METH A SERIOUS PROBLEM, NO QUICK SOLUTION

Here's the latest hurdle to overcome in Lebanon and Laclede County if
you're a plant manager, the company's human resources specialist, or for
that matter, any businessperson, no matter the size of the company, with a
position to fill.

You go through the process of advertising your position, interviewing for
the position and finding good applicants.

Now add this to your problem of finding qualified applicants: If you find
10 good applicants, you'll have to throw out four.

Why?

Because chances are, those four -- 40 percent -- will fail a drug test and
can't be hired.

That's according to figures released last week from America's Heartland
Economic Partnership in Lebanon.

"We have, right now, an exceptionally high rate of failures on drug tests
for new applicants. That's going to be a community issue that we've got to
address, and it's going to come to the forefront," said Steve Jenkins, the
organization's president and CEO.

Jenkins said the number of drug-test failures directly affects the size and
quality of Lebanon's work force, which is a key concern listed by
manufacturers who responded to a recent survey conducted by the consulting
firm Wilbur Smith Associates. The firm released the results of its survey
last week.

The primary drug problem facing industries, Jenkins said, and this will
come as little surprise, is methamphetamine.

There is no easy answer, no quick solution, to the problem and it affects
far more than just workplace hiring.

Meth has very quickly become the most serious drug problem our society
faces, and it impacts us all on a number of levels, whether we realize it
or not.

You may or may not know somebody who has dealt with meth use or manufacture
directly -- we'd bet, however, that you probably do -- but because of the
percentages, you certainly don't have to look far to find somebody it has
affected.

You may know one of those four in 10 job applicants who missed out on a
better-paying job because of failing a drug test.

Perhaps you've had a court date on a traffic ticket delayed because of
courts clogged by meth cases.

Maybe a friend who has erratic mood swings you can't quite put your finger
on to try and help them is dealing with a much bigger problem.

We're not saying that methamphetamine is the root of everything wrong in
Laclede County. We have problems that won't magically go away with the
eradication of meth.

We're also not saying that the county is overrun with a bunch of meth-heads
and that nothing good ever happens here. Laclede County is a good place to
live and work, but we can, and must, make it better.

Until we, as a community, accept the problem and get a little bit angry
that it has become such a problem, it will remain.

With the problem will remain the effects, and they're numerous.