EDITORIAL
Kahalu'u leads the way in drug fight

Law enforcement people will tell you that drug dealing tends to flourish in neighborhoods where the residents are either indifferent — or actually afraid to do anything about it.

Which brings us to the residents of Kahalu'u, who are anything but indifferent and far from cowed in the face of drug dealers and other criminal elements.

As Windward O'ahu writer Eloise Aguiar pointed out in an article on the Windward community's new anti-"ice" campaign, Kahalu'u has a long and proud history of vibrant, forceful community activism. Now, the community will join hands to speak out against the threat of crystal methamphetamine. On Friday, there will be a mass show of force with hundreds of sign-wavers lining Kamehameha Highway.

Now, clearly, sign-waving and community meetings alone will not wipe out crime. But what this outpouring of neighborhood activism shows is that the residents of Kahalu'u are not going to let someone else, drug dealer or otherwise, decide their future for them.

Law enforcement officials have praised the community action and have promised support. They should jump in with both feet because residents have taken the first and most important step: They have said "no."