The use of methamphetamine and the theft of its ingredients are becoming more and more frequent in the Panhandle, according to local law enforcement.

Most recently, Kevin Hendricks of Scottsbluff reached a plea agreement based upon the distribution of meth. Albert Vernon Dillon of Mitchell has been handed a federal indictment for possession of a firearm by a known drug dealer among other drug charges relating to the sale of meth. The Western Intelligence and Narcotics Group (WING) Task Force investigated a total of five clandestine narcotic producing labs in the Panhandle in 2001.

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Retailers And Farmers Can Lend Police A Hand In Combating Its Production

Methamphetamine is a growing problem in the Midwest, and the Panhandle and eastern Wyoming are no exception. A front-page article in today's Star-Herald details the problem and what can be done to combat its production.

The drug is made up of stuff that can be purchased at stores, a nasty concoction - including such things as lye, engine starter and anhydrous ammonia - that the drug dealers "cook" to produce the drug.

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While Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady and Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner had the attention of three governing boards, they wanted to drive home a point: Methamphetamine use should be a major concern for the residents of Lincoln and Lancaster County.

Violent crime, including several recent homicides, have been intertwined with meth use, the two told members of the County Board, City Council and Lincoln Board of Education at a joint meeting Friday morning. The rapid increase in thefts from automobiles, with a loss of more than $2 million last year, is linked with the drug. Forgeries - up 33 percent - and frauds - - up 21 percent - are linked.

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Most of the 60 million grandparents in the United States do not realize the important role they play in influencing their grandchildren's lives -- especially when it comes to drugs. According to AARP, grandparents cite drugs, alcohol, and sex as the most difficult topics to discuss with their grandkids.

Grandparents are looking for guidance on how to talk to their grandkids about difficult topics. In fact, according to a recent AARP survey, 54 percent of grandparents would find information about discussing drugs somewhat or very useful. Here are a few strategies for grandparents to keep their grandkids drug free:

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For the past five years, Dawson County road signs marking County Road 420 have disappeared from intersections north of Cozad.

They won't disappear any more, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners decided Tuesday. The board agreed not to put them up again. | There are nine signs on intersections north of Cozad that mark Road 420, Dawson County Commissioner John Knapple said. About 175 of the signs have been stolen since they first went up in 1996, according to the Dawson County Roads Department. It has cost the county about $12,400 to replace them.

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Our beautiful city has much productive commerce, yet I am loath to understand why we have commercial ventures that promote the illegal use of drugs. In the area of 27th and Randolph, a second commercial venture displays the finest glass-blown items, cartoon character bongs and water pipes used for smoking marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine. Arrays of weapons including knives and party bongs are dynamically displayed. It would be instructive for our city leaders to visit this interesting commercial venture.

I question whether this type of commerce fits into the values of this community and what norm promotes the use of these items. Yes, illegal drug use exists. While not outlining the risk factors accompanying access to these items, especially for youths, this is not my community value. My hope is that all residents take a field trip to visit these commercial ventures and that you will take time to think about how such commerce promotes a positive place to live and prosper.

Kate Speck, Lincoln

[end]

A half-dozen times in the past year, fertilizer thieves have risked their eyesight, lungs and lives by illegally tapping into the highly unstable contents of one of the Walton Co-op's approximately 40 anhydrous ammonia tanks.

Andre Hoyt, branch manager of the co-op, and Reed Priess, his boss at the co-op's Greenwood headquarters, assume the towable "torpedo tanks" farmers use to inject super-cooled fertilizer into the soil were hit as recently as two weeks ago by manufacturers of methamphetamine.

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Groups Seek Strategy To Deal With Drug Abuse

With a recent rise in the number of methamphetamine-related crimes in rural areas, 3rd District U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne said, there's hardly a person in Nebraska who's not touched by the problem.

So the Osborne-organized Summit to Combat Methamphetamine, which was on Monday morning in Grand Island, brought together members of more than 20 organizations to help organize a strategy for dealing with the problem.

"Over the years, I've become more and more alarmed on the issue of methamphetamine," Osborne said. "Statistics say that, for every one person addicted to methamphetamine, there are 63 crimes committed. It has a huge consequence for other people, not just those addicted."

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The Nebraska Supreme Court was asked Tuesday to clarify how far police officers can go in asking to enter a home without a search warrant.

The high court heard the case of William D. Tucker of Lincoln, who said he gave police permission to "look around" his apartment and then watched them find drugs after opening drawers and cupboards.

Tucker was sentenced to 15 months to 30 months in prison after police found marijuana, amphetamine, cocaine and drug paraphernalia inside his apartment in 1998.

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Washington - The high esteem in which former Rep. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is held by his colleagues was demonstrated by the 98-1 Senate vote confirming him last month as the newdirector of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Even more telling was the fact that Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and an ardent opponent of the impeachment of President Clinton, appeared at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to praise Hutchinson, who had been one of the Republican House managers presenting the case against Clinton to the full Senate.

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Officers Will Use It While Dismantling Meth Labs

A van described as a "new weapon to add to the arsenal" in the war against methamphetamine in Central Nebraska made its debut appearance in Grand Island Wednesday.

The van that will be stationed in Hall County was not in town.

Rather, its near-identical twin from Omaha appeared for a press conference while the Central Nebraska van was being outfitted with its last few supplies.

Hall County Sheriff Jerry Watson made introductory remarks, noting that the van is another weapon to fight drugs. He said the van is used both to shut down drug labs and collect evidence.

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I would like to personally thank the officers that spent four weeks of their summer with the kids who attended the summer DARE camp. It's a great program and our girls came home sharing things they talked about or learned.

I think the Grand Island Police Department needs a great big hand for the time and research they put into this program. I hope to see it continue in the future.

J. Olsufka

[end]

I am writing this letter in regard to the two who have written to the paper about illegal narcotics regulations being confusing.

No regulations are confusing when it comes to marijuana, meth, crack, any of it.

No prescription drug is at anytime authorized, unless a doctor of medicine fills out a prescription to a pharmacy for any drug to be dispensed to the person, who it's prescribed as a reason for taking it.

People need to stop and realize that illegal narcotics not only hurt one person but destroy families, hurt taxpayers and do any other kind of harm possible.

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Older adults are often overlooked when it comes to addressing the misuse and abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

Even when adult children suspect that a parent is drinking a bit too much, the attitude tends to be either "Why bother to change things now?" or "A little alcohol won't hurt, and it may make the days a little kinder for mom or dad." Denying or dismissing this problem is an unfortunate response to an otherwise treatable problem.

"The truth is alcohol and other drug abuse among older people leads to great physical and emotional deterioration and deprives them of the chance to enjoy their later years," said Carol Colleran, director of Older Adult Services at Hanley-Hazelden Center at St. Mary's in West Palm Beach, Fla.

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This letter is in response to the letter from Mr. Bill Custer that appeared in the July 21 edition of the Grand Island Independent.

In his letter Mr. Custer states that drugs are not a "harmless addiction." Addiction by its very nature is not harmless regardless of the substance. The problem is that our current drug policies don't make the distinction between hard drugs and soft drugs, nor do they distinguish between use and abuse.

Drug laws need to say one of three things. 1) That all recreational drugs are fundamentally bad (alcohol tobacco and Viagra, too) and should be banned. 2) That all recreational drugs are not fundamentally bad and should not be regulated. 3) The rational approach would be to say that all drugs should be studied scientifically and regulated according to how addictive or dangerous they are. Our current policies are confusing at best and contradict each other at worst.

It seems odd that so many people have difficulty making the distinction between use and abuse with soft drugs such as marijuana, yet they have no problem making that distinction with alcohol even if they do not drink themselves.

Jim Barrick Valencia, Calif.

[end]

Contrary to Cheryl Bicknase's puritanical views God did create opium, cocaine, marijuana and many other drug plants for man's use. The Bible says so (Genesis, 1: 29) -- "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food."

Ms. Bicknase cannot cite a single scripture supporting drug prohibition. Indeed, condemning the drug plants God has made is considered to be blasphemy by the Bible. (Leviticus 24: 16) Nowhere in the Old or New Testament is a ban on drug use to be found because drugs are gifts from God.

Redford Givens San Francisco

[end]

It is interesting to note how much out-of-state flak Matt Well is receiving from his recommendation that stiffer penalties be given for drug users. It is evident that the people who live the good life in Nebraska don't have a problem with his suggestion. They have already discovered that a life well - -lived has meaning and purpose, and when faced with challenges they refuse to succumb to drugs or alcohol to give them the fleeting illusion of well-being.

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I am writing this in response to the July 12 letter called "We need harsher penalties for those who do drugs."

Mr. Wells seems to have a very close-minded opinion of drugs, and uses this personal opinion to promote harsher laws on drug users. It's depressing to think of all the people who are arrested every day because they decided to smoke a joint, or drop some acid. It's not necessarily good for them, but neither is it any of our business to tell them what to ingest.

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OMAHA - There is not enough evidence to criminally prosecute three Scottsbluff police officers for alleged brutality, according to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation.

In April, the Criminal Civil Rights Division investigated Ramon Villa-Velazquez's claims that the officers mistreated him during an arrest last spring, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Wellman said. The Mexican native had written the department to complain about the incident.

The Mexican government joined Hispanic community leaders on July 7 in calling for a criminal investigation. They wanted the U.S. government to determine if there has been a pattern of officers mistreating Hispanics in Scottsbluff, a western Nebraska city of 14,700.

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