AUTHORITIES WORK TO KEEP METH LABS OUT OF AREA

Dickson County isn't a hub for methamphetamine labs and local law
enforcement is working diligently to keep it that way.

Moreover, the war on the illegal drug may eventually lead to assistance
from local mail carriers and public utility meter readers, officials said.

"We know it's here," said Steve Manley, director for the Dickson County
Emergency Management Agency. "But we're lucky, it's not as bad here as it
is in some other places. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that
we've got a city/county vice unit that actively pursues these people. This
is a statement as to the kind of job they're doing."

Manley said that while the 23rd Judicial District Drug Task Force is
effective, it's the local agencies and citizens that keep watch.

"We've gotten a couple of calls where meth labs were suspected but that's
been it," he said. "It's just a few, we haven't been overrun with them."

Dickson County Sheriff Tom Wall said the number of meth labs in the county
have increased over the last two years but city and county law enforcement
personnel work together through Dickson County Vice/Narcotics to keep the
drug off the street and shut down labs when they find them.

"It's not been on a massive scale but we know that it's coming. We're not
going to be immune from it," Wall said. "Some of that (a lower number of
labs compared to other counties) is the result of the county commission
allowing us to have people in Dickson County working drugs only. That
started back in the 1980s. We added an officer and then the city of Dickson
joined in. Over the last several years we've had four officers working
nothing but drugs, and most of the counties around Middle Tennessee haven't
had that. I've got to give a lot of credit to the county commission for
allowing us to do this."

An effective informant network is also a key factor in the fight, Wall said.

"One of the things we've accomplished over the years of having these
officers is a good informant network. These guys usually know about a lot
of stuff when it starts happening," Wall said. "A lot of our stuff is
smaller, street level stuff and hopefully it will stay that way. We're not
ever going to get rid of it 100 percent. Just like anywhere in hometown
America you can buy pot and you can buy cocaine. But as far as people
standing out on the corner thumbing their noses at the police and dealing
drugs right there in front of your house, it's not happening. I think
that's a result of good work by the detectives over the years."

Dickson County Narcotics Division Detective Chris Davis said deputies,
police patrol officers and detectives have received special training
specifically designed to handle working meth labs.

"We've taken a real good proactive approach to preventing the meth labs,"
Davis said. "We've had the privilege of getting most of our personnel
trained in meth lab awareness. We now incorporate a four-hour block into
in-services, which every patrolman goes through.

"We've also taken the initiative within the department to get lab
certified. If we do find a lab we can respond to it and work it."

Davis said a key factor in limiting the number of labs cropping up around
the county is that Dickson County is still relatively small, everybody
knows everybody and they know who and what does and doesn't belong in the
neighborhoods.

In addition, he said, there are enough officers patrolling the roads that
potential meth makers notice and go elsewhere.

"It's not rural enough anymore to get away with it," Wall said. "In some of
the surrounding counties you can go down the road and not see anybody all
day long. I doubt that you could do that in Dickson County."

Mail carriers and public utility meter readers could possibly help
authorities in combating meth labs, Wall said.

"I think probably before it's over you're going to seminars for people like
mail carriers, people that read gas and electric meters paying attention to
strange odors and, hopefully, they'll contact us. When you get around those
chemicals used to cook meth, they'll know what it is."

Hotel and motel managers and property owners who rent to tenants need to be
aware of the possibility that their property could be used to set up meth
labs, Wall said.

Davis said the cost of clean up of a meth lab can run into the tens of
thousands of dollars and property owners could be responsible for most of
that cost.

"If you've got rental property or property that other people utilize, stay
familiar with it," Davis said. "Don't be passive and just assume everything
is OK. Stay on top of it, watch your property and take care of it."

Despite the relatively small number of labs reported in the region, Manley
said he is still "very concerned" because virtually all of the ingredients
used to make meth can be purchased at local stores.

"You can go to local stores and buy everything you need and there are
several different methods on how you can make this stuff," he said. "The
scary part about it is that there are people making this stuff, mixing
these chemicals together and they're certainly not chemists. You never know
who it's going to be or where they're going to be. They could be your
next-door neighbor or they could be making it in a hotel room or they could
be making it in a vehicle. They could do it anywhere."

The danger in making meth, Manley said, is the volatility of the chemicals
as they are mixed and cooked. The process can be fatal, he said.

"It's extremely dangerous because you're heating and cooling and mixing
chemicals that people should not be mixing and heating," he said. "They're
mixing stuff that is flammable, that is explosive and you're messing with a
time bomb."

Manley said on a scale of one to 10 on the hazardous materials chart, meth
labs rate at 10.

"If we're looking at a hazmat situation with an industry, the people there
are trained to handle their chemicals, they're trained to work with that
chemical, they know what to do and what not to do," he said. "These people
out here with these meth labs don't have a clue. They just know they mix
this and this together."

Manley also noted that the fumes from methamphetamine as it is cooking are
also deadly.

"The off-gassing of these chemicals can be toxic," he said. "Again, you mix
certain chemicals together you create deadly gases and with some of it, all
you have to do is breathe it and it can kill you."

Sometimes a bust is made after someone is discovered to have all the
necessary ingredients to make the drug, Manley said. However, he said, most
of the busts are made "in transport."

"The other way they find these things is when they blow up," he said,
adding that last year a meth lab did blow up in the north end of the county.

"We didn't respond to that because there was nothing left to respond to,"
he said. "It's sensitive enough that, under the right conditions, you can
walk in and turn a light on and blow the building up. It's that volatile."

Davis said anyone who suspects there may be a working meth lab in the
neighborhood or anywhere else should notify authorities immediately.