DURYEA -- A 10-year-old boy found a hypodermic needle recently near his bus stop in Duryea.
Duryea police say it is happening more and more: needles found all over the community.
"We need to be more aware of what's going on for our kids’ sake,” said Maria Cedres of Pittston, whose children play in Duryea.
Police are asking people who find needles to call 911 so an officer can remove it safely and so the locations can be marked down. It's an effort to crack down on heroin and other drug use.
"The one person that I know that it happened to, she did call 911. She didn't want to touch it,” said Peggy Gray of Duryea.
At Duryea Community Park, almost everyone seemed to know about the issue.
Audrey Yager says she regularly looks for them. She was taking a knife to police that was just found in the park.
"I don't know whose bringing them, but I watch for that and I hope that I can help a little bit,” said Yager.
Some youngsters say they even know where to find needles.
"They're in like a back yard sort of on Foote Avenue," said fourth grader Caitlin Strunk of Duryea.
Some parents say the real lesson in all of this is keeping their own kids away from drug use. They're trying to do that the best they can.
"I really feel that it's important to keep kids busy with afterschool activities and sports and things like that, and really keep a close eye on everything they're doing so they don't get involved in things like that. I feel the busier they are, the less likely they will be in trouble,” said Christina Rhodes of Duryea.