Pubdate: Fri, 08 Aug 2003
Source: Daily News (KY)
Copyright: 2003 News Publishing LLC
Contact:  http://www.bgdailynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1218
Author: Scott Sisco

AGENCIES TEAM UP TO FIGHT BARREN'S DRUG PROBLEM

Jeff Scruggs retired from the Kentucky State Police on Aug. 1 after 29
years, but he wasn't finished fighting the drug problem in Barren County.
Scruggs was named director of a newly formed drug task force that will use
help from Cave City Police, Glasgow Police and the Barren County Sheriff's
departments.

Before the task force, all three agencies may have been working on the same
case and not know it, Scruggs said.

"It was not really efficiently using the manpower available," he said.

The first goal of the task force is to bring the agencies together and to
share information to make the process of catching drug offenders more
efficient.

"It started as an idea and it turned into a reality," Scruggs said.

Barren County Sheriff Barney Jones came to Judge-Executive Davie Greer soon
after she took office in January to discuss the idea of the task force. The
two sat down to develop a budget for the task force for a year and sent the
budget to U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis' office to try to find some funding.

"We're going to be very conservative with our money spending," Greer said.

The task force received a grant of $227,492, including $31,873 from the
three governments involved as matching funds.

"We're not looking at a lot for each one," Greer said.

Barren County has a drug problem similar to the other counties in the
region, Jones said. Now in his fourth term, Jones knows the trends in his
county as far as the popular drugs.

"It got to the point where I didn't think we were doing a good job within
our department," he said. "It had gotten larger than we could handle."

Methamphetamine use has increased along with other drugs.

"I've kind of wondered what's next," Jones said. "Who ever thought five or
10 years ago we'd have had the problem we have as far as meth is concerned?"

When Warren County formed its drug task force, Jones was at the meeting.
"The timing wasn't right to start one here," he said.

Each department will assign a full-time officer to the task force. They will
all report directly to Scruggs.

Cave City Mayor Bob Hunt said the task force is a great opportunity for the
police agencies to combat the drug problem in Barren County.

"I think the end results are going to be great for the whole county," he
said.

Hunt's constituents ask him two things when they see him on the street: what
he is going to do about the old buildings and the drug problem, he said.

Methamphetamine is a big problem in Barren County, much like many other
county in the region, but it's not the only drug problem.

"The task force is not going to be the total answer to the drug problem in
Barren County," Scruggs said. "The task force is going to be performing as
an investigation and covert operation."

Scruggs said his unit will go after the middle and top dealers to try to dry
up the lower level dealers.

"That's a tall order," he said.

Scruggs said he first heard about the task force when Jones talked about it
in a meeting about a year ago.

"He's been real active in trying to see that this thing gets off the
ground," Scruggs said.

Scruggs is being paid $35,000 a year for the position. He said he could have
made more doing other jobs, but the money wasn't important.

It's going to take all the departments working together to make the task
force successful, Jones said.

"It's not I, it's we are going to work together on this and try to make it
better," he said. "This is where we start."

Repairs to park should be done by Aug. 23

Repairs to storm damage at the marina at Barren River Lake State Resort Park
should be complete the weekend of Aug. 23.

Nearly $1 million in damage was caused to the marina by storms that swept
through Barren County on Monday. More than 500 trees in the park were
damaged or uprooted.

Once reopened, the marina will remain open until the lake is lowered to
winter pool in mid-October.
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