Pubdate: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 Source: Hendersonville Times-News (NC) Copyright: 2006 Hendersonville Newspaper Corporation Contact: http://www.hendersonvillenews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/793 Author: Scott Parrott Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) TASK FORCE DEVELOPS NEW STRATEGIES Methamphetamine use struck the mountains with the force of an epidemic in the late 1990s. The man-made narcotic left few pockets of the community untouched. So the response, it seems, should involve the entire community. Fifteen civic leaders gathered in the Claddagh Inn on Friday to explore ways the presence of the drug could be curbed in Henderson County. The group, called the Henderson County Meth Task Force, included everyone from educators to police officers, social workers to paramedics. They are the people on the front-line of the battle against meth. In the course of six hours, the Task Force hashed out ways in which the drug could be combated. Two challenges emerged as top targets -- teaching the public about meth, and curbing the pattern of child neglect spurred by the drug. "It is a sad situation, because you see kids in these homes who are undergoing severe neglect, like you've never seen with any other drug," said Jane Ferguson, the CEO of Appalachian Counseling. Ferguson said she has seen more and more meth addicts come to the Hendersonville substance abuse and mental health care provider. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake