and become a computer programmer. I plan to help others become
leaders and achieve their goals."

"As you all know, I'm Jessica Rivera. I am 14 years old, and I go to Herrera
School for the Arts. I attended DEFY when I was 11 years old in 1997, which
was also the very first DEFY camp in our neighborhood. I also had the chance
to go to this year's DEFY camp as a junior mentor, which was a privilege.
DEFY has impacted my life tremendously. I have learned to respect others and
myself, raised my self-esteem, and learned to walk away from bad things, such
as drugs. Oh, yes, drugs. I have been offered drugs. I crack a joke about
drugs, and it makes the dealers look like fools. The joke is on them! I know a
lot of people look up to me, and it's important that I'm a good role model and a
leader at all times. . . . I know it can be difficult to talk to your parents, so talk
to someone else that you know will listen. Just get it all out of your system, and
I guarantee you'll feel much better. Thanks for letting me speak this evening,
and thanks for listening."

Send In-Sites Your Phase I DEFY Photos!

This summer, 103 Weed and Seed sites coordinated Phase I camps to kick off
their 2001-02 Drug Education for Youth (DEFY) programs. DEFY youth
participate in activities throughout the year; however, positive relationships
between the youth and their mentors most often begin to take hold during
summer camp. Nearly 2,983 youth participated in residential and nonresidential
Phase I camps this summer, and 1,313 mentors--including police officers,
military staff, U.S. Attorney's Office personnel, neighborhood volunteers, and
college students--deterred kids from getting involved in drugs and gangs.

In-Sites is looking for photographs that capture each Weed and Seed site's
summer DEFY activities! In-Sites will publish photos that are clear, taken in
color or black and white, and taken with 35 mm film. Mail photos to EOWS,
In-Sites Editor, 810 Seventh Street NW., Room 6131, Washington, DC
20531.

Digital photos are also welcome! Visit www.ojp.usdoj. gov/eows/defy.htm to
submit your digital photos or to learn more about DEFY! EOWS will post
these photos on the DEFY Web page. 

Whenever possible, please include captions that identify subjects in the photo,
where and at what event the photo was taken, and when the photo was taken.

----------------------------

Winners

Youngstown Resident Recognized as a True Hero

While law enforcement and city agencies conduct abatement efforts that help
Weed and Seed sites increase the quality of life in their target neighborhoods,
sites are always looking for residents who go out of their way to coordinate
efforts at the neighborhood level. The Weed and Seed site in Youngstown,
Ohio, feels blessed to have the dedication and vision of resident Frances Gray.
Since 1984, Gray has served as resident council president of Victory Estates
Housing Development on Youngstown's East Side. Because of her
determination to help the residents of Victory Estates achieve their goals and
improve their lives, she was honored with the first Mahoning Valley True Hero
Award.

In support of the Weed and Seed strategy, Gray's contributions include
coordinating an afterschool program to help children with their homework and
prepare them for proficiency testing, creating a recognition program to honor
Victory Estates children who graduate from high school, working with the
Youngstown Community Action Center and the Youngstown Metropolitan
Housing Authority (YMHA) to help promote drug elimination programs, and
assisting in establishing a resident patrol program--the only one of its kind in
YMHA--to make sure children get on and off their school buses safely and
seniors are accompanied when running errands.

Eddie DeBartolo, owner of the DeBartolo Property Group, created the award
to recognize Mahoning Valley's true heroes--people who take time out of their
lives to give to others in the community. Gray was selected in March to be the
first recipient of the Mahoning Valley True Hero Award; this award will
continue to honor a community hero every month. Recently, Gray's dedication
was further recognized by Youngstown Mayor McKelvey, who appointed
Gray to be the first resident representative on the Board of Commissioners of
YMHA.

As the first Mahoning Valley True Hero, Gray received a $2,500 gift certificate
to local stores. In addition, $1,000 will be donated on her behalf to the
Youngstown/Mahoning Valley United Way. 

U.S. Attorney Honors Site Coordinator in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Thomas Flynn was appointed to serve as the Weed and Seed Coordinator for
Bridgeport, Connecticut, in February 2000, filling a position that had been
vacant for more than 6 months. His appointment came at a time critical to the
continued success of the Bridgeport Weed and Seed program. Flynn had to
quickly master the policies, procedures, and regulations that govern the funding
of the site's Weed and Seed activities. Flynn organized the files and met with
the local Weed and Seed task force and representatives of partnering Federal
investigative agencies to review all outstanding invoices. He also assisted in
preparing and processing the documents needed to fund various Weed and
Seed activities. Flynn was instrumental in bringing new life to the mentoring
component of the Drug Education for Youth (DEFY) program and organizing
trips for the DEFY youth to see the launching of the Amistad sailing ship and
the artwork of the Peabody Museum in Bridgeport.

On May 1, 2001, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut presented
Flynn with the 2001 U.S. Attorney's Award. Flynn, along with Drug
Enforcement Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents from the
Bridgeport Weed and Seed Task Force, was recognized for his tireless
dedication to the local Weed and Seed initiative.

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Implementation

How To Be an Effective Weed and Seed Coordinator
Charles Eduardos

Those of us who work as site coordinators soon realize that the position offers
a unique opportunity to work with all types of people and to be involved in
some pretty incredible activities. The possible rewards are endless. However,
anyone who has served in this position for more than 1 month knows that this
job can be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. There are certain
telltale signs a person is suited for the position.

Foremost, the site coordinator position requires that the individual be a
visionary--a person with a broad picture in his or her mind of what the local
Weed and Seed site can look like in 5, 10, or 15 years. The role of the site
coordinator is to help develop the refined vision and mission that come from the
Steering Committee. Several character traits are necessary to facilitate this level
of support.

Great Communicator
Site coordinators should be able to speak to people and tell them about Weed
and Seed in a way that connects with self-interests; this encourages
involvement. The best way to speak to the self-interest of others is through
effective listening. Coordinators should listen to the concerns of potential
stakeholders, then identify how the Weed and Seed effort can address these
concerns. Before coordinators meet with people, they should have clearly in
mind what information or assistance they need from them. If these people
represent an organization, coordinators must research the organization before
meeting with them.

Bridge Builder
Coordinators should constantly scan their environment and look for
opportunities to establish new relationships and strengthen existing ones. It is
very rewarding to see organizations and institutions that have previously not
worked together come together for a common purpose. 

Facilitator 
Weed and Seed coordinators cannot fix neighborhood problems in isolation.
They should involve community members at every turn, encouraging them to
want change and convincing them that they can change their neighborhood. The
paradigm shift from fixer to facilitator is particularly challenging for individuals
who have a background in law enforcement. A good site coordinator's daily
mission is to empower all people in the community, including nonprofit
executives and the community volunteers that support their causes, businesses
and the customers they serve, school boards and teachers in the target area,
and city council members and the city mayor. The site coordinator can be
compared to a door-to-door salesman. The ability to talk to a diverse group of
people is mandatory to "sell" the local Weed and Seed strategy. The site
coordinator's greatest challenge is to teach residents and business owners how
to effectively solve problems.

Innovator
The effective site coordinator is flexible and not only has the ability but also the
will to adapt, improvise, and overcome. The person who fills the site
coordinator position must have a can-do attitude. Rarely does one hear an
effective coordinator say, "It's never been done before." More often, one will
hear, "Let's discuss ways we can make it happen."

Skilled Organizer
The ability to juggle many things simultaneously is a must! An effective site
coordinator is skilled in time management and setting priorities and has the
ability to forecast upcoming duties. From intricate computer databases at the
Weed and Seed office to notes on their car dashboards, site coordinators
know what works best to keep them organized. The position requires an
intricate working knowledge of a vast number of programs, city and community
resources, and a network of community stakeholders. An organized
coordinator can obtain help from these sources to make an idea for a program
or initiative become a reality.

Distance Runner
Finally, an effective coordinator knows how to keep a steady pace.
Implementing a strategy is not a sprint. New coordinators may get frustrated
because they do not see immediate results, but historical data indicate that it
takes approximately 5 years to see significant change. While the success of
some weeding efforts is apparent very early in the Weed and Seed strategy, it
takes a bit of time to see the results of seeding efforts. Like a distance runner,
site coordinators must always remember to keep pace and not give up.

----------------------------

Conflict Resolution Series: Part III

Developments and Trends in Conflict Resolution
Kathleen Severens

The late Daniel McGillis, author of four of the U.S. Department of Justice's
dispute resolution reports (including Community Mediation Programs:
Developments and Challenges), was recognized in May at the National
Conference on Peace- making and Conflict Resolution by the National
Association for Community Mediation for his invaluable contributions to the
field during his 25 years of research and reporting. His work has contributed to
the realization that many of society's problems can be and are being resolved
efficiently and peacefully through dispute resolution and the services of
community mediation programs. The McGillis reports chronicle the emerging
trends in the dispute resolution field within the past quarter century, especially
those in the past decade. In many ways, conflict resolution as used by Weed
and Seed sites leads and exemplifies those trends.

The McGillis reports also illustrate that dispute resolution programming and
partnerships with community mediation programs can help to build and
strengthen neighborhoods by encouraging sites to work together to resolve
problems on a personal and communitywide level. These programs resolve a
full range of problems, including everyday neighbor-to-neighbor problems,
potentially violent conflicts between gangs, and important public policy issues
that involve entire neighborhoods. Problems such as these can be resolved
when sites combine local initiative, voluntarism, and common-sense approaches
to address pressing national problems. 

Listed below are some of the emerging trends in the field of community dispute
resolution that directly relate to Weed and Seed sites:

Diversification. An extraordinary array of dispute resolution approaches,
techniques, and applications continue to emerge. Communities and programs
confront the problems and situations unique to their areas to create dispute
resolution programs that address their particular needs. Such dispute resolution
programs can include afterschool truancy mediation for students, teachers, and
parents; public housing mediation for tenants and landlords; and antibullying
programs for students.

Institutional settings. Institutions and community programs are developing a
variety of dispute resolution programs. Many of these programs exist within the
justice system and law enforcement and are used by prosecutors, courts,
schools, and housing authorities. While many institutions work independently to
provide such programs, others partner with community organizations to offer
case referrals, technical assistance, and training.

----------------------------

The greatest community success stories come about when people with varying
ideas and interests join forces to reach a common goal. Partners often
experience the greatest success when they weave dispute resolution solutions
into their work plan. Throughout the years, Weed and Seed sites have learned
to incorporate such plans into their strategies to ensure the success of their
partnerships.

----------------------------

Training resources. Most community mediation programs offer training services
that include conflict resolution and mediation training and strategies for designing
specialized programs. General community members, students and teachers,
government agencies, and public and private organizations typically request
such services. Training programs can be tailored to the specific needs of the
requesting organization. For example, a school may ask for conflict resolution
training for staff and parents and schedule a peer mediation program for
students.

Public and intergroup conflicts. Many community problems require
communitywide solutions. A growing number of community mediation programs
now handle public and intergroup disputes such as citizen and law enforcement
issues, environmental and health issues, and prisoner reentry issues. These
particular cases may require multiple meetings and large numbers of people and
may have a significant impact on the community.

The Independence Weed and Seed site in Missouri exemplifies how sites
benefit from integrating conflict resolution practices and approaches into their
community strategies. The local Community Mediation Center (affiliated with
the Community of Christ church) is represented on the Weed and Seed
Steering Committee and is involved in both weeding and seeding activities,
especially those that involve the Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) program. A COPS officer is a member of the mediation center's
board of directors. The center has participated in the Neighborhood Walks
program, which gives citizens a direct introduction to the community services
available to them, and has developed plans to provide training in conflict
resolution skills to local law enforcement. Recently, law enforcement referred
an ongoing neighborhood dispute that had festered and become disruptive to
the mediation center; the case was successfully resolved. Both the Weed and
Seed Director, Grace Grado, and the Community Mediation Center Executive
Director, Diane Kyser, believe this partnership has been very valuable and has
great potential for the future. In fact, the mediation center was just awarded a
Community Development Block Grant, with which it will further develop its
partnership with the Weed and Seed site. Multifaceted partnerships such as this
are strengthening communities through problem solving and peacemaking.

----------------------------

Police in the Community

Police Officer Encourages Youth To Succeed in Life
Mary Louise Smith

On April 25, 122 young residents of the Greensboro Housing Authority's
(GHA's) public housing communities heard an inspiring message about how to
succeed in life while avoiding the traps of drugs or gangs. The event, the 2001
Youth Empowerment Seminar, was sponsored by the Police Neighborhood
Resource Center at Morningside Homes, a Weed and Seed program, in
collaboration with the Salvation Army, the local Boys & Girls Club, and GHA.
Detective Ernest Cuthbertson of the Greensboro Police Department was the
featured speaker. It was a kind of homecoming for Officer Cuthbertson, 32,
who grew up in Morningside Homes and Ray Warren Homes--public housing
communities owned by GHA.

"I saw drugs sold and used when I was growing up, and I wanted to escape,"
said Officer Cuthbertson. "You can escape from such a life, too," he told the
youth. "We've taught kids to 'Just say no.' We ought to teach them to say 'yes'
to love and respect."

Officer Cuthbertson believes that today's media teach young men to be
disrespectful toward their mothers and other women. "I grew up watching I
Love Lucy and The Real McCoys," he said. "What do you watch?"

Officer Cuthbertson also fears that music is encouraging drug use. To illustrate
his point, he played brief recordings by popular rappers. "You think this is
okay, but is it really okay?" he asked the kids. For example, he played a few
lines from a song by rapper Emminem, who raps about getting satisfaction from
blue and yellow pills. "That was ecstasy," Officer Cuthbertson told the group.
"Side effects include dehydration, heart failure, and possibly permanent brain
damage."

Perhaps of even greater concern is the amount of violence in movies. Officer
Cuthbertson read from a list of popular movies with titles such as Robo Cop
and Total Recall. He noted that these movies were extremely violent and that
kids need to recognize that movies are not representative of real life.

He also spoke of the threat that gangs pose to children. Gangs lure kids in
through peer pressure, promise them material wealth, and make them feel like
they are part of something important, he said. To combat gangs and other
dangers, Officer Cuthbertson suggested how the youth could make better lives
for themselves.

One way is through education. "When does education end?" he asked the
group. "After high school!" they responded. "I'm 32, and I'm still in school," he
said. "It's exciting to keep learning new things."

Officer Cuthbertson also urged the children to take advantage of the many
activities GHA offers and to look for adults in their lives who can be positive
role models. As a child, he himself had a role model-a police officer who used
to sit on the porch and talk with him. "Officer McDonald was the missing link
for me when I was growing up in a single parent home," Officer Cuthbertson
said. "And I have about six men in my life who in some way I think of as a
father."

"I don't like the term 'at risk,'" he concluded. "All kids are 'at risk.' I prefer the
term 'at promise.' All young people have the potential to succeed."

----------------------------

An officer in Greensboro, North Carolina, teaches youth about the truth behind
media "hype," encourages them to get involved in positive youth activities, and
stresses the importance of mentoring.

----------------------------

Celebrating a Decade of Weed and Seed

The past decade has seen much success and many triumphs for communities
that have adopted the Weed and Seed strategy. As more communities
committed resources to support their own local Weed and Seed initiative,
EOWS and the U.S. Department of Justice adapted to best serve the Weed
and Seed movement at the national level. Here, In-Sites features a few
milestones from the past 10 years.

June 20, 1992
EOWS is created within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. Deborah J.
Daniels, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, is selected to serve
as its Director.

1991
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launches the Weed and Seed initiative
as a comprehensive, coordinated effort to control crime and improve the quality
of life in targeted high-crime neighborhoods. Three pilot sites are chosen to
participate in this initiative: Kansas City, Missouri; Trenton, New Jersey; and
Omaha, Nebraska.

August 1993
EOWS officially names the Weed and Seed monthly newsletter, first published
in December 1992, In-Sites. Two thousand copies of the newsletter are
distributed to Federal, State, and local agencies and community leaders.

September 21, 1994
DOJ announces that 15 sites are selected from 46 applications, bringing the
total number of funded sites to 36. EOWS remains a component of the Office
of the Deputy Attorney General.

December 13-15, 1994
The official Weed and Seed logo is revealed at the Weed and Seed National
Training Conference in San Antonio, Texas, which is sponsored by EOWS and
the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).

July 13, 1995
Nearly 100 people attend the 1-day Weed and Seed Mini Conference in
Washington, D.C. Gun reduction programs in Kansas City, Missouri, and
Washington, D.C., are on the agenda, as well as sessions about grant
monitoring and management.

May 13, 1996
Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson selects Stephen Rickman, Director
of BJA's Crime Act Support Division, to serve as Director of EOWS.

June 1996
Drug Education for Youth (DEFY) is initiated in three pilot sites: Atlanta,
Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; and San Antonio, Texas. (Today, 102
Weed and Seed sites participate in the DEFY program.)

Summer 1997
OJP moves to its new headquarters at 810 Seventh Street NW., Washington,
D.C.

January 5-7, 1998
"What Can the Federal Government Do To Decrease Crime and Revitalize
Communities?," a symposium sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and
EOWS, is held in Washington, D.C. The symposium invites a wide variety of
experts to exchange ideas about what the Federal Government's role should be
in decreasing crime, revitalizing communities, and addressing the needs of
communities.

April 1999
EOWS releases its first edition of Best Practices, a quarterly publication that
features the extraordinary efforts that specific Weed and Seed sites have made
to develop and implement effective strategies.

September 2000
EOWS introduces the Weed and Seed Reentry Initiative; six Weed and Seed
sites become pilot sites for the project. The initiative comes on the heels of
statistics which report that more than 500,000 ex-offenders will reintegrate into
America's communities in 2001.

March 2001
EOWS announces that "A Decade of Weed and Seed . . . Leave No
Neighborhood Behind" is the theme for the 2001 Weed and Seed National
Conference to be held August 26-29 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Additional Highlights From the Past 10Years . . .

October 29, 1992
EOWS publishes the first Weed and Seed Implementation Manual.

1993
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) initiates a national process evaluation of
the 19 original demonstration sites to gather and assess information about
program implementation activities through the end of the year.

January 3, 1995
The Attorney General approves the transfer of EOWS from the Office of the
Deputy Attorney General to the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). EOWS now
reports to the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for OJP, Laurie
Robinson, and is directly supervised by Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Noel Brennan.

August 26-28, 1997
St. Louis, Missouri, hosts the 1997 Weed and Seed National Training
Conference; 750 representatives from 115 Officially Recognized sites and 20
sites in the Weed and Seed strategy planning stages attend. Plenary sessions
and 54 workshops provide community police officers, community leaders, city
agency staff, and community residents involved in Weed and Seed with training
and networking opportunities.

September 17, 1998
Assistant Attorney General Laurie Robinson unveils the first Mobile Community
Outreach Police Station (MCOPS) vehicle at the Indianapolis, Indiana, Weed
and Seed site. The event follows the EOWS purchase of six MCOPS vehicles
for police use at six different Weed and Seed sites.

October 29-31, 1998
EOWS hosts "Empowering Communities Through Technology" in Fort Worth,
Texas. The meeting invites sites that have Internet experience and host Web
pages to share their expertise with nearly 180 of their Weed and Seed peers.
The conference provides a casual, interactive learning environment, and sites
learn that they, too, can use technology to further their strategies.

July 1999
NIJ and Abt Associates, Inc., release the National Evaluation of Weed and
Seed, a cross-site report that provides evaluations of eight Weed and Seed
sites.

August 1-4, 1999
More than 1,400 people from Weed and Seed communities across the country
are invited to the third Weed and Seed National Conference, "Communities of
the New Millennium," in Houston, Texas. Site visits, Learning Labs, 100
exhibitors, and more than 60 breakout sessions make this the single largest
Weed and Seed national event to date.

February 17, 2000
EOWS airs live via satellite "Domestic Abuse and Family Violence," part of the
Weed and Seed Community Training Broadcast Series. The show receives a
prestigious 1999 Telly Award for its outstanding film and video production.

May 30-June 2, 2000
EOWS coordinates the "Weed and Seed Law Enforcement and Prosecutor
Conference." More than 500 site coordinators and law enforcement officers
participate in plenary discussions and breakout sessions on topics such as
effective gun abatement strategies, police-community relations, and drug
prevention and intervention issues in Weed and Seed communities.

February 13-16, 2001
EOWS begins the Weed and Seed Accreditation Series training in Los
Angeles, California. More than 170 site coordinators, residents, and law
enforcement officers attend the 4-day intensive training. For the remainder of
the year, each Weed and Seed Officially Recognized site will send site teams to
regionally held training sessions for site accreditation. (See page 16 for more
information.)

Weed and Seed
At a Glance

Fiscal Year--Number of Funded Sites

1991--3

1992--20

1993--21

1994--36

1995--36

1996--88

1997--118

1998--176

1999--200

2000--232

----------------------------

What's Working

Art and Youth Bring Community Together
Dana Johnson and Roberto Frietz

On March 15, 2001, at 8:40 p.m., Yeong Gil Seo's life was cut short. He was
senselessly shot and killed while working at a neighborhood market in Garfield,
a Weed and Seed community in central Phoenix, Arizona. Two men stepped
into the store, took a customer hostage, shot Yeong, and then turned and ran
out of the store. No one was robbed, and no theft took place. The community
was shocked, saddened, and concerned.

In response to this senseless act of violence, the Garfield Youth and Leadership
Group (GYLG)--supported by the Alwun House Foundation, a local Weed
and Seed Safe Haven--decided to lead the community on a march for
nonviolence. To prepare for the march, GYLG members attended workshops
held by El Zarco Guerrero, an internationally known maskmaker, sculptor, and
musician. Guerrero taught the youth how to play percussion rhythms they could
march to. The youth also made doves out of paper mache as symbols of peace,
and Guerrero sculpted a large white dove that would "fly" above the marchers'
banners.

The march took place on March 31 at 10 a.m. at Garfield Elementary School.
While previous marches held by the community's youth had garnered much
publicity as a result of local media coverage, this march greatly affected
neighborhood youth because it commemorated Yeong's life. Many of Garfield's
children had known Yeong for years because they purchased candy and other
treats from him. More than 200 residents--including parents with baby strollers,
teachers, and elected officials--banned together for this march to pay respect to
the memory of Yeong Gil Seo: a father, brother, neighbor, and friend.

The march left the school--complete with police vehicles and fire trucks that
turned on their lights and sirens--and proceeded down familiar streets. GYLG
members played the drums, tambourines, and maracas and carried the doves
they had made. Residents carried banners and placards with antiviolence
messages and chanted, "We want peace, and we want it now!" GYLG
members also passed out hundreds of whistles to residents so residents could
show their support.

The march continued until they reached the scene of the crime: Foodway
Market. The marchers paused to reflect and make comments, and Helen
Trujillo--President of the Garfield Organization and Neighborhood Alliance in
Phoenix--sang a moving rendition of "Amazing Grace." The marchers then
proceeded to a reception at the Alwun House.

At the reception, the community listened to comments from the Foodway
Market owner, who was also Yeong's brother-in-law. He thanked the
community for the outpouring of support and said, "I may have lost a
brother-in-law, but I gained a family."

Three days after the march, one of the murder suspects was arrested; the
suspect lived just one block from the march route. Photos of the two other
suspects are being circulated around the community.

Five years ago, GYLG members decided they could make their Weed and
Seed neighborhood safer and friendlier if they demonstrated in the streets in a
creative way. Over the years, the community has embraced the group's
"signature" marches, which have made positive artistic statements. In the face of
this recent tragedy, the Alwun House Foundation and GYLG once again have
demonstrated how art and youth can bring communities together. 

----------------------------

The Weed and Seed Accreditation Series

This summer, Weed and Seed sites throughout the country have been attending
Accreditation Series training sessions coordinated by the Technical Assistance
and Training Division of EOWS. To date, 684 representatives from 188 sites
have participated in the 8-day curriculum. 

An EOWS-conducted survey of technical assistance requests made in 1998
and 1999 revealed that key elements of the Weed and Seed implementation
process needed to be reviewed and taught to site teams via a more intensive
training. Site participants often felt blinded by the complexities of the Weed and
Seed strategy. To remedy this problem, a curriculum was developed to focus
on the key concepts that reflect the Weed and Seed philosophy. These
concepts are reinforced throughout the training session to ensure that all sites
are provided with uniform information and techniques that will help them realize
goals and objectives relative to their Weed and Seed strategies. 

Accreditation training for sites located in the East and Northeast regions of the
country will take place in September and October. In 2002, EOWS will
coordinate Accreditation Series sessions for sites interested in certifying new or
additional coordinators, residents, or police officers; stay tuned for more
information as it becomes available! To obtain details about the Weed and
Seed Accreditation Series, contact Nancy Ware, Director of Technical
Assistance and Training, or visit the EOWS Web site
(www.ojp.usdoj.gov/eows/certif.htm).

----------------------------

As a new Weed and Seeder (I have been involved for only 5 months), I found
the training extremely beneficial. Our class facilitator was very knowledgeable,
and the participatory style of the training allowed me the opportunity to interact
and learn from other sites as well. It also allowed our site's team the chance to
brainstorm and think creatively about how we can maintain our current strategy
and make it even more effective for our target-area residents. I look forward to
another positive experience at the second session.

--Eldridge Gunn, East Point (Georgia) Police Department
City of East Point Weed and Seed

----------------------------

The training in Dallas was exceptional. I received a lot of good information and
now know where, how, when, what, why, and who. Thank you for helping me
understand my place in this wonderful thing called Weed and Seed. I look
forward, with relish, to Atlanta because I know that we will learn new things,
rework old things, and gather information for different things. Again, thank you.

--Rose L. Evans-Coleman, Executive Director 
Homestead/Florida City Weed and Seed

----------------------------

WEB Sight

The 1990s will surely go down in history as the "Age of the Internet." Today,
typing the keywords "Weed and Seed" into any World Wide Web search
engine will yield thousands of hits. Here are a few online resources that not only
go beyond modern day technological standards, but, more important, also do a
very good job of promoting their initiatives and educating the public in a
user-friendly way.

Miami Weed and Seed's Virtual Community
Many Weed and Seed sites celebrate simply getting an online presence;
however, Miami/Miami-Dade Weed and Seed has raised the bar by putting
together an online resource for its community that uses the most modern
advances in technology. Its Web site, www.weedandseed.com, uses animation
and video streamlining to create a virtual community. Web users are greeted by
the site's Executive Director, Wayne Rawlins, via a movie clip. The site uses
attention-grabbing graphics to organize valuable resources for the Weed and
Seed community, includes its strategic plans, and posts copies of its locally
produced newsletter. The "Town Hall" section of the Web site provides a
platform for people to submit their views on topics in the community. The
Weed and Seed site has also tested an online discussion forum that should
become a very popular resource as the Web site develops further. Bookmark
this site; it is sure to be at the forefront of any advancements in technology the
future will bring to Weed and Seed.

Your Key to a Great City
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been a part of the Weed and Seed movement
since April 1992. Since that time, the city has expanded its Weed and Seed
strategy to serve several other neighborhoods throughout Pittsburgh. The city
has successfully implemented computer learning centers in churches, schools,
senior centers, and police stations in its Weed and Seed neighborhoods. It is no
surprise, therefore, that the Mayor's Office of Pittsburgh supports a Web site
that puts every Weed and Seed neighborhood in Pittsburgh on the World Wide
Web. Web users can go to www.city.pittsburgh.pa. us/weed&seed, which
boasts an online slide show, to "visit" each Weed and Seed neighborhood.

The Weed and Seed Data Center
Do you ever wonder what happens to the site reports that EOWS collects
throughout the year? Data are collected to outline the geographic and
demographic makeup of every Weed and Seed site in the country. Until now,
the data were kept in each site's files at EOWS; this year, however, EOWS
and the Justice Research and Statistics Association worked tirelessly to launch
an online data center that allows the public to access this information. Web
users can click on the drop-down menu or a map of the United States to
choose a State and select a Weed and Seed site. Visitors then learn about that
particular site's community policing and Safe Haven characteristics, residential
income and education levels, and demographic trends and view a detailed map
of the target area! Visit www.weedandseeddatacenter. org to access
neighborhood statistics on individual Weed and Seed sites.

SeedTech
In October 1997, before the term "digital divide" made national headlines,
EOWS partnered with Urban Technologies in New York City to form
SeedTech. SeedTech's mission is to provide Weed and Seed sites with the
resources they need to set up computer learning centers to prepare the
residents of their communities for the 21st century job market. Today, 32
Weed and Seed sites have SeedTech learning centers. Through SeedTech,
communities are building computer and literacy skills and setting up Web sites
about their Weed and Seed target area.

----------------------------

In-Sites, January/February 1996 

Several sites now have their own home pages, including North Charleston,
South Carolina; the Macatawa Area (Holland/Holland Township), Michigan;
Pittsburgh, --Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington. Soon you will be able to
access the Executive Office for Weed and Seed home page as well.

----------------------------

In fact, the Miami/Miami-Dade Weed and Seed Virtual Community was born
out of a SeedTech learning center! Urban Technologies' Web site,
www.urbantech.org/seedtech.html, provides links to the 32 SeedTech labs that
are up and running across the country. Link to other Weed and Seed Web sites
by visiting the EOWS Web site at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/eows/neighborhoods.htm.

Site Sightings
Although many Weed and Seed communities host Web sites, Web sites with
"information that matters" often stand out because they have the most utility.
Web Sight found several Web sites that provide information about upcoming
events, evaluations of efforts by local Weed and Seed sites, steering committee
meeting schedules, crime statistics, online newsletters, maps of target areas, and
photos of communities in action. These Web sites may not offer the latest in
flashy technology, but they do a phenomenal job of getting the most useful
information out to the public.

Aloha!
U.S. Attorneys' Offices (USAO) have promoted Weed and Seed activities in
their districts by dedicating a portion of their Web sites to Weed and Seed. For
example, the USAO for the District of Hawaii (www.usdoj.gov/usao/hi)
highlights the activities of its two Officially Recognized sites. Information about
Weed and Seed Court--a local court fully dedicated to hearing cases that come
from the Weed and Seed target area--and law enforcement weeding efforts
also are featured. Most important, the Web site offers visitors a clean layout
with colorful photos and links to various points of interest.

Grand Rapids Keeps It Simple
Westside Operation Weed and Seed, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
makes accessing information on its Web site, simple for any
Web user! The material it offers is concise and tells the visitor about local
Weed and Seed activities. The Web site also offers the site's eye-catching
newsletter, a map of the target area, an illustrated drawing of the Steering
Committee's neighborhood strategy, and links to the Web sites of community
partners, making this Web site a very useful communications tool.

Friends of Palm Beach County Weed and Seed, Inc.
Friends of Palm Beach County Weed and Seed, Inc., was organized to
maintain an association of people interested in reducing crime and revitalizing
neighborhoods in Palm Beach County, Florida. The organization supports
Weed and Seed programs throughout the county and seeks to enhance the
existing funding for its current sites. This Web site,
www.gopbi.com/community/groups/weedseed, is a great resource for the
Weed and Seed sites of Palm Beach County. Links provide the visitor with
information about local initiatives, a photo gallery that illustrates the site's
activities, information about their partners, and a bulletin board that allows users
to read about and discuss issues that concern the community.

----------------------------

Many online resources help organizations create a plan to establish a presence
on the World Wide Web. Whether using the resources of your police
department, U.S. Attorney's Office, or local nonprofit organization, locating a
server to host your Weed and Seed Web page is half the challenge. Creating a
Web site also requires a lot of planning, research, and writing. Here are two
great Web resources that will help get any Internet "newbie" started:

o The Benton Foundation offers "Building the Communications Capacity of
Nonprofits" at www.benton.org.

o The organization Action Without Borders recently launched its new Web
page, "Resources for Organizations," at www.idealist.org/tools.html.

----------------------------

CONFERENCE CORNER

EOWS Methamphetamine Workshop

On July 20, 2001, EOWS hosted a 1-day workshop in Washington, D.C., for
Weed and Seed sites that practice Methamphetamine Lab Cleanup or
Anti-Drug/Alcohol Abuse Strategies. The workshop kicked off with a welcome
from EOWS Director Stephen Rickman, Acting Assistant Attorney General
Mary Lou Leary, and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the
Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Tracy Henke. EOWS was honored to
introduce U.S. Congressman Asa Hutchinson, President George W. Bush's
nominee to head the Drug Enforcement Administration. (Congressman
Hutchinson's nomination was approved on July 26, 2001, by the Senate
Judiciary Committee by a vote of 19-0). Known for his experience with the
national antidrug effort and the methamphetamine and clandestine lab cleanup in
his home State of Arkansas, Congressman Hutchinson served as guest keynote
speaker. 

The day was packed with sessions led by representatives from OJP bureaus
and other organizations including the National Crime Prevention Council, the
Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

During lunch, attendees participated in roundtable discussions to exchange their
working knowledge on a range of methamphetamine issues as they apply to law
enforcement and the media. The afternoon was dedicated to identifying
reduction strategies, policy considerations, and prosecutorial approaches to
preventing the spread of methamphetamine use and production. At the end of
the day, attendees broke into small groups to network and discuss ways to
apply the knowledge gained at the workshop to their own Weed and Seed
strategies. To further this discussion, the upcoming Weed and Seed National
Conference will include a breakout session that addresses modern drug trends
in Weed and Seed communities.

EOWS Program Manager Andrew Press coordinated the workshop. Please
call him at 202-307-5965 for more information. 

----------------------------

Truancy: A Link to Crime?

Students shall be classified as truant if absent from school without a valid
excuse 3 full days in 1 school year or tardy or absent for more than any
30-minute period during the school day without a valid excuse on 3 occasions
in 1 school year, or any combination thereof. Such students shall be reported to
the superintendent or designee.

--Oxnard, California, 
Education Code 48260

In the past year, the rate of truancy in this country has increased by
approximately 67 percent. To respond to growing community needs, EOWS
produced and broadcast "Truancy: A Link to Crime?," which aired on April 19,
2001, from LETN studios in Dallas, Texas. The 1-hour show--part of the
Weed and Seed Community Training Series--invited guests practiced in truancy
research and truancy-reduction programs to take an indepth look at the
modern-day causes of truancy, its link to crime, and the best approaches to
keeping kids in school. The panel discussed factors, such as socioeconomic
disparity and the inflexibility of school policy, that cause many children to skip
school--especially children who live in low-income neighborhoods. For
example, panelist Ken Seeley, President of the Colorado Foundation for
Families and Children, explained that many older kids carry parental
responsibilities for their households. Some truants in this situation explained that
because high school starts so early in the morning, by the time they finished their
household tasks--like getting their siblings ready for school--they had already
been marked absent for their first two classes.

"Truancy: A Link to Crime?" featured Oxnard, California, Midtown Weed and
Seed's Student Truancy Offender Program (S.T.O.P.). David Walker, a
community police officer with the Oxnard Police Department, is heavily
involved in S.T.O.P. and was a panelist featured on the broadcast. The
department's systematic approach to truancy reduction has had a direct impact
on crime in the target area. "Since the program started last September, we have
seen a reduction in daytime burglaries by 13 percent, and attendance in our
schools has increased 20 percent," stated Walker.

The broadcast featured a video tour of the Oxnard program, which operates its
truancy center out of the Police Athletic League facility. In the video, Officer
Karl Dyer of the Oxnard Police Department explained that in 2000, Oxnard
officers cited 436 children for skipping school. When midtown Oxnard was
awarded Official Recognition by EOWS in 1999, the truancy project started
moving forward quickly. The site was recently granted additional Special
Emphasis grant dollars through EOWS to further support the S.T.O.P. effort.
So far this year, S.T.O.P. has cited 2,061 children for truancy and continues to
reach out to youth before their truancy becomes a more serious problem. By
reaching the youth of their community before their truancy problem gets out of
control, the collaborative efforts of midtown Oxnard's parents, schools, law
enforcement officers, and community-based organizations help youth stay in
school and on the path to a healthier future.

Officially Recognized sites and U.S. Attorney's Offices can call EOWS at
202-616-1152 to order copies of this 1-hour training video. Any Weed and
Seed community experiencing a truancy problem should order this video and
consider incorporating truancy reduction into its strategy as a Special Emphasis
Initiative. (Special Emphasis Initiatives are designed to provide Weed and Seed
sites with additional financial support to address specific issues within a given
community. Contact your EOWS Program Manager for more information.)

----------------------------

In-Sites, July 1995

Last December, the Executive Office for Weed and Seed unveiled its new
Weed and Seed logo at the national conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Because many of you commented on it and requested copies, we want to
clarify its meaning and use. The combination of a house with the business
district of a city represents the partnerships formed in the Weed and Seed
strategy between communities, law enforcement, government, and businesses.
The logo is frequently printed in bright green, a color long associated with
growth, which we hope to see within each community that implements a Weed
and Seed strategy. The words "weed" and "seed" indicate the program's
balance of punishment and prevention, law enforcement, and revitalization.

----------------------------

EOWS NEWS

FBI Executive Fellow Program
In May 2001, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Fellow Lt. Kevin Yorke
bid farewell to EOWS to return to his position as Commanding Officer with the
New York Police Department's Brooklyn North Gang Unit. Also, in August
2001, FBI Fellow Lt. C.D. Dye left EOWS to continue to serve as a member
of the Virginia State Police Department. Lieutenant Dye, who has served the
Virginia State Police for 25 years, was recently promoted to Captain of the
Drug Enforcement Division. He will relocate from Wytheville, Virginia, to
Richmond, Virginia, and will oversee a division of more than 170 officers
responsible for statewide drug enforcement. Both Fellows contributed their
extensive working knowledge of local and national gang and drug enforcement
trends, community law enforcement, and community corrections to further the
efforts of EOWS. They also participated in various EOWS workshops and
helped plan and coordinate two law enforcement workshops: the EOWS I-95
Weeding Workshop held on March 2, 2001, and the Methamphetamine
Workshop held on June 20, 2001.

As EOWS bid farewell to Lieutenants Yorke and Dye, a warm welcome was
extended to Lt. Dennis Lane, who joined EOWS as an FBI Fellow on June 1,
2001; he will serve his fellowship until December 2001. Born and raised in
Raleigh, North Carolina, Lieutenant Lane has served the Raleigh Police
Department for 25 years. He will assist Program Manager Andrew Press by
monitoring and tracking Weed and Seed asset forfeiture spending. As a fellow,
a portion of Lieutenant Lane's time will be spent working on SafeStreets
initiatives at FBI headquarters.

New and Improved Weed and Seed Implementation Manual
For the past year, the EOWS Training and Technical Assistance Division has
worked tirelessly to improve the Weed and Seed Implementation Manual. The
newly improved 140-page publication is an easy-to-read guide for communities
attempting to implement a Weed and Seed strategy and features photos of
Officially Recognized sites' activities from around the country. Existing sites
should use this resource to enhance their current efforts and direct initiatives for
achieving the goals of their local Weed and Seed strategy. Visit
www.ncjrs.org/puborder to order copies of the manual (NCJ 187193). 

FY 2001 Official Recognition Process
EOWS has updated the procedures for Weed and Seed Official Recognition
(OR) applications. Copies of the updated guides were distributed to sites and
U.S. Attorneys' Offices in June. The application kit and guidelines are available
in their entirety on the EOWS Web site, but In-Sites would like to highlight
these important facts:

o Beginning in FY 2001, sites whose Official Recognition expires must apply
for OR recertification. (OR expires after 5 calendar years.)

o By August 31, 2001, every OR applicant must submit a letter of intent to
EOWS that is cosigned by the applicant and its respective U.S. Attorney
before submitting the full application (which is due on October 31, 2001).

To order a print copy of the Official Recognition guidelines, call EOWS at
202-616-1152, or visit the EOWS Web site.

----------------------------

For More Information

Contact these organizations for information about articles featured in In-Sites,
or visit the EOWS Web site for related links at
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/eows/publications.htm.

Angry Residents Take a Stand With Lemonade
Jennifer Ellis
Reporter, Florida Today
Melbourne, Florida
321-242-3668
jellis@flatoday.net

Mark Jennewein
Community Policing Officer
Melbourne Weed and Seed
Melbourne, Florida
312mpd@bellsouth.net

A Few Words From DEFY Campers
Dan Drake
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
dan.drake@usdoj.gov

Youngstown Resident Recognized as a True Hero
Geri Cobbin
Executive Administrative Assistant
Youngstown Weed and Seed
Youngstown, Ohio
Gericobbin@aol.com

U.S. Attorney Honors Site Coordinator in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Thomas Flynn
Weed and Seed Coordinator
Bridgeport Weed and Seed
Bridgeport, Connecticut
203-576-8278

Delcie Thibault
Law Enforcement Coordinating 
Committee Coordinator
U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
203-821-3700
delcie.thibault@usdoj.gov

How To Be an Effective Weed and Seed Coordinator
Charles Eduardos
Weed and Seed Project Coordinator
Community Policing Specialist
Euchlid, Ohio
216-289-2733
eduardos@apk.net

Developments and Trends in Conflict Resolution
Kathleen Severens
Director, Community Dispute Resolution
Office of Justice Programs
Washington, D.C.
202-514-8827
kseverens@ojp.usdoj.gov

Police Officer Encourages Youth To Succeed in Life
Mary Louise Smith
Community Relations Coordinator
Greensboro Housing Authority
Greensboro, North Carolina
mlsmith@gha-nc.org

Art and Youth Bring Community Together
Roberto Frietz
Weed and Seed Coordinator
Phoenix-Garfield Weed and Seed
Phoenix, Arizona
602-261-8154
rfrietz@ci.phoenix.az.us

Truancy: A Link to Crime?
David Walker
Oxnard Police Department
Midtown Oxnard II Weed and Seed
Oxnard, California
805-385-8211
davidwalker@oxnardpd.org

LT 000436