STOMPING OUT METH

Winner-Sponsored Senate Bill Shows New York Ready to Get Tough On
Crime.

To read more about the methamphetamine crisis in the Twin Tiers, go to
www.stargazette.com, click on "News Extras," then "Drugs in the Tiers."

Criminals, stay away.

The message reverberated with thunder Tuesday when the New York State
Senate gave sweeping approval to two bills that toughen state
penalties against methamphetamine producers.

Not only did the Senate act decisively, the state Assembly is putting
together its own package of bills aimed at fighting the meth battle.

The concern, of course, is whether politics will keep lawmakers from
reaching consensus on the differing bills at a time when they need to
work together to strike down what has become a criminal epidemic.

Meth abuse - and the production that ignites this deadly cycle -
strikes too close to home. The State Investigations Commission reports
that 193 meth labs were broken up in a five-year period from 1999 to
2004, including 53 in Chemung and Tioga counties.

The spread of meth labs doesn't confine itself within state borders,
affecting the quality of life in once-tranquil communities throughout
the Twin Tiers while putting law enforcement officers at risk.
Bradford County residents sting when others call their community "Meth
Valley" for the labs that have sprung up through the years.

The consequences resonated with all of us when two Bradford County
sheriff's deputies, Christopher M. Burgert and Michael A. VanKuren,
were shot to death March 31, 2004, while trying to serve warrants on
Dustin F. Briggs and April Harris in Wells Township. Harris' warrant
was meth-related. Briggs now awaits trial on the murder charges.

Pennsylvania lawmakers didn't hesitate to toughen penalties against
those who manufacture the deadly drug. New York lawmakers now can do
the same.

Senate actions Tuesday reflect a statewide understanding of a problem
that goes beyond our upstate counties:

A bill sponsored by state Sen. George H. Winner Jr., R-Elmira, makes
it a felony crime to operate a meth lab in residential neighborhoods.
It passed 58-0.

A bill sponsored by state Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, would
increase penalties for people who operate a meth lab. It passed 57-1.

Passage of both Senate bills cut across partisan lines and showed the
urgency of punishing meth manufacturers, who profit llegally with no
regard to life.

It's time for the illegal drugmakers and dealers to pay. Senate action
Tuesday was an important step to cleansing both sides of the border.