SHOALS DEPUTIES RECEIVE GRANTS $50,000 SLATED TO FIGHT METH

Sheriff Ronnie Willis had not even set foot inside the home before he
saw signs that investigators were dealing with a serious drug problem.

While serving a warrant at an eastern Lauderdale County home earlier
this year, Willis said he and his deputies were exposed to
methamphetamine vapors.

"We were on the front porch of this home serving a warrant when we
started feeling our faces go numb," Willis said.

It's one of the problems that officers in the Shoals and across the
country often encounter in the course of chasing the illegal drug.

Willis and Colbert County Sheriff Ronnie May said law enforcement
personnel investigating meth labs face serious risk from contact with
the hazardous materials associated with producing the drug.

Both sheriffs are slated to get help protecting their deputies with
$50,000 grants for each county to buy equipment.

The funding was part of more than $2.6 million for various northwest
Alabama projects included in a 2005 federal spending bill.

Congress has passed the $388 billion spending bill that encompasses
everything from education to environmental cleanup. The bill awaits
the president's signature.

Both sheriffs welcomed the money that would help them fight
meth.

May and Willis said the money would pay for equipment and protective
clothing used by trained officers who sort through meth crime scenes.

Officials have said a common problem for people who come across meth
labs is feeling light headed or suffering breathing problems because
of the strong chemicals.

Other serious problems in these volatile labs are risks of chemical
burns and explosions from flammable products, May said.

"The equipment is going to protect officers when they get in to labs,"
May said. "These are dangerous chemicals."

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, announced the funding last
week.

Cramer's representatives said the senior Alabama congressman has
secured more than $1.5 million over the years to help police in
Alabama fight meth.

In August, Cramer organized a meth forum that brought together
sheriffs and police chiefs from across north Alabama.