ADAIR COUNTY FIGHTS TO BEAT 'METH CAPITAL OF OKLAHOMA' TAG

STILWELL -- In an effort to stop the flow of methamphetamine in Adair
County, the Sheriff's Office has initiated a campaign to educate its
communities.

When the funds from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to clean up the
costly meth dried up on March 13, Sheriff Charles Hartshorne said he
worried about the future of meth busts in his county.

``It costs $3,000 to clean up a meth lab bust,'' Hartshorne said. ``And,
without the DEA money, it's left to the county to clean it up, and we don't
have the funds to do it.

``People keep moving into these rural areas because they know we are
underfunded and understaffed. We're not going to give up the fight, but we
need help.''

The 27th District Drug Task Force, which includes Cherokee, Adair, Sequoyah
and Wagoner counties, has seized 281 pounds of methamphetamine so far with
a street value of more than $12.5 million.

Adair County has been called the meth capital of Oklahoma.

Phil Bacharach, Gov. Frank Keating's deputy press secretary, said the
governor wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno last week to
free up DEA funds to deal with the meth problems in Oklahoma.

Keating has requested at least $2 million for next year's budget. At this
time, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has depleted its budget
for disposal of the hazardous chemicals, the governor stated.

Meanwhile, Hartshorne and officers from the 27th District Task Force have
been conducting educational visits to nursing homes, schools, fire
departments and anywhere else in Adair County they can find to get the word
out about the deadly, illegal drug.

"We have to work together with the people in the community to solve the
meth problem," Hartshorne said. "We can't do it alone. You need to be on
the lookout for covered or painted windows, portable propane tanks and
suspicious people coming and going at odd hours."

Officers with the 27th District Drug Task Force cover a 2,752-mile area and
raided 132 meth labs last year, more than any other district in the state,
the sheriff said.

"We busted one lab near Stilwell," an undercover officer said. ``And if
we'd had a lethal gas problem from the lab, it would have killed all the
people who live in Stilwell. We were lucky; that didn't happen.

Said Hartshorne: "We're busting these people over and over again before
they even appear in a courtroom.

"We can't afford to keep them in jail because we don't have the funds to
feed them or house them. Hot-check writers are on a higher scale for
prosecution than a meth cook; something needs to change."