SURGE IN METH ACTIVITY LIKELY

Officials from Towanda to Bath know it's just a matter of time before
problem rises.

The methamphetamine problem is abating in some parts of the Twin
Tiers and has yet to materialize in others. But law enforcement
officials are still bracing for a wave of meth activity.

One Pennsylvania state trooper said "it's just a matter of time
before we find (meth labs) everywhere." And a New York state trooper
said one message he heard at a national training session was that "if
you don't have a problem, you will have."

So far, the focal point of meth activity in the region has been
Pennsylvania's Bradford County. The severity of the problem was
thrust into the headlines when two sheriff's deputies were gunned
down almost two years ago.

Dustin F. Briggs, the Wells Township man convicted last week in the
murders of deputies Michael A. VanKuren and Christopher M. Burgert in
March 2004, was suspected of being involved in meth production.

"(The death of the deputies) certainly made everyone take notice of
the new drug and that there are serious, tragic consequences
associated with that drug," Bradford County Sheriff Steve Evans said.

All the attention didn't slow meth production in Bradford County,
Evans said, but he said it made manufacturers sneakier.

"When federal authorities came in last year and indicted a number of
Bradford County meth makers, it added to an already paranoid sector,"
Evans said.

Meth production and use has popped up elsewhere in the Twin Tiers,
but the drug hasn't been as big a problem as expected, law
enforcement officials said.

The investigation of the deputies' killings and the recent Briggs
trial might have had a lot to do with that, Elmira Police Chief W.
Scott Drake III said.

"It's quieted down. I have my own ideas about why that is," Drake
said. "The deaths of the two deputies brought it right to the
forefront. There was a lot of talk, a lot of education. We let people
know how dangerous this is.

"It's life-and-death stuff, what it can do to families. A lot of
people shied away from it."

New legislation that makes it harder for people to secure many of the
materials needed for meth production also has helped, Drake said.

Meth production hasn't become a major problem in Steuben County yet,
but that might be because smaller meth labs can be hard to track,
Sheriff Richard Tweddell said.

"Meth right now in Steuben County is not really the drug of choice.
We're doing cocaine, crack, marijuana and heroin," Tweddell said.
"Right now, I would assume meth is below those other four.

"I'm sure there's a lot of meth around here, but it's all small
quantities just manufactured in the kitchen sink. (But) we have
gotten intelligence of larger operations in the county."

Cocaine and heroin are prevalent in Bradford County as well, Evans said.

"It's not surprising," Evans said. "Heavy meth users are turning to
other drugs to boost their high to the original meth high. It's a
pretty common phenomenon."

If the methamphetamine problem hasn't hit the Southern Tier hard yet,
it will, said state police Sgt. Art Cady of the Horseheads barracks,
a member of the state police emergency response team that cleans up
meth labs. He recently returned from training where he met officers
from all over the country.

"It seems to have leveled off. I don't know if that means the problem
is getting better or we're simply not finding the labs we used to
find," Cady said. "A lot of the law enforcement people I met from the
West and Midwest, they indicated if you don't have a problem, you
will have. It's turned entire communities out there upside down. They
tell me it's going to get worse before it gets better."

Cpl. Scott Heatley of the Pennsylvania state police agrees. Heatley
handles similar duties to Cady in the Northern Tier, primarily in
Tioga and Lycoming counties.

Methamphetamine is not a big concern in Tioga County yet, but it's
inevitable, Heatley said.

"To the best of my knowledge, we haven't responded to any labs in
Tioga. (But) the potential for a meth lab problem is there in every
county in Pennsylvania," he said.

"From a law enforcement standpoint, it's just a matter of time before
we find them everywhere. It just takes one person to move into an
area who knows how to make it."

Another concern for local law enforcement officials is sufficient
funding and manpower to stay on top of meth production.

Most police agencies with limited resources rely heavily on state and
federal grants to help fund overtime and equipment, and President
Bush's proposed federal budget targets some of those grant programs for cuts.

The Chemung County Sheriff's Department is already spread thin while
five new recruits go through the police academy, Sheriff Christopher
Moss said. The department wouldn't have the manpower to adequately
address the meth problem without those grants, Moss said.

Combating the meth problem was a top issue for Moss during last
year's election campaign, and it remains one of his priorities.

"I think we definitely have to take it serious," Moss said. "Whether
it's meth or crack, users end up committing other crimes -
burglaries, larcenies, motor vehicle thefts. They are trying to
support a drug habit."