Pubdate: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 Source: Garden City Telegram (KS) Copyright: 2004 The Garden City Telegram Contact: http://www.gctelegram.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1476 Author: Kathy Hanks SHERIFF: TASK FORCE MAKES A DIFFERENCE TRIBUNE - Greeley County Sheriff Brad Clark knows his limits. With a shortage of county funding, there are things he can't accomplish with a skeleton staff of two officers. But, thanks to a drug task force that involves five counties in northwest Kansas, the war against drugs is being waged in Greeley County. Drug Task Force Coordinator Doug Murphy works out of the Colby Police Department, but stays busy traveling from Tribune, Sharon Springs, Oakley, Colby and Goodland following leads on possible drug crimes. In the past three years participating in the task force, Clark said, drug traffickers have been arrested in his county. Murphy works with the sheriff and police in Thomas, Logan, Sherman, Wallace and Greeley counties. The head of each agency - the five county sheriffs and three police chiefs - sit on the board of the task force. "My function is to bring this all together," Murphy said. "I coordinate the drug investigations working closely with the KBI. Then I share the information and resources. Alone, the counties wouldn't have the time or the energy to do this." Murphy said the work is possible through a four-year grant administered through the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' office and funded through the Bureau of Justice Administration. The 2003-04 budget is about $77,000. Over the four-year period, participating counties have had to pitch in financially to support the program. The first year, local agencies contributed 25 percent, the second year 30 percent, this year 50 percent and next year, they will need to contribute 75 percent to stay in the program. Greeley County Attorney Wade Dixon said he appreciates what the task force is able to accomplish locally. "This has been effective because of the geographic and configuration of the county," Dixon said. He said Greeley County contributes $4,000 to the program, $2,000 from the city of Tribune and $2,000 from the county's diversion fund. But continuing funding could be a problem. "I don't think the money is there to fund that program," said Greeley County Commissioner Marj Hornbaker, of the county paying for next year's participation. Next year will be the final year of the grant, and comments such as Hornbaker's have Murphy concerned about whether funding will be available. "It is going to be harder for the agencies to come up with 75 percent," Murphy said. "The additional money might not be there with county budget cutbacks and the state holding on to the demand transfers. Then, there is the normal increase of the cost of doing business. It might be hard to keep it going with local funds." Funding or not, the program has worked. "When we began in 2001, two methamphetamine labs were busted by the KBI in the five-county area," Murphy said. "By 2003, there have been 20-plus labs busted." At the state level, Murphy said, meth use has become an epidemic, with the crime spreading over the state border from Missouri where he said the problem is one of the worst in the nation. "Prior to 2001, before the task force was formed, drug investigations were left to the individual agencies. But, it's very time- and resource-consuming," Murphy said. "They had to do that in addition to everything else." Murphy said that even in Greeley County, with the smallest population in Kansas, there is drug trafficking and the problem of methamphetamine production and use is increasing. "There is always something going on," Murphy said. Murphy traveled to Tribune Monday with Wallace County Sheriff Larry Townsend. Townsend and Clark often work together. Their county lines are no longer borders. "After one or two uses of meth, a person becomes a lifetime addict," Townsend said. "Most of those cooking meth are in their 40s, and they're selling it to our kids." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman