
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995                   TAG: 9506080074
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARY BISHOP
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

EDWARDS SUGGESTS DRUG HOT LINE

Roanoke Vice Mayor John Edwards wants police to set up a special hot line for residents to call to report illegal drug activities.

Edwards, a Democratic state Senate candidate, came up with the idea at a recent citywide crime prevention meeting in Wasena. Residents of several Roanoke neighborhoods complained to police and prosecutors at the meeting about suspected drug dealing near their homes.

In a letter Monday to Public Safety Director Chip Snead, Edwards said a well-publicized drug hot line would answer the residents' question, "What can we do?" to combat drugs.

"That might help," Joe Nash, Crime Watch chairman for the Wasena Neighborhood Forum, said Wednesday. "It definitely can't hurt."

Police Chief M. David Hooper, who received a copy of the letter, said he would consider the idea.

Edwards is running for the Senate against Republican incumbent Brandon Bell.

by CNB