NEW DIRECTOR HAS FULL-TIME JOB

FRANKLIN - In his first day on the job as the county's new full-time
emergency management director, Bradley Clements worked overtime Monday
night organizing a team to dismantle a methamphetamine lab sheriff's
deputies discovered that afternoon.

"It's very explosive," Clements said of the chemicals used to create the
illegal drug.

In fact, the state requires special training before public safety officials
can dismantle a meth operation.

At about 3 p.m. Monday, sheriff's deputies discovered the lab at 1699 Witt
Road in the county while investigating a burglary.

Deputies arrested Ben House, age unavailable, 1699 Witt Road, and Jeremy
Yadon, age unavailable, 302 Liberty St., and charged both men with
first-degree trafficking in methamphetamine, having anhydrous ammonia not
in a proper container and manufacturing methamphetamine, Simpson County
Sheriff Joe Palma said.

Because the ingredients to make meth are by themselves legal and easily
available, meth labs have popped up all over the state.

In agricultural communities such as Simpson County, where anhydrous ammonia
is used in farming applications, law enforcement authorities frequently are
faced with tracking down anhydrous thieves and getting the volatile
chemical out of the hands of criminals.

The prevalence of anhydrous tanks in Simpson County is just one example of
why the county needs a full-time emergency management director,
Judge-Executive Jim Henderson said.

"You have got to have somebody who has had some training and understands
how to coordinate (a disaster)," Henderson said. "I really felt like it was
important to have somebody who spent 40-plus hours a week getting educated,
trained, planning for the inevitable.

"Something could go wrong and it only takes one major catastrophe."

Clements has been the county's part-time emergency management director for
a little more than a year while he also worked at the Simpson County
Ambulance Service.

As of Monday, Clements will devote all his working time to emergency
management-related duties that will include developing a hazard mitigation
plan in the next year.

"It's a plan that makes your community disaster resistant by spending money
before disasters happen," Clements said.

The plan would address concerns such as low water bridges, tornado shelters
in community parks and outdoor warning systems, he said.

Clements temporarily has moved into an office space in Henderson's office
at the Simpson County Courthouse. He will move into the former sheriff's
office when the sheriff and his staff move to their new office space at the
Simpson County Jail later this summer.