MAKING A DENT

Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton and his drug enforcement unit, the Special Investigations Division, heard the cries of residents and they respond.  The end result - the arrest of 28 suspected drug and alcohol dealers.  Residents have made their pleas since Thornton went into office over two years ago, and Thornton has pledged to do his part to take dealers and users off the streets, helping to rid neighborhood of drug dealers who ply their trade on street corners and in homes, drawing to their communities gunfire and other types of crimes, and instilling fear in the hearts of law-abiding citizens.

That was the catalyst for Operation Crack Pot, a six-month undercover investigation that culminated Wednesday and Thursday with the rounding-up of suspects charged with everything from possession of non-tax paid liquor to maintaining a dwelling and conspiracy to sell cocaine.

Thornton said yesterday that the round-up "had generated a lot of talk."

We think he's right.  And the talk has both been about the SID's intent to clean up the county of drugs and the more secure feeling residents have knowing law enforcement is committed to hearing their problems and reacting to them.

Every resident of Sampson County should feel a little safer because Thornton and his department weren't merely using words filled with air; they were filled with action.

Thornton and his SID officers have been adamant about ridding the county of the seedy characters who wreak havoc on our neighborhoods, hook our children and entice those who simply have no willpower of their own.

And law enforcement officers risk their lives to ensure that residents could feel a little safer tonight.

No words can really nick the edges of the appreciation county residents should feel toward law enforcement officers who have made it their life's work to clean up the drug trade, slow it and, one day, stamp it out altogether.

It's a lofty goal, but our law enforcement officers believe with all their heart that it's a winnable one if they remain tenacious in their attempts to stop the flow of drugs one dealer at a time.

We applaud their goals and we applaud every effort they've made toward that goal, including this most recent operation.

While it's clear that as long as there is a demand for drugs across this county, there will be someone there to supply that need, no matter how many people are arrested and no matter how many people are convicted, what the SID has this week shows show dealers they mean business.

Now it's time for our justice system to do the same.  Arrests have been made.  The charges should be made to stick if defendants are guilty, and they should not be allowed to continue receiving probationary or reduced sentences.  If they are, then we should question what happens in court.

For now, we are pleased to see law enforcement listening to its residents and doing its part to alleviate real fears.

Our hats are off to the SID and Thornton for their continued efforts to take drugs out of Sampson County.  And we applaud law enforcement officers for their determination, their sacrifice and their abilities.

While it might not stop the sell of drugs, each arrest makes its dent.  And enough dents can bring about the results many of us would like to see - a county free of drugs and the problems that always follow.