FOSTER PARENT PROSPECT HAS HARD TIME EXPLAINING MARIJUANA PIPE

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - He passed strict tests to become a foster parent.

He made it through a rigorous process to win approval as an adoptive father.

But on Thursday, just as Wesley Earl Lowry was on his way with his wife to
finalize the adoption of their two foster children in Madison County court,
sheriff’s deputies say he failed one last test: the courthouse metal
detector alerted authorities to the marijuana pipe they say was in his suit
coat.

According to police reports, Lowry, 34, of Glen Carbon, voluntarily handed
over the metal pipe. But he looked nervous, so a deputy searched him and
found 4.9 grams of marijuana.

Lowry was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana or drug
paraphernalia and released on $200 bond. The adoption hearing was postponed.

Although adoption officials say the arrest causes them "grave concern," the
children - ages 4 and 6 - will remain in Lowry’s home for now, said Mike
Sakolsky, the child welfare director for Catholic Charities of Springfield.
They have lived with Lowry and his wife for two years.

The agency placed the children for adoption under a contract with the state
Department of Children and Family Services and planned a full review of
Lowry’s adoption petition.

His attorney, Barbara Joiner of Edwardsville, said she still hoped to
salvage the adoptions. She said that if Lowry gets drug counseling, it might
persuade the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to proceed
with the adoptions.

DCFS spokesman Maudlyne Ihejirika said the Lowrys were screened before being
allowed to host foster children and that no problems had been found.

Sheriff’s Capt. Don Bridick said Lowry’s arrest marked the sixth time in
five weeks that deputies have found drugs or drug paraphernalia on
courthouse visitors.

"You can’t fix stupidity," he said. "Anybody in their right mind wouldn’t
walk into the courthouse with a pipe."

Checked-by: Don Beck