METH CASES DROPPING

Law officers and others fighting the meth drug problem here are
talking about a little good news these days: The number of meth cases
in Putnam County seems to be decreasing. And while that is not the
case in some other nearby counties -- many in this same judicial
district -- the fact that it's happening here is a very good sign,
officers say.

"We figure we've had about a 13 percent decrease in the number of meth
labs in Putnam County since this time last year," said Putnam
Sheriff's Deputy J.R. Scott, who is assigned as the meth awareness
officer.

"We know that some of our 'cooks' have moved on to other places,
trying to get away from where we are working so hard to catch them and
prosecute them," Scott said.

But stepped up efforts in the other places may also run the meth
cookers completely out of the region and the state, he hopes.

District Attorney Bill Gibson says the reduction in meth cases here is
due to the massive public awareness campaign and aggressive pursuit of
meth cookers.

"We have been working very hard to stop meth, including getting more
sophisticated training for our officers, working with the legislature
to promote better laws and stiffer punishment," Gibson said.

"We hope and believe our efforts are starting to stem the
tide."

Deputy Scott said he has found a there is a huge public interest in
the meth problem and said that interest has helped curb the problem.

He gives public talks on the problem and is constantly being invited
by clubs, schools, churches, businesses, and all types of community
organizations to speak on the subject, indicating the public's
concern, he said.

Among the various ways that Putnam County has fought its battle
against meth, some stand out and are being cited by state officials as
recommendations for other counties, officers say.

"We have pursued all the meth cases we could into federal courts,
where the law allows stiffer penalties," Deputy Scott said.

He also credits large billboards placed around Putnam County on major
highways warning that "If you bring drugs into Putnam County, plan on
staying."

Those billboards were financed through grant money from the U.S.
Attorney's office, where federal prosecutors are also working hard to
reduce the meth problem in rural Tennessee.

"Another part of our public awareness campaign is a warning slogan by
Sheriff David Andrews, which is a pledge that 'If you're cooking,
we're looking,'" Scott said. "It's just another way to show we are
serious about fighting this problem."

DA Gibson also believes that a locally produced "Meth Prevention
Handbook" has helped by warning the public about the many severe
dangers of the home-cooked drug.

That handbook, produced by the 13th Judicial District Drug Task Force
and the Cookeville Police Dept., went out to most households in the
region giving all sorts of information about the dangers of meth.

The handbook has been praised by the Governor's Task Force on
Meth.

"Education is the key to prevention and should be considered critical
to any effective strategy for dealing with the methamphetamine
epidemic," a Governor's Task Force report said.

The same massive public awareness campaign which has been underway in
Putnam County for some time is being recommended as one step the whole
state should take, DA Gibson said.

But even though the problem may be lessening in Putnam County, it is
still necessary to keep up the work which has brought this result,
Gibson said.

"We know that meth moves from place to place, and we have to keep
after it," he said.

He believes the public awareness campaign here has brought the horrors
of meth abuse to the attention of concerned citizens in general, as
well as to many people who might have dabbled with the drug, but did
not after learning what it does to the human body.

"I have always said that the good people of this area can confront
problems and deal with them, and I think that's what's happening with
our meth problem," Gibson said.