NEW COMMISSION TO BATTLE DRUG, ALCOHOL ABUSE

The El Paso County Commissioners Court and the El Paso County Sheriff's
Department entered an agreement to create a commission for prevention of
drug and alcohol abuse funded by state and federal drug forfeiture funds
Monday.

The county created a five-member commission, bylaws, a drug- prevention
fund and program, and authorized the county judge to sign an agreement to
receive state and federal funds from the Sheriff's Department.

The county judge's office is entitled to 10 percent of state drug
forfeiture funds and 15 percent of federal drug forfeiture funds, said El
Paso County Sheriff Leo Samaniego. "But they have to have a commission with
bylaws before we can legally hand over any money."

Samaniego said the interesting thing about the overall program is that it
is attacking the drug problem from a different angle.

"This will involve the whole family with counselors and professional people
that know what they are doing," he said.

County Judge Dolores Briones said the commission and the programs are a
part of her Strong Families, Strong Future initiative.

"This is putting the money where it is needed," she said. "It costs more to
keep a youngster in the juvenile detention center than it does an adult in
the jail for one night."

County Commissioner Dan Haggerty, who voted against the item, said the
planning for the program's funding is too vague.

"I like the program. I don't like the funding issue," he said. "What I
don't like is we're forming a commission that has budgetary authority, but
nobody could tell me how much money this is going to bring in. They said it
depends, so they could have $100,000 this year and next year it could be
nothing."

Samaniego said it's unknown exactly how much money will be given to the
county because it depends on how much money the Sheriff's Department seizes
for the year and if it has to be divided with other law-enforcement
entities who assisted. "Last year we had almost a million," he said.