web1_TTL040718RailRiders_4.jpg

Local fans flock to PNC Field for RailRiders opener

web1_web1_Wolf_Tom-07-24-14-cmyk-10.jpg

Wolf announces $25M for mining site cleanup, including 4 in Luzerne County

<p>Two people from the State College area praised the actions of Harry Hamilton on Friday, lending support to the beleaguered former NFL standout in his attempt to thwart what he believes is a growing drug culture in Centre County.</p><p>Former Penn State assistant football coach Booker Brooks and Skip Dreibelbis, a kicker on the Nittany Lions 1986 national championship team, both criticized authorities for ignoring a national narcotics problem that&#8217;s running rampant in central Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s one of those dirty, dark little secrets about Happy Valley that nobody talks about,&#8221; said Dreibelbis, who lives in the same Lamont neighborhood as Hamilton. &#8220;State College is no different than any other school district in Pennsylvania. In some instances, it may be worse.&#8221;</p><p>Hamilton played at Nanticoke and was a defensive back on Penn State&#8217;s first national championship team in 1982 before spending eight seasons as a safety with the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.</p><p>He previously detailed how he tried to get involved:</p><p>Upon encountering one of his sons, a standout on the high school track and field team who is not in his custody, at the boy&#8217;s residence, Hamilton said he smelled marijuana smoke emanating from an upstairs room. Hamilton insists he tried to pull the boy out the doorway and away from the situation. During the altercation, Hamilton said he encountered another high school student in the residence who carries a reputation of dealing drugs.</p><p>State College police charged Hamilton with felony counts of burglary and criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor count of simple assault and two summary offenses of harassment.</p><p>He waived his preliminary hearing, and he now must appear in county court May 2.</p><p>&#8220;What he did was like an intervention that any caring family member would do when they see something they know is drugs,&#8221; Brooks said. &#8220;Obviously, the person (Hamilton&#8217;s son) was not responding to verbal discussion. He (Harry) is that type of person, to bring up his kid with not only outward love, but tough love. He came from a well-disciplined family. Sometimes you have to have tough love to make another person learn a lesson. It&#8217;s your job as a parent.</p><p>&#8220;I could see myself doing the same thing if my son was in a situation like that.&#8221;</p><p>Most troubling, Hamilton said, is the reluctance he says he&#8217;s encountered from law enforcement to investigate a drug culture that Hamilton maintains has been running rampant around Centre County for years.</p><p>&#8220;Oh, I wouldn&#8217;t say he&#8217;s off-base with that at all,&#8221; Dreibelbis said. &#8220;I can speak from personal experience. My stepson went to State College High School, he was a really good kicker, hitting 60-yard field goals. He could have gone to any school in the country he&#8217;d like to. My stepson became involved with illegal drugs. He was arrested, ruined his academic and athletic future.</p><p>&#8220;He didn&#8217;t go to college.&#8221;</p><p>Brooks agrees the epidemic has been going on too long.</p><p>&#8220;Not just here,&#8221; said Brooks, who lives in the town of Pennsylvania Furnace &#8212; about 5 miles from State College High School. &#8220;There are drugs in every school district around this country. A year ago, the body of a young woman was dumped a mile from my house, because she overdosed.</p><p>&#8220;We have a drug problem,&#8221; Brooks continued. &#8220;We have a national drug problem. That&#8217;s not a secret. It&#8217;s an almost insurmountable problem. I don&#8217;t know how to fix it.&#8221;</p><p>Dreibelbis would like to see law enforcement begin to try.</p><p>&#8220;They know (of the drug problem). But see, they don&#8217;t go after anybody,&#8221; Dreibelbis said. &#8220;I really don&#8217;t think things are investigated. The attitude is, &#8216;Well, they&#8217;re just kids, they&#8217;re experimenting.&#8217; They don&#8217;t treat drug crimes like they do other crimes. I&#8217;m familiar with Harry&#8217;s situation. I have no problem with law enforcement doing their job and doing it right. But you have bad apples out there. What I don&#8217;t understand is why the police didn&#8217;t search the house where Harry was trying to rescue his son.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a cesspool here.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_Hamilton.cmyk-1-1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Hamilton </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_Hamilton.cmyk-1-1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Hamilton </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta></subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ex-football star Hamilton praised for intervening in alleged drug activity