EDITOR'S MAILBAG REVEALS READERS' DISAGREEMENT WITH DECISIONS

The Tribune staff hopes you are finding the meth series informative.

We've received only a few e-mails and calls on the series - mostly
outraged that we printed the list of ingredients used to manufacture
the highly-addictive drug - and only one comment about the photo used
to launch the series last Tuesday.

To be honest, I expected more calls of outrage on both.

The lack of calls can indicate two things - people realize the value
of printing such information, or they are too shocked for words.
Personally, I like to think it's the former.

As a staff, we discussed the importance of publishing the list of
chemicals and equipment used to manufacture methamphetamine versus the
negative outcry from readers.

Some readers, we knew from past experience with other issues, would
interpret the lists as offering the recipe to make meth.

While that certainly is a valid point, we didn't offer specific
measurements.

As I pointed out to one reader - a concerned young mother - too many
people have no clue what is used to manufacture meth, and that
included Tribune staff. Upon learning the extensive list of
ingredients and our amazement at some of the common, household
chemicals used, we knew we had to inform you all what to look for if
you suspect someone of making meth.

Those who manufacture meth go to great lengths to hide their work.
Dumping bags of meth garbage in ditches, or other people's trash cans
isn't unheard of, according to law enforcement. Should I find such
trash in my garbage cans, I would want to alert authorities - perhaps
identifying information of the real meth users would also be in the
trash, leading to the capture of the real drug culprit.

If my children still lived at home, and I found some of the
ingredients or equipment in their room, I might not give it much
thought. I would now, knowing that Liquid Plumber and tin foil are
among the ingredients and tools used for the manufacature of meth.

The need to know so much about meth beats out our concern for reader
sensitivities.

About the photo - which was not a staged photo -I will say this: If
the Tribune could so easily find someone who would agree to such a
photo, it should be apparent how prevelant it really is in our
society, in Freeborn County and Albert Lea.

Law enforcement has for years been fighting this menace to law-abiding
residents. If we are alert to what is going on, what is used to
manufacture meth, the look of a meth addict, its impact on families,
businesses and communities, perhaps they will not be alone in this
fight.

Another letter, unrelated to the Tribune's meth series, but on the
same topic, came in prior to our publishing the series. It was in
reference to a story I ran at the top of the page about two parents
who turned their daughter in after finding meth materials in her purse.

The writer made a valid point that we had embarrassed the parents, who
had shown incredible courage, and The Tribune should have shown more
sensitivity.

Again, I cannot disagree with the letter writer's opinion: it took
great courage for those parents to call the police. I have been in a
similar circumstance in which I had to exhibit great courage to
reclaim my child -though not from the clutches of meth, it could have
gotten to that point had I not intervened - and it is one of the most
difficult things a parent can do.

However, the need to let the residents of this community know the
seriousness of the meth problem, and one family's fight against it
claiming their child is paramount. Rather than embarrass the parents,
I had hoped to instill courage in other parents with suspicions of
their own.

If the parents were embarrassed, I am truly sorry - that was not my
intent.

Tomorrow, on this page, read a personal account of a newcomer's
experiences with meth.

As he went about meeting and making friends at various community
watering holes, he learned the problem was rampant and quite evident,
if you knew what you were looking for in a person's behavior.

I was surprised to learn how easy it is to identify this activity. My
infrequent visits to local drinking establishments hasn't turned up
any red flags in my mind. But then, neither am I involved with this
subculture nor am I looking for it.

When I am out, I am generally focused on the person or persons I am
with for the evening. Learning meth was truly everywhere sent a chill
up my spine.

(Debbie Irmen is the Tribune's managing editor. Her column appears
Sundays.)