In the Centre County visitors' welcome center, a group of community officials met yesterday to discuss strategies to combat the local increase in heroin usage.

"What we wanted to do today was sound the alarm about heroin, but not hit the panic button," District Attorney Ray Gricar said.

Responding to the first local heroin death, officials came to speak from the Ferguson Township Police, Mifflin County Police, Clear Concepts, Bureau of Narcotics and Centre County District Attorney's office.

In February alone, the Centre County Drug Task Force reported five suspected heroin overdoses, one of which was the death of a 17-year-old and one being the overdose of a 22-year-old Penn State student.

But heroin was not the only drug addressed at the meeting; officials mentioned Ecstasy, oxycontin and gateway drugs as other contributors to local drug abuse.

Speaking about the Bureau of Narcotics investigation, W. Ronald Smeal, regional director, said the Centre County Drug Task Force has about 50 members.

"It's very difficult to get the manpower that you need," Smeal said, adding that the department's money has been tight since the terrorist attacks.

Gricar addressed all of the "costs" heroin addiction expends. He cited secondary problems such as armed robbery and car break-ins by addicts seeking any source of funding for drugs.

"I don't think there's any way for a community to get ruined faster than a heroin addiction in a significant number of the population," Gricar said.

However the investigators face an obstacle in identifying heroin users and dealers -- the secret nature of its abuse.

"Heroin addiction is something that still has a stigma attached," Gricar said. He urged community members to help detectives and undercover officers in their search for information about heroin abuse.

In the search for local heroin dealers, Community Help Centre Executive Director Tammy Gentzel asked whether the heroin sales in the area were from corporate sellers, gangs or independent dealers.

"From my understanding what we have here in Centre County is the independent seller," Ferguson Township Police Chief Edward Connor said. He said the sellers are using their revenues to cover their personal addictions and are bringing the drugs in from Philadelphia.

Connor could not provide extensive information though, as it is still early in the investigation.

"We wanted to heighten awareness," Connor said, "and acknowledge that we don't have all the answers."

He said the department has identified a couple of "drug locations," not all of which are necessarily selling heroin.

And while local statistics haven't been compiled yet to point to a definite increase in abuse, the recent overdoses have struck fear in local officials.

"Am I scared? You bet," Connor said.

Gentzel added that statistics aren't the best indicator of the current status of drug usage.

"You're not going to know how bad the problem is until it's too late to do anything about it," Gentzel said.

As for heroin addiction and usage at Penn State, State College Police Chief Tom King said the problem spans both the community and the university.

"It's in our local community not involved with Penn State students, we have also seen heroin cases involving Penn State students," King said. "We know that it does exist with Penn State students."