U.S. CHOOSES S.L. FOR PILOT METH PROJECT

Program aims to combine forces of all meth-fighters

Salt Lake City has been selected as one of eight cities to serve as a model
for the federal government's methamphetamine pilot project.

U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno announced the project earlier this week in
San Diego.

Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney for Utah, said the goal
of the program is to get all of the groups fighting the meth problem in
Utah to work as one large unit.

"With more coalition-building, more things can be accomplished," said
Rydalch.

Salt Lake was not necessarily picked for the project because of a rampant
meth problem, said Rydalch, but because the city is already a leader in
fighting the drug.

Don Mendrala, resident agent-in-charge for the Salt Lake office of the Drug
Enforcement Administration, said getting all the groups to cooperate
shouldn't be a problem. He said police, prosecutors, lawmakers and other
groups already have a good working relationship.

"The cooperation we have here is second to none," said Mendrala.

Mendrala said the end-of-year statistics should show a 15 percent drop in
the number of meth labs in Utah this year, the first drop in about five
years.

Mendrala credited tougher laws against meth dealers and more pro-active
police work for reducing the number of meth labs.

Even though Salt Lake was selected for the special program, Rydalch said
Reno isn't sure yet if the Justice Department will provide any money for
the initiative.

The Department of Justice is hoping Salt Lake can share the secrets of its
success with the rest of the nation, said Rydalch.

The state, said Rydalch, is also considering a meth summit for all the
communities of Utah to make sure the problem isn't simply being pushed out
of Salt Lake and into the rural areas.

The other cities selected as model cities by the Department of Justice
include Des Moines, Iowa; Tulsa, Okla.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Omaha, Neb.;
Sacramento, Calif.; and Honolulu.