PARKERSBURG - Schools in Wood County are eligible to receive more than $20,000 in security systems this year as part of the federal Safe & Drug-Free Schools program. Dianne Boggess, coordinator of the Wood County Safe & Drug-Free Schools program, said schools may apply for the federal funds until March 1 to purchase camera systems, metal detectors and communications systems to help them better monitor and secure their facilities. This is the sixth year the federal funds have been available for area schools and $20,512.51 has been allocated for the equipment purchases. [continues 382 words]
MARIETTA -- Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks has made drug enforcement a top priority during his first week in office, creating a narcotics bureau at the office and meeting with other agencies in hopes of developing a multi-jurisdictional drug task force. Mincks said drug abuse continues to be a concern in Washington County not only because of the health risks associated with drug use, but because drugs lead to other crimes such as theft and abuse. Mincks said he has assigned four deputies to work narcotics cases full time as part of the newly created narcotics bureau. [continues 405 words]
PARKERSBURG - After 20 years of daring kids to say no to drugs, the Parkersburg Police Department now wants to teach area youth to be G.R.E.A.T. Chief Robert Newell said the department will discontinue its D.A.R.E. program in favor of the G.R.E.A.T. program. Newell plans to propose the change to the Wood County Board of Education during a 6:30 p.m. Monday board meeting at Gihon School. "He is going to come and do a presentation of what was available," said Sue Woodward, director of school improvement and public relations. [continues 380 words]
VIENNA - The message was clear to students at Jackson Junior High School Wednesday: Drugs are not welcome. Two classrooms and a gym locker room were searched Wednesday by the Vienna Police Department's drug-sniffing dog, King, during a lockdown at the school. The dog found no drugs, but did smell something in one of the gym lockers, which police believe may have contained a faint smell of narcotics. The locker was not assigned to a student and was unlocked, said police. [continues 459 words]
Parkersburg -- About a dozen people marched in downtown Parkersburg Saturday carrying pro-medical-marijuana signs and chanting "The joy is not the point - - it's the medicine." The round-trip march from Point Park to the federal building on Juliana Street was the culmination of the second annual Mountaineers for Medical Cannabis Rally at Point Park Saturday. Speakers at the event discussed the uses of medical marijuana and chastised politicians and pharmaceutical companies they believe are standing in the way of legalizing the treatment. [continues 315 words]
WILLIAMSTOWN - Law enforcement officers conducting a drug sweep Wednesday morning at Williamstown High School had three "possible hits" by their canine partners, but no drugs were found and no arrests were made, said Williamstown Police Chief John Burdette. Burdette said the search was the result of information his department has obtained during the past few months from students at the high school. "They confirmed what we already knew, that there's a small percentage of students trafficking in marijuana at the high school," Burdette said. [continues 603 words]
EDITOR'S NOTE: The real name of the former methamphetamine addict interviewed for this story has not been used at his request, out of respect for his privacy and for his own safety. He will be referred to as John Doe in the article. PARKERSBURG - An addiction to methamphetamine nearly cost a 31-year-old Parkersburg man his life. Friends turned their backs on him, he surrounded himself with others hooked on the dangerous, highly addictive drug, alienated his family, lost his girlfriend, lost his job, was unable to eat, lost weight, went for days without sleeping and then crashed, sleeping for days on end. [continues 1058 words]
PARKERSBURG - After months of debate, the Wood County Board of Education quietly passed a revised version of the district's employee drug policy Tuesday evening. The board voted 4-0 in favor of accepting the fifth revision of Wood County Schools' Drug-Free Workplace Policy. Board member Harley Bailey was absent due to illness. No discussion was held on the revised policy Tuesday night. Board members have debated the wording of the policy and how strict the penalties should be for an employee bringing drugs onto school grounds. [continues 713 words]
Should all junior high and high school students involved in extracurricular activities be drug tested, as permitted by law and held constitutional by the Supreme Court? Calhoun County schools will become the third district in the state - joining Logan and Braxton county schools - to begin a drug-testing program on Feb. 1 of all students participating in extracurricular activities, such as sports teams, bands, choral groups, academic teams, clubs, etc. The law maintains education is a right that cannot easily be denied, but participation in extracurricular activities is a privilege that can be withheld for violation of school policies, including drug usage. [continues 628 words]
MOUNT ZION - While practice may make perfect, staying drug free will now be required to keep Calhoun County extra-curricular students involved in their activities. The Calhoun County Board of Education Monday unanimously passed the "Student Activity Drug Testing Policy." It subjects "activity" students to random drug tests and imposes penalties upon any student who tests positive or refuses to submit to the policy "It will happen; we will test," Superintendent Ron Blankenship said. "I think you (students) need to be positive about it. Take it from a positive standpoint. If you're going to represent the county in any activity, you have to understand you're going to be held to a higher standard." [continues 699 words]
In the last few days there have been two reports in The News and Sentinel about charges being filed in relation to illegal meth labs. At first glance it might appear that our local law enforcement is on top of the illegal drug situation and we should feel reassured. Wrong. In both cases, according to the articles, the meth labs were discovered because of highly stupid mistakes by the meth makers themselves, which caused fires. The waste haulers in one case and the firefighters in the other essentially presented the evidence to local law enforcement on a platter. It remains to be seen whether any actual punishment will occur. The reality is that there have been five local fatalities in a fairly short period, as a result of drug overdoses. There have been two near fatalities. Incidents of unreported near-misses and unknown brain damage are undoubtedly far more numerous. There has been essentially no public awareness, only an occasional obituary about a 22-year-old who died. Or a 25-year-old. Or a 20-year-old. Nor has there been any major impact on the daily routines of the people who are supplying the drugs, obviously. It's long overdue. George Roe, Vienna [end]
The penalty should fit the crime, according to the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects those convicted of a criminal offense from facing cruel or unusual punishment. There are many rights afforded to those accused of a crime and even more established to protect people who are convicted. Such measures form the backbone of this country's legal system, one that is in place to ensure innocent parties are not wrongly prosecuted. This is one of the reasons America is known as the Land of the Free. [continues 615 words]
PARKERSBURG - Alternate arrangements were made Wednesday so a march and rally for legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses won't conflict with the family-oriented "Parkersburg Through the Looking Glass" event on Saturday. The Mountaineers for Medical Cannabis was planning a rally at Bicentennial Plaza from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the same time of the day-long downtown Through the Looking Glass promotion organized by the Parkersburg-Wood County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau has been planning the event for several months, and Wednesday was the first time anyone with the agency had heard of the medical marijuana rally. [continues 713 words]
MARIETTA - A multi-jurisdictional drug task force proposed by the Washington County Sheriff's Office won't become a reality in the near future. Belpre officials said they could not contribute because the cost of hiring an officer to replace the one that would have gone to the task force would be too great when coupled with expenses for equipment and operating funds, said police Chief Ira Walker. "It's not that we don't wish to; it's just that we can't afford to," Walker said. "Our first obligation is to cover the streets and protect the citizens. When I cut one loose to go to the task force, that takes one off the streets." [continues 452 words]
PARKERSBURG - The shadow of methamphetamine obscures the public's view of other deadly drugs, but their presence in the area is just as strong, local officials said Monday. Last week, Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force agents, S.W.A.T. team members and other officers raided a crack house on Spring Street, reminding area residents that meth isn't the only drug in town. Typically, meth lab raids dominate the headlines and newscasts, but crack cocaine, powdered cocaine and heroin haven't gone away, said Parkersburg police Chief Robert Newell. [continues 585 words]
With funding from a state grant, Marietta Municipal Court Judge Milt Nuzum hopes to start a program using the ''drug court'' concept by the end of February. In 2002, Nuzum applied for funding to create a drug court program in Marietta. On Wednesday, Nuzum said he received notification that a Byrne Memorial Grant from the state has been approved to start the program in Marietta. Nuzum made the announcement during a press conference attended by Lucille Fleming, director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol Drug Addiction Services; state Rep. Nancy Hollister, R-Marietta; Marietta Mayor Joe Matthews and Sheriff Robert Schlicher. All expressed support for the drug court program in Marietta. [continues 650 words]
Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley hopes to make enhancement and expansion of drug statutes relating to West Virginia's growing methamphetamine problem a priority with this year's legislators. Conley, who is coordinating her legislative efforts with the West Virginia Prosecutor's Institute and West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association, has contacted leaders in the House of Delegates and Senate with proposed legislative changes. Law regarding the manufacture of meth is broad and not distinguished from the manufacture of controlled substances, such as marijuana, Conley said. [continues 555 words]
The father of Bryan Paul Causey, who died Dec. 18 after being shot by a member of the Parkersburg Violent Crimes and Narcotics Task Force following a controlled drug buy, has contacted an attorney regarding his son's death. Larue Causey of St. Albans declined to name his attorney. He said he wants to learn the truth about the circumstances surrounding his son's death. "I will know," Larue Causey said. "I will find out exactly what happened before it's over with. [continues 463 words]
Effectiveness of area task force causes meth makers to flee to other parts of W.Va. Up until recently, the problem with methamphetamines had been largely one faced in Wood County. However, in recent months more of meth labs began popping up in many other areas of the state, leaving law enforcement agencies to wonder why something that had been largely confined here was spreading. Then these officers realized the answer: The Parkersburg Violent Crimes and Narcotics Task Force. This special unit made up of officers from various law enforcement agencies in Wood County - The Wood County Sheriff's Office, the Parkersburg Police Department and the Vienna Police Department - has become so aggressive and so successful in fighting meth labs, many of these people were going elsewhere. "The meth problem is growing in the state, but Parkersburg has put a cap on it," Southern District U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner said recently. Warner, was one of the speakers at last week's conference on the growing meth problem in West Virginia. [continues 321 words]
Methamphetamine is becoming the drug of choice for West Virginia users. Officials said the state's problem started in Wood County, where a federal task force devotes much of its time to driving the deadly drug out of the area. The danger of methamphetamine was the topic of discussion Wednesday at a conference held at West Virginia State Police headquarters in Charleston. The purpose of the conference was to alert the public of a problem that some officials say is beginning to look more like an epidemic. Meth is a drug made from household chemicals and is cooked in crude labs that often are volatile. The drug also is called crank, speed and crystal meth. [continues 681 words]
