article: "Fake cocaine death drug was sold on our streets" is the headline on the front page of the Ballymena Times. The story says that a letter circulated to health professionals across Northern Ireland states that the substance - U47,700 - is available in the Ballymena area. It says the powder has been linked to two deaths in Northern Ireland during November and December 2016, and to three further three cases in December where the user was found unconscious. The letter says some of those who have used it have been sold it as cocaine, while others may have believed it was heroin. The paper also reports that an Ahoghill man who assaulted security staff and police with a walking stick in Ballymena Courthouse is one of the first people in the area to be served with a Violent Offences Prevention Order (VOPO). The Ulster Gazette has the story of the Armagh musician who's been "hand-picked by pop sensation" Ed Sheeran to play on his new album. Brian Finnegan, a flautist and tin whistle player, said he first came to Sheeran's attention after guesting on an album by County Antrim band Beoga. He said Sheeran "invited the band over to his place to get a feel for each other's music. It was a very organic process, hanging out and jamming." Brian plays on four songs on Sheeran's new album Divide. Elsewhere in the paper, the grand-niece of a teenaged soldier killed in the Battle of the Somme tells of her pride that his experiences have been immortalised in a comic book created by three Northern Ireland museums. Helen McComb discovered her great-uncle Tommy Chambers' diary after it had lain undiscovered in an attic for decades. The events of his time as a soldier now feature in the educational comic book For Valour. The problem of vandalism is to the fore in the Coleraine Times. Translink has issued a "perpetrators will be prosecuted" warning due to the activities of a group of teenagers at the town's railways station. Last month the decision was taken to close the station at 19:00 GMT due to their activities. "They are now coming in earlier than 19:00," Translink's David Simpson tells the paper, adding that there can be as many as 40 youths involved and that they age in range from 12 to 20. "What they are doing when they get chased out of Coleraine is going to Ballymoney to try and vandalise it." Meanwhile, the paper says that a spate of vandalism at nearby Portstewart's Diversity Park is "hurting the most vulnerable". Much of the park's apparatus is adapted for children with disabilities. In the latest incident an attempt was made to set fire to one piece of equipment. The Irish Coastguard helicopter crash tragedy in which four crew members are assumed to have lost their lives features in the Down Recorder. Members of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team, who worked closely with the helicopter crew on rescues and training exercises, say they are devastated by what happened. "We had a very close and strong working relationship
summary: Lethal substances, pop sensations, sledgehammer-wielding vandals and online scams feature in Northern Ireland's local papers this week.