LEXINGTON -- Kentucky's methamphetamine problem will continue to grow unless the battle is intensified at the local level, state and federal officials said Wednesday. "All of the federal resources we receive are a huge help in our continuing fight against methamphetamine," said Steve Pence, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. "But we also have to have state law enforcement and local sheriff's offices and police departments and even the residents in high-intensity communities participate at increasing levels if we really want to get a handle on this." [continues 708 words]
Troops Help With Surveillance Ever since methamphetamine began to exhibit signs of an epidemic in western Kentucky in the late 1990s, the Daviess County Sheriff's Department has taken an aggressive stance against the proliferation. A prime tool in the county's fight against meth during the past three years has been cooperation with specially trained Kentucky National Guardsmen, according to Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain. The full-time guardsmen are part of the Joint Support Operations unit, which commonly assists law enforcement authorities in wiping out marijuana patches in eastern Kentucky. [continues 578 words]
FRANKFORT -- The Kentucky Democratic Party's new chairman, Jerry Johnson, was fined and put on probation 20 years ago after being convicted of cocaine possession. Gov. Paul Patton named Johnson to the post last week. Johnson had worked in the governor's office since 1995. A spokesman for Patton's office said Monday that the governor was aware of the conviction before he brought Johnson into the governor's office staff at the outset of his administration. "Jerry has been forthcoming about this from the beginning. We reviewed the record of this case and discussed it with him before he was hired in 1995," said Denis Fleming, general counsel for Patton. "Though this was a serious conviction, the governor believes strongly in giving a person a second chance. Jerry had paid his debt to society, and the governor was convinced he could make a contribution to his administration." [continues 367 words]
Daviess Owed $460,000 On Inmates A combination of state budget problems and an unusually high inmate population is being blamed for a major financial shortfall affecting more than half of the jails in Kentucky. The Department of Corrections recorded a shortfall in the account which compensates the 69 Kentucky jails that incarcerate "state" inmates, said Lisa Carnahan, the department's communication director. A state inmate is a prisoner convicted and sentenced for a felony crime. The state pays county jails $27.51 each day to house those inmates. [continues 546 words]
Usually, Terry Gabbert isn't hounded by wide-eyed autograph seekers, but the Owensboro Police Department sergeant found himself signing at least 100 autographs Thursday at the "Just Say No" rally. The event attracted about 2,000 fourth- and fifth-graders from Owensboro, Daviess County and Owensboro Catholic schools who participated in a parade, then gathered at the Sportscenter to watch the drug-free motivational band "Street Heat" from Louisville. The students wore T-shirts made especially for the event and were encouraged to have them signed by friends and others in attendance in order to commemorate the day. [continues 324 words]
Drug deals. Break-ins. Prostitution. These crimes may occur in any neighborhood at any time. But Owensboro's neighborhood advisory boards are finding a new ally in ridding their communities of these unwanted activities: the Street Crimes Unit of the Owensboro Police Department. "We can tell a difference," said Myrna Dillow, secretary of the Southeast Alliance, the city's newest neighborhood advisory board. "Our neighborhood is quieter since we've been working with them." Sgt. David Thompson and the five other men -- Scott Norris, Brock Peterson, Mark Powers, Anthony Meadows and Jeff Burnett -- who make up the special OPD unit have been spreading the word to the neighborhood groups that their success depends in large part upon communication with residents. [continues 583 words]
Since its inception in 1983 by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has become the signature project in teaching kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. The program -- taught in more than 80 percent of the country's school districts -- not only serves as a prevention tool, but it also helps boost self-esteem and shows children that law enforcement officers are friendly and approachable. Locally, dedicated officers at the Owensboro police and Daviess County sheriff's departments put their hearts into seeing that kids don't stray from the right path. Their commitment and dedication are unquestionable and should be commended. [continues 385 words]
Regarding the recent headline "Teens have few drug rehab options; Even for adults, services in Owensboro are limited." And why do they have few options? Teens will be our leaders -- mayor, commissioners and possibly president. It seems that the city and county leaders can only see the riverfront, the RiverPark Center and the all important Greenbelt Park. These are luxuries that are used by a few of the population. Children should come first. According to our local paper, we are way up there in meth, Ecstasy, and other drugs. Of course, it's not just the children, it is a large part our local population and rehab, and education is important to everyone. [continues 157 words]
No significant changes have occurred in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education efforts of city and county law enforcement officers despite a report last year in which the national program acknowledged the need to change some procedures. School officials and police remain dedicated to the program and are confident of its effectiveness in thwarting children from experimenting with illegal substances while also allowing children to get to know officers as friendly and approachable people. A change is expected in the curriculum in the fall of 2003, said Daviess County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Wedding, one of the department's two D.A.R.E. officers. [continues 586 words]
The war on drugs has brought with it unintended casualties -- the most glaring being more lives are ruined than are changed. The effort to take a hard stance against drugs was -- and still is -- well intended, but the movement placed a premium on incarceration while virtually ignoring treatment. Almost every person arrested on drug charges eventually gets out of jail, and based on the high recidivism rates for drug offenders, many return to their past actions. When treatment is an option, the drug problem is addressed at its root. When incarceration is the only alternative, the inevitable is merely delayed. [continues 398 words]
A common complaint of crime fighting -- from arrest to prosecution -- is that the process is reactive rather than proactive. The reactive nature of the business is understandable considering the volume of cases and the demands placed on often-understaffed police departments and prosecutor's offices. But simply arresting and prosecuting criminals only continues a cycle. It's the proactive approaches to law enforcement that truly make a difference -- attacking the root of a community's problems, not just the offshoot. Though oftentimes overlooked, this proactive approach is one that local law enforcement continues to use with success. [continues 378 words]
Candidate Profiles: Muhlenberg Co. Sheriff The two men seeking the Democratic nod for Muhlenberg County sheriff agree that getting rid of drugs is the top priority for the office. Jerry Mayhugh of Central City, who has been sheriff since 1993, and Jeffery Keeton of Greenville, a former deputy sheriff, say they want to tackle the county's problem with drugs, particularly methamphetamine. Mayhugh is seeking his third term. "This time, I don't mind telling you I'm running on my record," he said. Mayhugh said his office has stepped up such efforts and has increased meth- and marijuana-eradication training for deputies. [continues 330 words]
Daviess County families struggling to get an adolescent child off a drug or alcohol problem must seek help from outside the region, according to area chemical dependency professionals. The closest detoxification or rehabilitation services for anyone under the age of 18 are in Evansville, Louisville and Nashville. Adults have inpatient and outpatient options at two locations in Owensboro: RiverValley Behavioral Health at 1100 Walnut St., or Owensboro Mercy Health System. The two locations offer a total of 18 inpatient beds and a variety of outpatient services such as day treatment and group counseling. The total client population that participate in the outpatient services fluctuates, but was about 20 people this week, representatives of the two facilities said. [continues 645 words]
OWENSBORO, Ky. -- Four boxes of cold medicine and a suspicious store clerk put Suzett Calloway back behind bars. Wanted for murder after her son died as a result of a meth lab explosion, Calloway had fled Georgia. She eluded police for several days, until she walked up to a check-out counter at a Wal-Mart in western Kentucky with four boxes of Sudafed. The sales clerk, on the lookout for customers buying ingredients that could be used to make meth, urged a Wal-Mart security guard to follow Calloway. After a stop for more Sudafed at a second retailer, Calloway was arrested. [continues 830 words]
SOMERSET -- Sam Catron was 4 years old when three thugs armed with a shotgun pulled up in front of his family's home and shot his father, the city's police chief. His father survived for seven years until one of the shotgun pellets that had lodged near his heart shifted, killing him. The experience drove the young Catron into law enforcement himself and shaped his cautious approach to life, which included wearing a bulletproof vest wherever he went. "I asked him once why he never got married," says friend Charlotte Davis. "He would never get married as long as he was in law enforcement. He said he never wanted a woman to go through what his mother had gone through." [continues 649 words]
No matter where you live, what high school you go to, or who you hang out with, you hear about it in the halls, you see it, or you even know someone affected by it. There's no escaping it. As my classmates get older, "partying" seems to become more and more popular. Kids you wouldn't even imagine are smoking pot and getting drunk every weekend in the basement with their unsuspecting parents right upstairs. These kids are making good grades, are involved in extracurricular activities, and therefore, their parents have no reason to suspect anything. [continues 711 words]
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kent Wicker sounded a warning last summer when he said that the battle against methamphetamine was making progress in the areas of enforcement and education but was a failure in terms of treatment. Options are limited, Wicker said, and available treatment opportunities have not been terribly successful. His comments weren't meant to be a knock on the local treatment community, but rather an admission that treatment is the one area that often gets overlooked as a community struggles to get a hold on its drug problem. [continues 374 words]
An estimated 75 to 80 percent of all the cases that Judge Henry Griffin sees in circuit court are connected to drug and alcohol abuse. And many offenders could benefit from a long-term residential treatment program. But Owensboro lacks adequate treatment facilities for adults and adolescents addicted to drugs and alcohol, officials say. So last week, several met to try to correct that problem. "It needs to be lifted up and given some priority, because it is probably the most serious social problem in this area at this time," Griffin said. "It is growing and not getting better." [continues 614 words]
For six months Robby Evans visited temporary employment agencies in Owensboro hoping to be hired for a job. Each time he would complete a job application but was never approached with an offer because, he believes, of his participation with Daviess County Drug Court. The name of the program conjures negative images that frighten many employers from taking the risk of hiring the applicant. But drug court represents a strictly monitored group who are more reliable than many other applicants, said Daviess Circuit Judge Tom Castlen, who oversees the program. [continues 868 words]
EVANSVILLE -- With tears in her eyes, Denise Quintanilla begged the judge to spare her a life sentence in prison. "You know, this is my life, and I pray that the Lord's guiding you, you know. I'm scared," the 33-year-old mother of three told U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young. Married to an imprisoned drug lord, Quintanilla was convicted last fall of trafficking in methamphetamines, helping to funnel drugs worth $250,000 from Texas into southern Indiana. [continues 833 words]
