SEND ANTI-DRUG MONEY TO DRUG PLAGUED COUNTIES

If you ran the state of Oregon and the federal government gave you $600,000
to stop the flow of drugs through three problem counties, would you:

a) Give each county roughly $200,000 to hire more officers to stop the bad
guys, or

a) Tell the counties to take a hike and use the money to hire a bunch of
bureaucrats to track drug trends?

If you chose b, then you're cut out for a career in Salem. Send your resume
to the state house and wait by the phone.

The three counties in question are Deschutes, Jackson and Marion, and they
have been designated " High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas " by none
other than national Drug Czar Barry McCaffery. Such a designation may not
do much for tourism, but it does have its benefits--in theory, anyway.
Along with the fancy label comes federal money to combat the problem. In
June, the feds told the state to expect a check for $600,000.

Well, the state got the money--and decided to keep it. Five hundred sixty
five thousand, nine hundred and seventy eight dollars will be used to set
up a clearinghouse for drug related data in Salem.

According to the state, the nerve center will gather and crunch numbers
from an array of government agencies and use the results to identify trends
and convict drug traffickers once arrested. Where Deschutes, Marion and
Jackson counties are supposed to get the money necessary to bust the
miscreatents in the first place is anybody's guess, though.The state plans
to use the remaining $34,022 from this year's grant for management and
administration.

Not to fear, says the state. There's always next year. You never know,
Uncle Sam might be feeling generous and send some more anti-drug our
way--and if he does, the counties with terrible drug problems might
actually get some of it. According to the state's calculations, if another
check for $600,000 came over the transom next year, Salem would have to
deduct only $494,861 to keep the investigative support center investigating
and cover the costs of management and administration. That would leave
$105,139 for Jackson, Marion and Deschutes to divvy up. Deschutes County's
share of the pot would amount to $34,992--enough to hire and train about
one deputy, if that.

Now, we're not about to question the value of the new investigative support
center. It's sure to be an invaluable tool for law enforcement all across
Oregon. That said, The state should come up with another way to pay for it.

If the federal government is sending the state $600,000 to combat drug
trafficking in three counties, the money should go to those three counties.