Meth Labs, David Patton Letter
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Jeanne Schneider
From:
To:
Sent:
Subject:
"David Patton" <dhp@QuixNet.net>
"Jeanne Schneider" <jschneid@cityofdubuque.org>
Monday, April 11 , 2005 9:26 PM
Revised letter to council members
(Please replace this accompanying letter to city council members, since a
majority of the Human Rights Commission do not want their name mentioned.
Therefore, this is strictly from a concerned citizen.)
Dubuque City Council Members,
As a concerned citizen, and a former educator, I am very much interested in
the health and welfare of our youth. Matter fact, when I taught at
Eisenhower School my primary concern - I repeat my primary concern was to
create a safe, caring, compassionate environment - free from harm - free
from danger! At the same time, I think this was also what parents wanted
first and foremost. Oh, yes, I was there to teach, but if I first couldn't
establish a safe haven for their child, then little learning would ever take
place!
I would definitely have to say that in the thirty-three years that I was
with the Dubuque Community Schools, I took great pride in knowing that they
had also implemented various safeguards to make sure children were safe and
out of harms way. At the same time, parents expressed confidence in District
's ability of being proactive - always addressing concerns before they
became a problem.
During that same time, I know the District preferred to handle most problems
strictly in-house. However, there are some things nowadays that are much
bigger than what even they can possibly address. Likewise, with this world
becoming much more violent than when I was growing up in the '50s, the need
to protect children is even more critical than ever before. Consequently,
the District needs to keep refining their efforts to keep ahead of
escalating concerns.
One of these urgent concerns has to do with drug use and its trafficking by
teenagers. Likewise, there is an ever-increasing concern with the sizable
manufacturing of methamphetamine, particularly in the Dubuque area. Because
of that, great care needs to be taken, anytime an active lab is discovered.
Additionally, anyone living within the vicinity of these meth labs, or
exposed to the fumes, may also be in great jeopardy. Therefore, rather than
waiting around for even more to appear on the horizon, and then resorting to
strictly 'reactive' knee-jerk measures, much of this can be curtailed if the
schools continue implementing their 'proactive' stance, by taking advantage
of every service in the community at their disposal.
4/12/2005
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I guess I was wondering why the Dubuque Community Schools will not give the
Dubuque Drug Taskforce - more specifically the forces' drug sniffing dog,
permission to inspect the premises, even when students aren't around,
especially when surrounding districts are already allowing the same?
Yes, I took this very question to the Dubuque Community School Board on
April 11 th, and while several board members were receptive to this point, it
was voted down. The reasons given: it would infringe on students rights - it
would create a false sense of security - it would be violating the trust of
the students - it would be an invasion of privacy - we have only heard from
a few people on this issue - while many claim this dog is passive, history
of what other police dogs have done paints a different picture. (Oh, I guess
I failed to point out that Chief Wadding had set up a meeting with the
School Board about this very issue on April 1 st, but the meeting was
postponed. )
Now, if the city council really wants to paint a picture that Dubuque is a
drug free, compassionate city where businesses and its citizens can feel
safe and secure, then it needs to have a louder voice than just mine. I know
the parents of school children would also feel much more comfortable knowing
that the schools were doing everything possible to address their needs. (Oh,
yes, there may be false positives, but it's also better being safe than
sorry. )
What I'm asking for is a letter to the school board pointing out where this
is a bigger problem than anyone ever imagined, and asking the Board to
permit reconsideration of this action.
Respectfully,
David H. Patton
4/12/2005