The Iowa National Guard moves its house-smashing, drug-busting operation north this week after finishing up a project in Keokuk. Guard spokesman Colonel Robert King says they’ll be demolishing drug houses just outside the city limits of Burlington.He says this is the first time in the U-S that a guard unit has done the program outside a city. King says guard specialists will do the work.He says 20 combat engineers from the 224th Engineer Battalion in Fairfield will remove the houses and haul away the debris. King has visited some of the drug houses before they were torn down.He says the houses are eyesores that are used by people who’re making, distributing and using drugs. King says guard members get satisfaction from seeing the reaction of residents when the abandoned homes are removed.He says whole families have gathered and cheered as the old homes were torn down. King says the guard has torn down drug houses in Sioux City and Waterloo along with last week’s effort in Keokuk. The six to eight houses outside Burlington are expected to be removed by Saturday.
