Spurred by a challenge to facilitate community discussion of drugs and alcohol, Centre County Justice Bradley Lunsford is holding town meetings to address growing problems in the area.

After reading a Centre Daily Times editorial that focused on drug- and alcohol-related problems following last year's Blue-White Game, Lunsford decided to step up and host a series of town hall meetings this fall.

The first will be held at 7 tonight at Fairbrook United Methodist Church in Pennsylvania Furnace.

Lunsford said his primary goal in hosting the meetings is to hear the issues that are important to the quality of life of Centre County residents.

"I think what we need to do is find out what type of things are concerning people in our community, " he said. "There are only so many resources and so much time. If we can at least find out what concerns people the most, prioritize enforcement, then I'll think these meetings are a success."

Lt. Diane Conrad of the State College Police Department said she too is interested in hearing community input concerning drugs and alcohol, especially when she takes over as Ferguson Township police chief in October.

"I have some ideas, but I want to hear from members of the community and the other members of the department," she said.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said alcohol sales, drunken driving arrests and liquor-law violations have "gone through the roof" in the past few years but that the university continues to work with Lunsford and other local police, law-enforcement officials and legislative members on the problem --druge and alcohol abuse.

"What Justice Lunsford is doing is a positive step for the community," he said.

However, Mahon said alcohol is a problem that pervades most every community across the state of Pennsylvania.

"I'm not aware of anyone who's found the silver bullet to solve the problem," he said.

In addition to addressing increased alcohol abuse, the discussion will also focus on heroin use and heroin abuse throughout the central Pennsylvania region.

"What concerns me is not necessarily the use of heroin, but what people do to buy more heroin," Lunsford said

He cited problems connected to heroin usage such as theft and drunken driving as the issues that concern him most about the lengths that people will go to in order to come by the highly addictive narcotic.

The meetings will feature Conrad, Pennsylvania Bureau of Narcotics Agent Scott Merrill and Michael Madeira, Pennsylvania Bureau of Narcotics deputy attorney general.

The selected speakers will disucss issues ranging from drug abuse -- including heroin usage -- to alcohol abuse and all the associated and related crimes.