“Either you’re part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.”

This phrase was spoken by several members of a group of city residents who are motivated to do something about the ever-worsening drug problem in the area.

After a recent meeting attended by Police Chief Ron Brown and Mayor Tom Donaldson, they are planning to start a neighborhood watch in the city, with the intention of gathering information that can help the police build cases against suspected drug dealers and other criminals.

Several meetings have been organized through a private Facebook group titled “Community Coming Together” created by a concerned city resident.

The group is now sponsored by Walk In Faith Outreach Ministry, a group run by Cindy Parker, Sheri Readie and the Rev. Terry Devlin that had recently expressed interest in turning the closed Broad Street Elementary School into a community youth center.

Parker and fellow Butler Township resident Cindy Simpson in 2015 worked with Butler Township police to start a neighborhood watch in their part of Lyndora.

Thanks in part to the efforts of about 12 residents, the intersection of Main and Erie streets went from a favorite spot for drug dealers to an area with minimal criminal activity, Parker said.

Lt. Chad Rensel of the city police, who also spoke to the group, said he would like to see the group appoint a liaison to the department for each of the four city zones: the northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest.

The liaison would meet or correspond with a city officer on a regular basis to give them information about suspicious activities in their neighborhoods.

This would include vehicles with illegal tinted windows, vehicles with out-of-state license plates or an unusual number of people coming and going from a house or parking lot.

Rensel stressed that anyone who believes they are witnessing a crime should immediately call 911 to report it.

Even if a suspected drug deal is over before an officer can arrive, it is still important to make a report, he said.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry, I’d rather get 100 false alarm calls than not know what’s going on,” Rensel said.

Gloria Shaffer of Butler, who also attended the meeting, said she wants the story of her granddaughter Haley Leight to help others see the dangers of the drug trade.

Shaffer held up a death certificate for Leight, who died at age 20 on Dec. 30. Results of toxicology tests showed that Leight died from a toxic combination of cocaine, carfentanil and furyl fentanyl.

Shaffer said she believes that Leight was sold drugs under false pretenses and unknowingly used the extremely-potent opioids.

“This is murder,” she said. “This is instant death and Narcan won’t help.”

Anyone who lives in the city and is interested in getting involved in the watch either as an observer or as a liaison to police, is asked to call 724-431-0005 or send an e-mail to communitycomingtogether@gmail.com.