METH MAKES INROADS IN FOX VALLEY

Police say it started as a routine traffic stop. The officer, a
Manitowoc County Sheriff's deputy, found a half-ounce of a stimulant
called methamphetamine in a vehicle he pulled over Aug. 26 in rural
Manitowoc County.

Later, officers executed search warrants on homes in Two Rivers and
the Town of Chilton and found two sites where the drug, known as
meth, was being manufactured.

In northeastern Wisconsin, discoveries like this are becoming more common.

Authorities say they are seizing more meth and more of the volatile
labs used to produce the drug than they ever have before.

While much of the drug activity has been confined to rural counties
in the southwestern and northwestern parts of the state, the drug is
becoming more common in the Fox Valley area.

"It's out there, it's increasing and it's a very dangerous drug,"
said Bob Sloey, director of operations for the Wisconsin Division of
Narcotics Enforcement.

Sloey said the increase is illustrated by tallies of seized samples
processed by the State Crime Lab.

If police continue to seize the drug at the current rate, the lab
will process 160 samples this year, twice what it processed last year.

"It's becoming the drug of choice, particularly in rural Wisconsin,"
Sloey said.

Sloey said states that border Wisconsin, especially Iowa, Minnesota
and Illinois, have more meth activity.

Last year, Iowa police busted more than 530 meth labs, compared to 30
labs seized by Wisconsin officers.

"We should feel very fortunate compared to other states," Sloey said.
"We don't compare to our neighbor states yet, but there has been an
increase in the presence of meth and the presence of meth labs."

In Wisconsin, Sloey said meth use and production appear to be most
common in counties near the state's border.

Last year, the state lab processed two batches of meth from Brown
County and one sample each from Outagamie, Winnebago and Door
counties.

In the first six months of this year, the lab processed four samples
from Outagamie County, six samples from Winnebago County, two samples
from Brown County and three samples from Fond du Lac County.

The recent discovery of a meth lab in Calumet County is the first of
its kind in recent memory, said Dean Schenk, an investigator with the
Calumet County Sheriff's Department.

The Calumet County District Attorney's office is investigating the
case and plans to file charges sometime this week.

"In Calumet County, this is something we take very seriously," Schenk said.

He said the drug is concerning. "It's a highly addictive drug,"
Schenk said. "One of the dangers is the manufacturing process. They
use things like ammonia, chemicals containing heavy metals and
starting fluid."

The labs can produce fires, explosions and dangerous fumes.

Meth can be snorted, injected or smoked. The drug's high lasts for
hours o far longer than cocaine's effects. Users come off the drug
hard.

"When they come off, there are violent mood swings," Schenk said.
"They come off in a very hard, abrupt way."

Sloey said the drug can prompt people to stay up for days. Users can
become paranoid, delusional and violent.

Sgt. Roger Price, project director of the Lake Winnebago Area
Metropolitan Enforcement Group, a regional undercover drug police
squad, said that in the Fox Valley, marijuana and cocaine are still
more prevalent. But, he said his office has witnessed a steady
increase in meth activity over the past few years.

"I think we will be seeing more and more of it," Price said.