HARD METH NUMBERS ELUSIVE, SAY OFFICIALS

Longview resident Dick Bullock said he supported the Cowlitz County
commissioners' meth tax initiative --- until he asked for proof that the
county has a serious meth problem.

Bullock said he wrote to the commissioners April 1 asking for all 911 calls
for service by type, area or zone, hour and day for the sheriff's office and
Longview and Kelso police departments for 2003 and 2004.

Bullock, who was the Washington State Patrol district commander when Mount
St. Helens erupted and the county's emergency management director, still is
waiting for those statistics.

"My intent was to be 100 percent behind this, but the more they resist
releasing the numbers to me, I have more doubts," he said. "They're using
terms like meth epidemic, but we don't have the numbers."

"If the numbers are there, I want to support this thing," he said.

County officials say the statistics available do show the county has a major
problem with meth, although it's hard to pin down exact numbers. They say
they're relying on experience when they describe the county's meth problem
as an "epidemic," which they'd like to combat with a new 0.2 percent meth
tax.

County Commissioner George Raiter said that Bullock is asking for statistics
that don't exist.

"He assumes there was an event that led to a decision, but we used instinct
and judgment over the years," Raiter said.

In the 2004 Cowlitz County Corrections Report, Executive Director Bill Weiss
said meth is one of the dominant themes for the corrections department and
has been for the last two years.

Weiss also reported that through July 10 this year, 611 inmates booked at
the jail admitted using street drugs, and half admitted using meth.

He said meth and drug use are behind a rise in violence at the jail, which
is handling far more inmates than it was designed for.

"If you see a guy that came in a year ago and he wasn't using meth, and then
see him a year later, but he's using meth, he's like a completely different
guy," Weiss said Monday. "They act out more and become more violent."

Jail Superintendent Dan Price said in his 20 years with the jail, he has not
seen as much violence and drug-related issues as he's seen in the last
couple of years.

"We handle more violence and they (inmates) bring more drugs in with them,"
he said.

The jail has had to expand its maximum security area because of the rise in
violence, and the new jail --- scheduled to open in October --- will have an
even bigger area, Price said.

He also said he's noted a significant increase in medical issues with
inmates caused by meth.

Price said inmates come into the jail with teeth either decaying or missing,
skin rashes and sores and internal problems. They generally require
immediate dental and medical care that's increasing costs for the jail.

"Meth is a horrible drug that tears people apart," he said.

At first, Bullock said county officials denied him any access to the
statistics he requested, but he appealed to the commissioners. Bullock said
he was notified that the numbers would be ready for his review by the first
part of July.

"I'm not saying there isn't meth out there," he said. "If they're using
terms like meth epidemic, that means it's out of control. But if we don't
have the facts, how can we say there's an epidemic?"

Raiter said commissioners receive monthly reports from county agencies that
might interest Bullock, but Raiter isn't sure what Bullock wants.

"I asked him to meet with me to clarify what he wants and he hasn't
contacted me to set up a meeting," Raiter said.

Meth use is driving up identity theft cases in the county, according to
Cowlitz County Clerk Roni Booth.

Booth recently studied court files for identity theft cases and found that
meth was a factor in 60 percent, and she believes that number might be
higher.

"I see a huge trend," she said. "Identity thefts are increasing and we never
had those until a few years ago."

Booth has worked in the clerk's office for 17 years and said she's "been
through cocaine, heroin and crack, and you didn't see the number of property
crimes increasing like you see now," she said.

"With cocaine, we had forgery, but they didn't destroy the public like they
do now. The rise in property crimes is due to meth."

"In the last three years, it's done nothing but get worse and worse," she
said.

"There's not a day goes by that we don't see a 'tweaker' at the counter (in
the clerk's office)," she said.

But until Bullock sees actual statistics, he's not convinced agencies need
more money.

"I'm a taxpayer and a concerned citizen, and what bothers me is they're not
telling us the numbers," Bullock said. "Right now, I don't feel comfortable
supporting the tax."