HEAD OF CRITICIZED ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM RESIGNS POSITION

Sturgill says police made progress in Eastern Kentucky

LONDON, Ky. - The head of an Appalachian anti-drug program is resigning at
the end of the month, about six months after a report criticized the
program's ability to get law enforcement agencies to cooperate.

Roy Sturgill, executive director of the Appalachia High-Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area, told its executive board Thursday that he would step down
on June 30.

Sturgill, 55, became head of the program in August 1998. The program, with
a $6million budget, reaches into three states and includes 26 Eastern
Kentucky counties. During Sturgill's tenure, police agencies in the area
reported seizing millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs and hundreds of
weapons.

But federal authorities also found the program had fallen short on a key
goal: bringing federal, state and local police together in a unified attack
on drug traffickers.

The 2002 review by the Office of National Drug Control Policy said police
agencies in the region had not cooperated or shared information as they
should, and that local police had seen little money from the program.

In an interview yesterday, Sturgill said he is leaving to spend time with
his family. "I've got grandkids coming," said Sturgill, who took the job
two days after retiring from a 27-year career with Kentucky State Police.

Sturgill acknowledged that fighting Eastern Kentucky's drug trade can
sometimes be frustrating but said the anti-drug program is getting stronger.

"There's not enough law enforcement to handle everything that's out there,"
he said. But "these agencies are working together."

Sturgill said he doesn't dispute the report, to which he contributed. "They
found a lot of positive things, too," Sturgill said.

Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of
Kentucky and vice chairman of the agency's executive board, said it was
Sturgill's decision to leave.

The Appalachia program, one of about 30 such programs in the country, was
formed in 1998 because the region is one of the nation's top marijuana
producers.

The program has since added three counties and added trafficking in
prescription pills and other drugs to its focus.

Van Tatenhove said the board should find a new executive director by the
end of the year.