Pubdate: Fri, 23 Mar 2007
Source: Record, The (Stockton, CA)
Copyright: 2007 The Record
Contact:  http://www.recordnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/428
Author: Dana M. Nichols
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH RAISING WORRIES IN LODE

Mokelumne Hill Residents Say It's Causing Crime Spike

MOKELUMNE HILL - Many of the buildings here date to the 1850s, '60s 
and '70s, but the crime is pure 2007, locals say.

More than 100 residents crowded into the Mokelumne Town Hall (built 
in 1875) this week to discuss what they say is a plague of 
methamphetamine use and dealing. One after another, neighbors told of 
finding homes and cars burglarized.

"There have been lots of minor thefts from my yard," said Pamela 
Hill, a well known quilt maker who lives here. "The window of my 
Dodge Caravan was shot out."

Hill, like others here, said she was slow to realize the severity of 
the problem. At first, she assumed the damage was simply the result 
of pranks by children.

But neighbors of the historic Mokelumne Hill Protestant Cemetery say 
that drug dealing there is open and blatant.

"I saw a green SUV go to the cemetery. Two minutes later, I saw 
Tweaker Joe (someone she suspects of drug dealing) go to the 
cemetery," said Melinda Ervin, 53, whose Center Street home is across 
the street from the cemetery.

A neighbor of the Ervins who asked that her name not be used said she 
was physically assaulted by the same suspected drug dealer.

Ervin and her husband, Ken Ervin, 54, said even worse than the 
dealing in the cemetery is when it happens close to their home - 
bringing cars, motorcycles, moving vans and other vehicles past their 
front window at all hours of the day and night, they said.

The Mokelumne Hill Cemetery District, which with the fire district 
makes up the only formal government specifically for this 
unincorporated hamlet, recently sent a letter to the Calaveras County 
Board of Supervisors asking for help to boot the druggies out of the cemetery.

County authorities are already responding, with the Calaveras County 
Sheriff's Department this week installing a phone line so it can 
establish a new substation using space in the Mokelumne Hill Fire 
Station. Sheriff Dennis Downum told those at the meeting that his 
agency recently landed a grant that allowed it to form a unit 
dedicated specifically to methamphetamine-related crime.

But everyone involved says that police action alone won't solve the problem.

"Their call volume is massive throughout this county," said Calaveras 
County Supervisor Steve Wilensky, who represents Mokelumne Hill. 
"There will never be enough sheriffs to do the entire job. It takes 
the community."

With that in mind, Wilensky organized the meeting at the Mokelumne 
Hill Town Hall to connect residents with code enforcement officers, a 
Neighborhood Watch organizer and others who can help residents find 
ways to drive meth businesses out of the town.

Todd Barr, Calaveras County's supervising code compliance officer, 
told those at the meeting that rules banning everything from illegal 
dog kennels and substandard electrical wiring to camping in abandoned 
vehicles can and have been used to close down meth houses here.

"We can investigate that and keep your name out of it," Barr said.

It may be more shocking here because of Mokelumne Hill's reputation 
as a haven for artists and historic preservation, but the meth plague 
rocking this town is the same one infecting other Calaveras 
communities, authorities say.

They say ultimately they need to pressure or persuade drug users to 
get into rehab and clean up. That's difficult right now because the 
county's jail is so small that nonviolent criminals are immediately 
released to make room for people awaiting trial on murder, rape and 
robbery charges.

If drug users knew they would be locked up if they failed to stick 
with their court-ordered rehab programs, more of them would succeed, 
said Jeanne Boyce, director of the county's Health Services Agency. 
"We need a new jail," Boyce said.

[Sidebar]

Fighting meth

Calaveras County residents can combat methamphetamine use and dealing by:

1) Reporting drug dealing to the Sheriff's Department. Call 911.

2) Making written code compliance complaints about abandoned 
vehicles, illegal kennels (four or more dogs) and building code 
violations. Find forms and contact numbers online at 
www.co.calaveras.ca.us/ departments/compliance.asp

3) Getting treatment help for drug abusers. Call (209) 754-6555 or 
online at www.co.calaveras.ca.us/ departments/alcohol.asp

4) Establishing a neighborhood watch group. For assistance from the 
sheriff's Crime Prevention Unit, call (209) 772-2919 Tuesday through 
Saturday or (209) 754-6500 Monday through Friday.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman