WILLIAMSON -- "We have declared war on drug dealers and no case will be too small for our attention," Mingo County Prosecuting Attorney C. Michael Sparks said in the wake of the Grand Jury's return of a record-setting 69 felony drug indictments. Fifty-nine of the felony drug indictments returned to Chief Circuit Judge Michael Thornsbury Thursday were sealed and suspects have yet to be taken into custody for arraignment on felony drug charges. Besides those true bills, 10 other felony drug indictments are among 22 unsealed indictments contained in the grand jury's report. [continues 1109 words]
Drug Courts One Option In Reducing Prison Overcrowding FAIRMONT -- As in many other states, the prison population in West Virginia is increasing quickly. Although violent crimes are on the decline, the population of West Virginia's prisons is quickly outgrowing the capacity of the state's facilities, according to Joe Thornton, deputy secretary of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, which is the agency that oversees the Division of Corrections. Currently the state has room for 5,000 prisoners in state prisons. However, there are now 6,200 inmates who have been sentenced to terms in state prisons, Thornton said. That means there are 1,200 prisoners who should be confined to state prisons but are instead sitting in regional jails awaiting transfer to prisons when a bed opens up. [continues 906 words]
CHEYENNE - Methamphetamine-related arrests in Laramie County have decreased every year since 2006. The most dramatic drop came last year, when meth-related bookings dropped 52 percent in the county. Some have attributed it to increased law enforcement efforts, along with education and prevention through coalitions and local and state government. But authorities warn that the drug of choice could be shifting in the state to prescription drugs. [end]
Editor: In your editorial, "Cages: Reduce Incarceration," [Jan. 6] you missed an important reason why America abuses its prison system. The United States overzealously cages humans because the prison industry and its unions and lobbyists have worked hard to create a financial gravy train for their own interests, regardless of how it affects the country. While America is in dire need of credible drug law reform, the prison industry spends huge sums to perpetuate the problem at the cost of America's wellbeing. Grotesque conflicts of interest occur when America has private prisons operating for profit. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - For people grappling with substance abuse, basic health care can be fraught with worry: over-the-counter cough medicine can have relapse-triggering amounts of alcohol, and visits to the dentist are hazardous if they include narcotic painkillers. A new outpatient clinic at the University of Charleston, likely the first of its kind in the state, hopes to make those anxious decisions easier when it opens later this month. The vision for the free clinic is a one-stop information center for patients and practitioners, where issues like medication side effects and appropriate pain treatment for recovering addicts can be addressed. [continues 699 words]
Shamefully, America is the world's largest stockade, with more than 2 million Americans locked in prison and jail cells. Per capita, this nation confines six times more of its citizens than Canada does, eight times more than France does, and 12 times more than Japan does. Shamefully, America is the world's largest stockade, with more than 2 million Americans locked in prison and jail cells. Per capita, this nation confines six times more of its citizens than Canada does, eight times more than France does, and 12 times more than Japan does. [continues 447 words]
Lawyers for Metro 911 filed a motion in federal court Tuesday to intervene in a case over random drug testing of school employees, saying that an unsuccessful outcome could limit the emergency operation center's own policy that allows random drug tests. Kanawha Commission President Kent Carper knows there are differences between the existing Metro 911 policy and the Kanawha County schools policy, which is on hold until a legal battle works through the courts. "Each agency ...has different policies. But ours isn't proposed. Ours is in effect right this minute," Carper said. "At the end of the day, the final ruling will affect our policy." [continues 213 words]
HUNTINGTON -- Cabell County will start its adult drug court within weeks, making it one five new drug courts set to open this year in West Virginia, according to the county's Chief Probation Officer Johnny Winkler. The program is funded through state Supreme Court of Appeals. Cabell County's program will target felony offenders whose nonviolent crimes are committed to fuel a drug addiction. For some candidates, the opportunity will be the only alternative to prison. Winkler said repeated arrests and past problems will rule them ineligible for other programs. He hopes drug court provides a structured lifestyle and an opportunity for changed lives. [continues 466 words]
Want To Drug Test Employees? Make It Known From The Start A federal judge in Charleston this week granted an injunction filed by a teachers union to stop the Kanawha County school board from starting a random drug testing program for teachers. Judge Joseph Goodwin said it was his opinion that it violated the Fourth Amendment rights of those teachers. Not that we agree, but if that is the case, then a better solution would be one that is instituted by many employers, and will be followed by many more in the future. [continues 198 words]
Schools' Policy, Similar To County's, Blocked By Judge CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Officials at the Kanawha County courthouse may suspend random drug testing pending the outcome of a federal court challenge. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin issued a temporary injunction to stop the Kanawha County school board from conducting random drug tests of teachers and other school employees. Lawyers for the state's two teachers unions and representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the drug testing policy, saying it violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. [continues 281 words]
Kanawha Board Presented Weak Case, Judge Says Kanawha County teachers and other school employees will not be randomly tested for drugs beginning later this week, a federal judge ruled Monday. CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Kanawha County teachers and other school employees will not be randomly tested for drugs beginning later this week, a federal judge ruled Monday. Chief U.S. District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin said lawyers for the Kanawha school board did not provide any evidence to show the county school system has a pervasive drug problem or give a strong reason why he should override school employees' civil liberties. [continues 771 words]
CHARLESTON -- A federal judge on Monday stopped the Kanawha County school system from implementing a new drug testing policy, saying it would force teachers to submit to an unconstitutional and unjustified search. U.S. District Judge Robert Goodwin granted a temporary injunction sought by the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia, which argued that the policy was illegal and unnecessary. The policy would have allowed random drug testing of 25 percent of Kanawha County's school employees, including teachers, each year. The Kanawha County Board of Education approved the policy in October and planned to implement it Jan. 1. [continues 280 words]
Charleston, W.Va. -- A federal judge today halted a West Virginia school district's plans to randomly test its teachers for drug use. Nearly all school employees were to be tested under the Kanahwa County School Board's policy, which is similar to a Western North Carolina school system's policy that is also being challenged in court. The American Civil Liberties Union, which sued along with the state teachers' association to stop the West Virginia policy, said a U.S. District Court judge suspended the policy pending a final ruling. [continues 134 words]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A federal judge halted the Kanawha County school system's plan to randomly drug test teachers. U.S. District Judge Joseph Robert Goodwin said the drug testing plan would force teachers to submit to an unconstitutional and unjustified search. He also gave a scathing rebuke of the policy and the school board that approved it. Goodwin said the Kanawha school system's plan to randomly test 25 percent of its teachers and other school personnel each year was made even though it does not appear that there is a pervasive drug problem in the county. [continues 328 words]
A federal judge in West Virginia on Monday dealt a legal setback to random drug testing of teachers, which is also being challenged in a Western North Carolina school system. U.S. District Judge Robert Goodwin granted a temporary injunction sought by a teachers' union preventing the Kanawha County, W.Va., school system from implementing a new drug policy Jan. 1. Goodwin said random testing would force teachers to submit to an unconstitutional and unjustified search. He rejected the school board's argument that the policy was needed because teachers hold safety-sensitive jobs, a stance also taken by the Graham County, N.C., school board. The judge questioned why the Kanawha board didn't also test teachers for tropical diseases. [continues 239 words]
Those who drive to school or participate in certain activities could be tested. RIPLEY - The Board of Education in Jackson County is trying to do its part to keep young adults from abusing drugs. In September, the board budgeted $25,000 for random drug testing. Students in competitive athletic or academic activities or those who drive and park on school grounds are subject to a test. The results are not reported to law enforcement but parents are notified and given information about treatment options. "Its another way the board is taking what we think is proactive action to try to combat the problem of drugs in our county," said Jackson County Schools Superintendent Blaine Hess. Hess won't say if any students have tested positive so far. [end]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Fayette County school board members voted unanimously Monday to support the Kanawha County Board of Education in its bid to randomly drug test teachers and other employees. Fayette board members want to be known as friends of the Kanawha school board in its upcoming federal court case, according to a letter signed by Fayette school board President David Arritt. He addressed the letter to Kanawha school board President Becky Jordon. Kanawha school board member Pete Thaw discussed the letter at a meeting Thursday night. [continues 312 words]
Teachers and their unions could better use their money to work with school board officials to develop a reasonable drug-testing program that assures the public that school employees are drug free. Two West Virginia teachers unions are suing the Kanawha County Board of Education over its plan to randomly drug test school employees. What a fiasco. The West Virginia Education Association, with support from the American Civil Liberties Union, has joined the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia in arguing that the school board's policy would violate employees' rights, waste tax dollars and not improve student safety. [continues 332 words]
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia's largest teachers union has filed a lawsuit challenging random employee drug testing of Kanawha County school employees. The West Virginia Education Association and the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit Friday in Kanawha Circuit Court. A similar lawsuit was filed late last month by another union, the American Federation of Teachers-West Virginia. The WVEA argues that the school board's policy violates employees' rights and is a waste of taxpayer dollars that will not improve student safety. School board member Pete Thaw, the most vocal advocate of random drug testing, said he had expected the WVEA to intervene. [end]
West Virginia is not the only state grappling with overcrowded prisons. Throughout the nation, states facing budget shortfalls are pursuing alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. A study conducted by the RAND Corporation found that every additional dollar invested in substance abuse treatment saves taxpayers $7.48 in societal costs. There is far more at stake than tax dollars. The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose out, but society as a whole does, too. Incarcerating non-violent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior. [continues 85 words]
Inside West Virginia
