GROUP-ENDORSED CANDIDATES HEAR PRESENTATION ON METHAMPHETAMINE

The leader of Citizens for A Better Joplin during a meeting of the
group on Tuesday night called for hiring more officers for the Joplin
Police Department to fight methamphetamine production and abuse.

Five council candidates supported by the group learned at the meeting
about how the powerful stimulant drug is illegally made, and its
effects on users and the community. Jasper County Sheriff Archie Dunn
and sheriffs' Lt. John Lucky gave the presentation.

Jim Baine, a leader of the organization that formed last summer and
ultimately won out in a fight against a property-maintenance code
adopted by the Joplin City Council, said the session turned out to be
more of a seminar than a candidates' forum. Asked if the 12 other
council candidates who are not endorsed by the group were invited to
the seminar, Baine said they were not.

"The candidates we endorse, we try to answer the questions they ask
and bring in people who can answer their questions" about Joplin
issues, Baine said. "But we plan to have at least two open forums"
and invite all 17 candidates, including incumbents, to speak. The
dates of the forums will be announced, Baine said.

The slate of candidates Baine's group supports was "asking about meth
and 'what can we do about it as a city council?'" Baine said in
opening remarks at the meeting.

Lucky displayed materials that have been seized in local raids to
show the how meth is manufactured by home cooks. He told the group
that since pseudoephedrine, the over-the-counter sinus medicine that
is a key ingredient in meth, has been controlled, local production of
meth is beginning to drop. He said the supply is being replaced by an
imported, Mexican-brewed version called "ice." He predicted that
there were will be increased violence as "ice" peddlers jockey for
turf to push the drug.

Baine asked Lucky what the costs are to society. "I don't have a
dollar figure," Lucky said, but he listed increased demands for
health care and danger to children as two of many repercussions.

"There's got to be more of a community response," said one of the
candidates, Imma J. Curl, who is seeking a general council seat. "We
have to help watch after one another."

Baine asked if more law-enforcement officers are needed to fight
crime associated with the drug. Lucky said there is a need for more
officers throughout the area.

"The candidates need to demand and get more police officers and
budget for the Police Department," Baine told the group.

"They're understaffed," candidate Leonard Doss, who is seeking
election in Zone 1, said of the Joplin Police Department. "Why they
can't get more? It's inexcusable."

David Carey, a candidate for a general seat, asked numerous questions
about detection efforts. He asked if there are ways for the city to
work with landlords to flush out tenants who brew meth in rental
homes. He also asked about how the city could increase the amount of
treatment programs available to meth users. The sheriff told Carey
that landlords can work with police.

The five candidates who attended the meeting are JoAnn Powell, Carey
and Curl, who are candidates for general council seats; Doss, the
Zone 1 candidate; and Gary McKinney, a Zone 4 candidate. A sixth
candidate endorsed by the group, Melodee Colbert, who is running for
a seat in Zone 2, was absent.