Pubdate: Sun, 12 Feb 2006 Source: Star-Gazette (NY) Copyright: 2006sStar-Gazette Contact: http://www.stargazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1005 Author: Jeff Murray Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) SURGE IN METH ACTIVITY LIKELY Officials from Towanda to Bath know it's just a matter of time before problem rises. The methamphetamine problem is abating in some parts of the Twin Tiers and has yet to materialize in others. But law enforcement officials are still bracing for a wave of meth activity. One Pennsylvania state trooper said "it's just a matter of time before we find (meth labs) everywhere." And a New York state trooper said one message he heard at a national training session was that "if you don't have a problem, you will have." So far, the focal point of meth activity in the region has been Pennsylvania's Bradford County. The severity of the problem was thrust into the headlines when two sheriff's deputies were gunned down almost two years ago. Dustin F. Briggs, the Wells Township man convicted last week in the murders of deputies Michael A. VanKuren and Christopher M. Burgert in March 2004, was suspected of being involved in meth production. "(The death of the deputies) certainly made everyone take notice of the new drug and that there are serious, tragic consequences associated with that drug," Bradford County Sheriff Steve Evans said. All the attention didn't slow meth production in Bradford County, Evans said, but he said it made manufacturers sneakier. "When federal authorities came in last year and indicted a number of Bradford County meth makers, it added to an already paranoid sector," Evans said. Meth production and use has popped up elsewhere in the Twin Tiers, but the drug hasn't been as big a problem as expected, law enforcement officials said. The investigation of the deputies' killings and the recent Briggs trial might have had a lot to do with that, Elmira Police Chief W. Scott Drake III said. "It's quieted down. I have my own ideas about why that is," Drake said. "The deaths of the two deputies brought it right to the forefront. There was a lot of talk, a lot of education. We let people know how dangerous this is. "It's life-and-death stuff, what it can do to families. A lot of people shied away from it." New legislation that makes it harder for people to secure many of the materials needed for meth production also has helped, Drake said. Meth production hasn't become a major problem in Steuben County yet, but that might be because smaller meth labs can be hard to track, Sheriff Richard Tweddell said. "Meth right now in Steuben County is not really the drug of choice. We're doing cocaine, crack, marijuana and heroin," Tweddell said. "Right now, I would assume meth is below those other four. "I'm sure there's a lot of meth around here, but it's all small quantities just manufactured in the kitchen sink. (But) we have gotten intelligence of larger operations in the county." Cocaine and heroin are prevalent in Bradford County as well, Evans said. "It's not surprising," Evans said. "Heavy meth users are turning to other drugs to boost their high to the original meth high. It's a pretty common phenomenon." If the methamphetamine problem hasn't hit the Southern Tier hard yet, it will, said state police Sgt. Art Cady of the Horseheads barracks, a member of the state police emergency response team that cleans up meth labs. He recently returned from training where he met officers from all over the country. "It seems to have leveled off. I don't know if that means the problem is getting better or we're simply not finding the labs we used to find," Cady said. "A lot of the law enforcement people I met from the West and Midwest, they indicated if you don't have a problem, you will have. It's turned entire communities out there upside down. They tell me it's going to get worse before it gets better." Cpl. Scott Heatley of the Pennsylvania state police agrees. Heatley handles similar duties to Cady in the Northern Tier, primarily in Tioga and Lycoming counties. Methamphetamine is not a big concern in Tioga County yet, but it's inevitable, Heatley said. "To the best of my knowledge, we haven't responded to any labs in Tioga. (But) the potential for a meth lab problem is there in every county in Pennsylvania," he said. "From a law enforcement standpoint, it's just a matter of time before we find them everywhere. It just takes one person to move into an area who knows how to make it." Another concern for local law enforcement officials is sufficient funding and manpower to stay on top of meth production. Most police agencies with limited resources rely heavily on state and federal grants to help fund overtime and equipment, and President Bush's proposed federal budget targets some of those grant programs for cuts. The Chemung County Sheriff's Department is already spread thin while five new recruits go through the police academy, Sheriff Christopher Moss said. The department wouldn't have the manpower to adequately address the meth problem without those grants, Moss said. Combating the meth problem was a top issue for Moss during last year's election campaign, and it remains one of his priorities. "I think we definitely have to take it serious," Moss said. "Whether it's meth or crack, users end up committing other crimes - burglaries, larcenies, motor vehicle thefts. They are trying to support a drug habit." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman