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A Day at The State House
Methuen Councilor Kathleen Corey Rahme

What would you do if you felt your neighborhood was being threatened by illegal drug trafficking? Would you seek to change the laws dealing with controlled substances violations?

Would you be willing to testify before the Joint Judiciary Committee on Beacon Hill? Would you allow your name to be mentioned in the newspaper, and the potential risk that that exposure placed on you and your family? The members of the Ashland Avenue Neighborhood Association did.

In September 2005, the Methuen City Council voted unanimously to support the home rule petition seeking to change Massachusetts General Law 94C 32J, which deals with Controlled Substances Violations.

This amendment seeks to fix what we deem as a legislative deficiency regarding footage around parks and playgrounds for drug free zones. Currently, Law 94C-32J sup-ports a drug free zone of 1000 feet in and a-round schools, while parks and play-grounds only have 100 feet. We simply want to add a zero to the 100. That zero will bring what we feel is a huge deterrent for drug dealers.


This all began when a young Marinello family moved into what they saw as a family-friendly neighborhood with a park and playground across the street from their new home. They came from the suburbs of Boston where drugs and crime were common. Nicole Marinello felt that she needed to do something, so she began researching and discovered the deficiency in the Massachusetts General Law. She notified her city councilor and she presented her findings at the neighborhood association meeting. This is where we all began to strategize and together we got former Mayor Pollard and the City Council on board.


Several months passed with no action on Beacon Hill. Last month we heard we were to go to Boston and testify before the Joint Judiciary Committee in favor of House Bill 4674. This committee is made up of both senators and representatives, many of whom are defense attorneys.


I only bring this up because I have been advised time after time there is probably going to be some opposition to this because, as attorneys, they are not in favor of the two and a half-year minimum mandatory sentencing that accompanies the legislation.


The law already exists and we are not seeking to change that aspect of the law. They feel judges should be able to use discretion in sentencing, and they feel they need to be able to defend their clients in seeking lighter sentences.

Members appointed to the committee:

Creedon of Second Plymouth & Bristol
Baddour of Essex
Antonioni of Wor-cester and Middlesex
McGee of Third Essex and Middlesex
Creem of First Middlesex and Norfolk
Lees of Hampden and Hampshire
O’Flaherty of Chelsea
Bradley of Hingham
Khan of Newton
Murphy of Burlington
Leary of Worcester
Murphy of Weymouth
Costello of Newburyport
Peisch of Wellesley
Keenan of Salem
Webster of Hanson
Evangelidis of Holden

Representative Arthur Broadhurst and Senator Steven Baddour brought forth the petition and it was heard twice. On March 7, we had received only 18 hours notice and were unable to assemble, so we went down on March 14 to testify the second time it was heard.

I am pleased to announce that I was joined by Central District Councilor Phil Lahey who spoke out in favor of the war on drugs.

Also testifying were Nicole Marinello, Greta Nilson, Susan Brunette and her 7th grade daughter, Hailegh, and Greta’s mother, Jean. I am so proud of the Ashland Avenue Neighborhood Association.

The day they announced their plans to testify, their property was vandalized and they refused to be intimidated. They should be credited with standing up against the people who are trying to take their neighborhood.

I admire them. Remember, we are not talking about a few joints in the park. We are talking about trafficking with intent to sell.

     The sad news is that the committee can not only vote it up or down, they can send it to study. Councilor Lahey described it as the “kiss of death.” So for all it is worth, it might as well be voted down and save everyone the agony. We are still waiting for their decision. An affirmative vote will send it to the full House for a vote and then upon passage, it can be signed into law.

     What can we do? We can elect people who are tough on crime. We can remind our legislators that they are legislators first, not defense attorneys.

We can call or write our legislators and let them know how we feel, even on this issue. We can work with our local police and report everything we see that is suspicious. If everyone followed the lead of the Ashland Avenue Neighborhood Association, imagine how life would be.


Kathleen Corey Rahme is the former Central District Councilor in Methuen and was elected as a city councilor “at large” last year. She is also the founder of the Methuen Youth Corps and hosts "call to Serve." You can email her at kcoreyrahme@comcast.net

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The April, 2006 Edition of the Valley Patriot
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