Feds Say Outdoor Enforcement Is Driving Operations Inside The Peninsula has sprouted a number of indoor marijuana cultivators in recent years, but this year in particular, indoor pot grows are popping up -- well, like weeds. "Indoor grow operations are absolutely on the rise," said Cmdr. Mark Wyss of the county's Narcotics Task Force. "There's a huge profit in indoor growing for operators, and that's the driving trend." The task force has busted 16 indoor grows so far this year -- and the number could easily rise to twice the amount of indoor marijuana cultivations in 2006. [continues 492 words]
PALATKA - Michael's Message was the topic of conversation Tuesday at Palatka High School. The story is of Michael Paul Tiedmann, a 15-year-old Vero Beach youth who died in 1998 from taking the designer drug gamma hydroxybutyrate. Tiedmann's parents, Debbie and Brad Alumbaugh, told his story to four audiences of PHS students, who sat quietly, many teary. Debbie Alumbaugh said Michael weighed three pounds at birth. She brought him home in a one-piece jumper made for a Cabbage Patch doll. Tuesday, she draped the garment over an enlarged photograph of her son that stood onstage in the PHS commons area. Tiedmann overcame his birth problems to become an honor roll student who was adored by his friends. [continues 637 words]
The use of designer drugs in on the rise among Putnam County's youth, according to school and law enforcement officials. In response, the Putnam County School District is aiming this week to inform its students and the public about the risks of club drugs. Club drugs are those, such as Ecstasy, used by young adults nationwide at all-night parties. That is according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse Web site, www.drugabuse.org. On Monday, District Safe and Drug Free Coordinator Lula Gail Parish said club or designer drug use is on the rise locally. Parish said she based the trend on a conversation she had with Sgt. Greg Burnett of the Putnam County Sheriff's Office. "He has seen increased use in club drugs in the county," she said. This week, the school district is sponsoring a program for students at three Putnam high schools during the school day to raise awareness about club drugs. Then parents and the public are invited to one of three evening seminars on club drugs. [continues 196 words]
