Springville city residents had a chance to voice their concerns in a recent survey, and officials were surprised to learn drug use is a major concern in the city.

"The fact that they expressed that as their major concern surprised me a little bit," he said.

In response to the survey, Mangum said he decided to research the problem in the city among its youth. Mangum said many residents believe Springville has a bigger drug problem than other cities in the county, but statistics have shown that high school drug use has actually decreased among the city's youth.

In a survey conducted by the Utah County Health Department, officials found that drug use among Springville high school and junior high school students decreased between 2005 and 2007. Alcohol use by 12th-graders dropped from 10 percent to about 5 percent, while marijuana use dropped from almost 7 percent to about 1 percent. The use of sedatives all but disappeared in the same group, down from 5 percent.

Pat Bird, prevention manager for the Utah County Health Department, said nearly 4,000 students in sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grade were surveyed about drug and alcohol use. Bird said Springville's decline in drug use among youth corresponds with numbers across the county, but no city is perfect.

"We all have areas we can work on," he said. "Every community has things they can work on."

Mangum said any drug use is a concern in the city, but Springville's problem is the same or better than those that other cities in the county face.

"We certainly recognize we've got a problem," he said. "But assuming that's never going to go away, we try to keep it at a dull roar, and we think we've done a pretty good job of that."

Mangum said the city focuses on the problem from both sides, emphasizing enforcement and prevention. Several youth programs are in place in the city to give teens something to do, rather than turning to drugs.

"We keep adding to our youth programs constantly," he said.

The perception that Springville has higher drug use may stem from heroin deaths in the late 1990s, he said. Some people may also have their own perception of the problem because of their experiences or those of family members. Bird said the county and its cities have worked hard to change the perception and attack the problem with different youth-oriented programs.

The county has established the EASY (Eliminate Alcohol Sales to Youth) program to combat underage drinking, which Bird said he believes has made a big impact on drug use. Alcohol can often be a gateway drug to more serious illegal substances.

"That's our No. 1 thing that we address here in the county with our underage youth, is alcohol," he said.

Bird said the perception the community has about drug use is important because it can affect reality. If a person believes his or her community does not frequently abuse drugs, that perception could help a person stay away from drugs.

"If they perceive their peers to be using, they're more apt to make that unhealthy choice as well," he said.

Bird said the county will be starting a pilot program in Springville that will involve community members in creating programs to fight drugs. These programs are best created on the community level, and Bird said Springville was an ideal city to try them out.

"Springville's more proactive than other communities," he said.

Lieutenant Dave Caron, of the Springville Police Department, said he believes Springville's drug use has declined because of the city's attitude toward the problem. Officers are aggressive in tracking drug users, keeping their names, addresses and cars they drive in a book of current users and distributors.

"We take a real serious, no-nonsense attitude about drug use here, and we address it aggressively," he said.

While usage may have declined, Caron said every instance of drug abuse is important to officers, and any declines are not taken for granted.

"If you have anybody in your community who's addicted to drugs, you've got a drug problem," he said.