The Bush administration's desire to "zero out" money allotted from the Justice Assistance Grant Program could prove damaging to the regional drug task force that serves Raleigh and Fayette counties. TRIDENT coordinator Ronnie Booker said the task force uses that money to pay officers overtime. "If that does happen, it would create more of a financial burden for our parent agencies," Booker said, referring to the Raleigh and Fayette sheriffs' departments, Oak Hill police and National Park Service. "Drug law enforcement can't be done in an eight-hour period," he said. "We have to pay our officers overtime, and if those agencies aren't capable of handling that, then our asset forfeiture will have to do it." [continues 339 words]
Middle Schools in West Virginia may have some new material when fall arrives. Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma is sending out four-page, four-color booklets designed to give students in grades 5-8 information about the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Raleigh County schools have not yet received the material, but it is something that could be beneficial to many students, school nurse coordinator Ann Sammons said. "I would like to see the information first, of course," Sammons said. "But it sounds like it would be something valuable." [continues 317 words]
