GULFPORT --The seizure of 500 plants that looked like marijuana in Harrison County in 2003 did not violate the land-user's civil rights, the 5th Court of Appeals has ruled. The decision upholds a federal judge's dismissal of Marion "Bucky" Waltman's civil lawsuit against former Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. The ruling was filed Thursday. The crop was kenaf planted as deer food on land leased by the Boarhog Hunting Club. Waltman planted the crop based on research at Mississippi State University. The research concluded that kenaf, used to make paper, could also attract deer and provide larger hunting trophies. [continues 380 words]
Arrest Numbers Relatively Low, but Higher Profile Statistics show a large increase in the number of Mississippi law enforcement officers who have crossed the line and turned to the wrong side of the law. Since July, at least 17 officers statewide have been arrested on criminal charges. There have been five arrests in South Mississippi since 2000. The numbers are enough to raise this question: Have cops gone wild? Not at all, said law enforcement officials and consultants, who say the number of recent arrests is small considering the state has more than 10,000 sworn officers. [continues 1813 words]
Deer Food Plant Fooled Sheriff Payne, Others, But Court Finds No Liability For What It Considers A Reasonable, Prudent Decision GULFPORT - Marion Waltman's 2003 kenaf crop flourished until it was mistaken for marijuana. But it was an honest mistake, according to a federal judge who dismissed a civil lawsuit Waltman filed against Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. granted Payne immunity and dismissed claims that the sheriff violated Waltman's rights by destroying more than 500 kenaf plants grown as deer food. [continues 417 words]
Understanding Teens Is Aim Of Event Can parents of teenagers avoid becoming control freaks or wimps and find a middle ground? Yes, according to John Rosemond, a child psychologist and nationally syndicated newspaper columnist who will tell parents how during a community rally Thursday night in Long Beach. The Long Beach Substance Abuse Task Force presents Rosemond in a free program at the University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park campus. The 7 p.m. address is in the AEC Auditorium. [continues 318 words]
Chief: Officer's Breach Of Public Trust Affects All Biloxi police officers, stunned by a co-worker's arrest on Ecstasy charges, will keep their chins up and hope they're not judged for his alleged mistake, said Police Chief Bruce Dunagan. The arrest Thursday of K-9 Officer Darrell D. Cvitanovich Jr. casts a cloud of suspicion not only on the Biloxi Police Department, but on law enforcement officers nationwide, said Dunagan. News of the 14-year officer's arrest came while police officials from around the state were in Biloxi for a training conference of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police. Part of the training involved professional standards and discipline of officers who fall short. [continues 508 words]
BILOXI - A veteran Biloxi police officer, the son of a former city police chief, is accused of selling Ecstasy and having the illegal drug in his beachfront home. Darrell Cvitanovich Jr., 35, was in custody late Thursday in a protective unit at the Harrison County Adult Detention Center after his arrest. The patrol and K-9 officer has worked at the Biloxi Police Department for more than 10 years. Police officials have placed him on administrative leave, said Capt. Pat Pope, commander of the Coastal Narcotics Enforcement Team. [continues 310 words]
At 29, He Is Slowly Regaining The Life Drugs Stole From Him. "It saved my life," said Charles Rogers III, a former OxyContin addict who credits Drug Court with changing the direction of his life. He is one of five who graduated Friday from Harrison County's first Drug Court program. Though their stories vary, they have some things in common: They're free of substance abuse, they've paid their court fines and they have no felony record. Drug Court's goal is to help defendants conquer drug or alcohol addiction through treatment, intense supervision, frequent drug testing and court appearances. Participants are able to stay out of jail but must work to pay off fines. [continues 366 words]
GULFPORT - Athletes who rip phone books in half, break concrete blocks and lie on a bed of nails amazed Harrison County fifth-graders Friday in a celebration of their 10-week DARE program. County schools bused more than 700 students to Harrison Central High for the program, highlighted by power feats of athletes from Extreme Motivational Communications. Sheriff's Capt. Windy Swetman said he intended the program to be memorable so the children will remember what they learned in weekly DARE classes. [continues 143 words]
Grandmother: Kids Suffered The Most GULFPORT - After their parents' first arrest on methamphetamine charges, four South Mississippi siblings felt safe enough to tell relatives about the horrors of living in a meth-infested home. The children often were home alone while their parents went left to gather ingredients to cook , sell or use meth, their grandmother said. At other times, the home was a party place for drug users and a clandestine lab for cooking the illegal drug. "One time, the kids ate onions and mustard just to keep from going hungry. That's all there was to eat in the house," said June, who asked that her real name not be used. [continues 313 words]
South Mississippi officials say they fear methamphetamine use among teens will reach epidemic proportions if they don't push public awareness of its dangers. Meth users in the six counties primarily are young adults, though narcotics officials say they're starting to see juvenile and teenage users. Just as meth use ran rampant among adults some 20 years ago on the West Coast before interest swept east, officials believe the backlash of popularity among teens also will spread here. A "pre-emptive strike" is needed to lock in kids to safe choices before they get hooked on meth, said Picayune police officer Darby Shelton, a school resource officer. [continues 272 words]
D'IBERVILLE - The case of two women accused of changing clothes to buy about 330 cold tablets shows why the state needs stiffer methamphetamine laws, Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. said. Early Thursday, a call from security officers at the Wal-Mart Supercenter in D'Iberville led to the arrests of two South Alabama women accused of doing that. Wal-Mart is one of several South Mississippi businesses that voluntarily control access to ephedrine or pseudoephedrine because the drug is used illegally to manufacture meth. [continues 303 words]
GULFPORT - Income-based help is available for drug addicts who can't afford help but are willing to receive it. This answers only part of the concerns of a Sun Herald reader, who called the anonymous Sound Off line for information about a drug called "glass." The woman said her daughter is addicted to it and needs help, but the family doesn't have medical insurance. "Glass" is another name for methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant made illegally. Meth also is called "chalk," "speed," "crystal," "ice" and "tina." [continues 285 words]
Awareness key to containment The U.S. Justice Department lists these as possible indicators of a methamphetamine lab or other clandestine chemical lab: Strong smell of urine or unusual chemical smells such as ether, ammonia or acetone. Bottles or jars with rubber tubing attached. A large amount of cold tablet containers with ingredients of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine. A large number of cans of camping fuel, paint thinner, acetone, starter fluid, lye and drain cleaners containing sulfuric acid or bottles containing muriatic acid. [continues 600 words]
GULFPORT - A hunting club's complaint involving plants destroyed by narcotics officers may be heard in federal court in November. Marian Waltman of the Boarhog Hunting Club is seeking compensation from Harrison County Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. and his department for damages from a Sept. 8, 2003, raid off Herman Ladner Road where authorities destroyed 500 plants on property leased by the club. After the raid, Payne said the plants were believed to be marijuana. Payne later said his deputies were only assisting agents assigned to a federal drug enforcement team. [continues 124 words]
GULFPORT - The U.S. Justice Department has awarded the Harrison County Sheriff's Department $162,321 to combat methamphetamine. Sheriff George H. Payne Jr. said the grant will pay for training, equipment, overtime and an aggressive community outreach campaign. The timing, he said, is critical. "Our methamphetamine arrests are increasing each year. We've had more than 100 meth arrests this year," said Payne. "Our last three officer-involved shootings were meth-related, which shows the extreme dangers of meth use and manufacturing." [continues 124 words]
GULFPORT - Students who are turned off by adults' warnings about substance abuse may be more likely to listen to warnings from their peers. This concept provides the strategy for TiP, a youth-driven prevention program that the Drug Enforcement Administration has launched in three states. If the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport has its way, the nonprofit service organization will become the first in Mississippi to help start a TiP chapter. TiP, or Teens in Prevention, is a community-supported network of school-based organizations that provides DEA training for teens and turns them loose to influence classmates and younger students. [continues 324 words]
LONG BEACH - Drug deaths in Harrison County The Harrison County Coroner's Office reports 20 drug-related deaths January through Oct. 11, compared to 37 fatal overdoses in 2003 and 46 in 2002. The number of drug-related deaths this year by area: Gulfport: 11 Harrison County: 4 Long Beach: 2 Biloxi: 2 Pass Christian: 1 In a bedroom community, word of drug overdoses and related problems travels fast and hits hard - especially when news spreads of a fatal overdose and even more so when it claims the life of a young adult. [continues 1302 words]
GULFPORT - By the numbers The state Bureau of Narcotics reports the following on methamphetamine cases since 2001: 1,200: Number of meth labs raided. 265: Number of children removed from homes with meth labs. A 3-year-old removed from a home with a methamphetamine lab in North Mississippi tests positive for meth. A hallucinating meth addict in Arizona sets his girlfriend's daughter on fire. Another in Texas decapitates his 15-year-old son. Both addicts believed the children were evil or Satan incarnate, investigators said. [continues 449 words]
GULFPORT - The pieces of the puzzle to prevent youth behavior problems and substance abuse may already be available in Harrison County. Putting those pieces together is a goal of community leaders who completed training Wednesday for Communities That Care, a countywide coalition. The training marks the start of efforts to use science and research to develop intervention and prevention measures, said Fred Walker, chairman of the Long Beach Substance Abuse Task Force. "We're wishing we had done this 10 years ago," said Walker, whose group has received $39,000 in grants to implement CTC. [continues 282 words]
Oxycontin Maker Gives L.B. Task Force Money For New Effort LONG BEACH - A $25,000 grant to the Long Beach Substance Abuse Task Force creates a safety net for Harrison County's children, officials at a news conference said Wednesday. The grant from Purdue Pharma, a drug manufacturing company, will pay to launch Communities That Care, a research-based community development program that aims to reduce problem behaviors, including substance abuse, among children. Harrison County is one of only 10 communities nationwide selected for the grant. The news was announced at the USM-Gulf Park campus. [continues 272 words]
