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Vermont State Police Lt. Teresa Randall holds a naloxone spray, commonly referred to by the brand name Narcan, during a community forum in St. Johnsbury Monday. Photo by Justin Trombly/VTDigger

ST. JOHNSBURY — Again and again Monday night, authorities asked community members to speak up about drug deals and substance abuse in town.



So a few of them did.



“If you’re under 18, it seems to me that there’s a serious lack of help,” said one audience member at a forum in St. Johnsbury, who described his yearslong attempt to assist a drug-addicted teen he looks after.



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After drug sweep, St. J forum offers a chance to voice concerns ﻿ RELATED STORIES

The event featured panelists from law enforcement, treatment and recovery programs and the abuse-prevention field, and the man said some of the agencies represented there had turned him down because the addicted person was under 18.



“Where’s his help?” asked the man, who declined afterward to give his name.



Officials organized the forum after a law enforcement sweep last week snared 16 people accused of involvement with drug trafficking in the Northeast Kingdom. Half of those charged or arrested live in St. Johnsbury.



Some of those arrests came after tips from citizens, U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan said at the event.



“People … called and said, ‘There’s drug dealers in this apartment building,’” Nolan said. “That is so helpful to us, and we can investigate in a way that prioritizes keeping the caller safe.”



About 50 people attended the forum at the St. Johnsbury School. Other audience members said they had called authorities without seeing results.



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One speaker, who said she’s a property manager in St. Johnsbury, described seeing out-of-state cars come to the property and stay for a few days. During those times, strangers would filter in and out of the property, leaving tenants anxious.



Panelists had identified those observations as signs of possible drug activity.



The speaker said she had called state police but hadn’t heard back. She asked what kind of information people should report if they believe drug activity is happening near them.



Vermont State Police Lt. Teresa Randall, who heads the agency’s narcotics investigation unit for northern Vermont, told the property manager that details like license plates are small observations that play a large role in an investigation.



U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan, center, is joined by Orleans County State’s Attorney Jennifer Barrett and Jon Ophardt, criminal chief at the U.S. attorney’s office, at a community forum on drugs in St. Johnsbury Monday. Photo by Justin Trombly/VTDigger

Randall said when citizens feel like police aren’t doing anything, it’s often because officers are undercover and speaking about an investigation would jeopardize it.



“There’s a lot more going on in our community as far as drug work — things that are happening right now — that we may not see a result for a year, two years,” Randall said.



Orleans County State’s Attorney Jennifer Barrett said the Northeast Kingdom has seen several concerning changes in recent years.



She said she’s observed an increased number of out-of-state dealers setting up shop in the region, as well as a rise in drug-related violence.



“We are seeing kidnapping, we’re seeing attempted murder cases, we’re seeing homicides that are all related to drugs,” said Barrett, sitting next her Caledonia County counterpart, acting State’s Attorney Jessica Zaleski.



John Caceres, a spokesperson for the Bradford-based Valley Vista treatment center, said that helping addicted people build support networks and connections is crucial to enduring recoveries.



In a way, he said, the cooperation among the agencies at the event was an example of that.



“What you’re seeing up here [is], we’re all connected at a certain level,” Caceres said. “Our hope is that by doing that, the people we serve also get connected.”



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