Police search for drugs at SHS
Heroin: area’s deep, dark secret
By ADAM STEWART Staff Reporter
Police squad cars idle during a drug raid at Stanwood High School. PHOTO BY ADAM STEWART | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS
The presence of six patrol cars from four different law enforcement agencies outside Stanwood High School on a foggy Monday morning set an ominous tone Dec.1.
The scheduled sweep, using narcotics search dogs from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Arlington Police Department and the Marysville Police Department, was another step in the effort to keep drugs away from schools.
And to gauge what’s out there.
Organized by the Stanwood Police Department and the Stanwood Camano School District, the search was conducted on vehicles in parking lots and surrounding parking areas near the school. Students’ lockers were also searched.
According to Stanwood Police Chief Ty Trenary, “some stuff was found.”
“No heroin,” he added.
No arrests were made.
Stanwood High School Principal Christine Gruver is concerned with drugs, especially heroin, around campus and in the community.
“We know there is a drug situation in our community and are trying to take a proactive approach to stopping this behavior on and off of our campus,” she said.
Trenary reiterated Gruver’s concerns.
The police department and school district staff — including administrators, educators and counselors — have been meeting as a group to set a plan of action, said Trenary.
“What scares us the most is that heroin is being used,” he added. “The bottom line is the availability or use of any drug in our schools isn’t safe.”
The search was a way to
separate fact from fiction” and is only one step in curbing the problem, he said.
The district and police department are focusing on prevention, awareness and safe ways for reporting drug activity, said Gruver.
Tips on suspected drug activity can be submitted to the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force by submitting an anonymous reporting form at www.srdtf.org.
