Pubdate: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 Source: Topeka Capital-Journal (KS) Copyright: 2000 The Topeka Capital-Journal Contact: 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, Kansas 66607 Website: http://cjonline.com/ YEP, WE'RE WATCHING A former city clerk in Scranton is arrested for allegedly manufacturing methamphetamine in her home. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper inspects a suspicious tanker truck near Goddard that turns out to be carrying 3,400 pounds of marijuana -- a record $2.3 million bust for the patrol. And in Wamego, just west of Topeka, federal authorities have been dismantling what is claimed to be one of the largest LSD manufacturing sites in the world, in a former Cold War missile silo. For law-abiding citizens naively going about their day-to-day business and living their lives by the rules, the drug world seems to be from another planet. But the above incidents are dramatic reminders that illegal drugs are all around us: tucked inside the truck in the next lane, hidden in the house down the street -- or disguised as a spring-making factory in a silo just outside of town. But at least in Kansas, you can run but you can't hide -- for long. People talk. Neighbors pay attention. Questions get asked. What may seem like a remote place to an outsider may actually be a conspicuous part of a close-knit community. It seems things will always be this way. As long as people are sad or foolish enough to seek out the other world in our midst, then someone will be supplying the ticket. Our burden, then, will be eternal vigilance. People who take drugs might think it's no big deal. That it's their business. Sorry, but when drug dealers are disturbing the calm night air of a peaceful rural Kansas community, it's everybody's business. And more than that, it's a crime. It's a crime what they're doing to our communities, and it's a crime what they're doing to our kids. The peaceful folks of Kansas are under no illusions now that the drug dealers aren't constantly in our midst. Likewise, the dealers had better not be under the illusion that they're not being watched. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry F