GIBSON CO. MULLS MANDATORY JAIL FOR METH USERS

Dorsie Crawley remembers the heartbreaking Mother's Day she picked up her
newspaper to see a front-page story about her son's arrest on charges of
making metham-phetamine.

It was this Madisonville mother who first turned him in. She said she
turned down the back seat of an antique car in his yard to discover a
rolling meth lab in the trunk, though he wasn't convicted in that case.

Crawley called the drug task force. She recalled telling an agent that she
didn't raise her son that way. His response: "Then, do something."

"I've been at it ever since," Crawley said. "I haven't stopped."

Crawley initiated a resolution seeking mandatory jail time for those found
guilty of the manufacturing, possession and sale of meth. It is being
circulated by the Tennessee Association of County Mayors and will be
considered by the Gibson County Commission on Monday. Thirteen of 95
counties, including Madison County, have approved the resolution. The
resolution asks state lawmakers to pass legislation addressing sentences
for meth.

Perhaps, 30 days in jail might have helped Crawley's son take steps to get
off the drug, she said. He has been arrested twice and convicted once on
meth charges, and has never spent a day in jail for it, she added. She said
he was fined and sentenced to five days, which he never served. Ironically,
he did spend three days in jail for driving on a revoked license.

Meth is "spreading because it's easy to cook," Monroe County Mayor J. Allan
Watson said. "It's so easy to obtain the ingredients. The resolution states
we'd like to see stricter penalties, even for first-time offenders."

Watson gave Crawley's resolution to the Monroe County attorney, who made
some additions to include how bad the meth problem has gotten. The final
draft was given to the state county mayors' group for distribution.

Monroe County has had about six fires resulting from cooking the explosive
drug and one death, Watson said. It destroys families, the resolution states.

Crawley said her son, now 27, once had a job making $17 an hour. He's lost
everything, including his home, wife and two children. He's homeless and
has nothing but the clothes on his back, she said.

He's refused to get rehabilitation, she added.

"This drug consumes you," Crawley said. "It's all you want."

She's since started a Mothers Against Drugs group, which will strive to
help meth addicts get rehab.

"I may not be able to help my son, but I may be able to help somebody
else's child," Crawley said.

Crawley has since moved from the Sweet Water property where her house sat
in front of a mobile home that belonged to her son and his family. She's
been ridiculed and accused of being a bad mother for turning him in. She
explained why she did it.

"If I didn't, he was going to continue to do it," Crawley said. "It was on
my property. They could have condemned my property. It was five foot from
my granddaughter's bedroom."

In other business, the Gibson County Commission will consider resolutions that:

a.. Support state workers' compensation reforms.

a.. Urge state lawmakers to allow counties to operate hot mix asphalt
companies to help decrease the cost of road repairs. Counties are now not
allowed to operate such companies. There presently is a lack of competition
in the industry, which is dominated by a few large companies, according to
the resolution. Counties often get one bid on road projects at an elevated
price, the resolution states.

a.. Support passage of bills that would require the Tennessee Guaranty Fund
to pay claims resulting from the insolvency of Reliance Insurance Company.
Gibson County was a member of a self-insured workers' compensation pool -
called LoGIC - that had used the insurance company. The Guaranty Fund was
established in 1971 to pay "covered claims under certain insurance
policies, to avoid financial loss to claimants or policy holders because of
the insolvency of an insurer..." according to the resolution.

- - Tonya Smith-King, (731) 824-3640

If you go

The Gibson County Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Monday at the Ed Jones
AgriComplex Building, 1252 Manufacturers Row, Trenton.

a.. The commission will consider resolutions including one requiring
mandatory jail time for those convicted of the manufacture, possession and
sale of meth.