Officials
fight gang growth
Phillipsburg educates teachers
about issue. District hopes to create intervention program.
Tuesday, February 28, 206 • By SARAH CASSI •
The Express-Times
PHILLIPSBURG | Officials are working to
educate district teachers and administrators about the
culture of gang activity.
"This certainly is an issue developing in
our area," Bob Pierfy, the district's Student Assistance
Coordinator, said at the school board meeting Monday night.
"We don't need to run and hide, but we certainly need to
create a comprehensive prevention and intervention
program."
Gang activity has been a hot topic in the
area in the past few weeks. Northampton County District
Attorney John Morganelli recently hired a former Easton
detective to investigate and help prosecute members of the
Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and other homegrown
gangs.
Last week Phillipsburg town council
members announced they would urge New Jersey officials to
create state legislation that would allow municipalities to
prosecute gang members for associating with one
another.
Pierfy said he distributed a booklet
about gangs to all district counselors last week.
Titled "Radical Involvement: Cults,
Gangs, Hate Crimes and other Symptoms," the booklet includes
diagrams of gang symbols, lists of gang-related clothing and
styles for boys and girls, initiation rituals and
information about gang culture.
"It tells how to help a student that is
involved and before they get involved," Pierfy
said.
Pierfy said a sense of family and
control, as well as excitement, lures kids to join
gangs.
"Can you get a person out of a gang?
Certainly. It's very difficult," Pierfy said. "It can
happen. It's the hard road. It's much better to intervene
early."
Superintendent Gordon Pethick said gang
problems are both immediate and long-term issues for the
district.
"We have to start to teach students not
to want to be involved in gangs," Pethick said.
Pethick said the district has been doing
things in-house to combat gangs, but he didn't want to
elaborate on those plans in public.
"We are on top of it. We are doing
anything we can," Pethick said.
Pierfy said Director of Security James P.
Stettner has gone around to district schools to educate
teachers about what to look for in terms of gang
activities.
School board member Paul Rummerfield
asked if there is more gang activity in town now.
"Kids are becoming a tad more bold in
their approach to things," Pierfy said. "They think they're
right that creates a whole other risk factor."
In other district news, Pethick and board
attorney Donald W. Morrow plan to meet March 8 with the
director of the Peter and Paul House.
The board voted 7-4 at its last meeting
against accepting one of the home's students into the
district. The Camden student has been enrolled in a learning
disabilities program at Phillipsburg High School since Jan.
30 through the Catholic Charities group home.
Morrow said he is currently reviewing the
board's vote. He said his opinion as to whether the board
can deny the student's enrollment would be delivered "in a
very short period of time."
Reporter Sarah Cassi can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by
e-mail at scassi@express-times.com.
© 2006 The Express-Times. Used with
permission.
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