WHS SITE OF DRUG SWEEP

WILLIAMSTOWN - Law enforcement officers conducting a drug sweep Wednesday
morning at Williamstown High School had three "possible hits" by their
canine partners, but no drugs were found and no arrests were made, said
Williamstown Police Chief John Burdette.

Burdette said the search was the result of information his department has
obtained during the past few months from students at the high school. "They
confirmed what we already knew, that there's a small percentage of students
trafficking in marijuana at the high school," Burdette said.

Burdette has been working with high school and district officials for a
couple of months on plans to conduct a drug sweep at the school. After
receiving district permission, he brought in area departments to help in
the search.

Three canine units from the West Virginia State Police were joined by
canine officers from Parkersburg, Vienna and Sistersville to conduct the
search. Williamstown police officers aided in the process, while Wood
County Emergency Services provided radios to keep the officers in
communication while they went through the school and on the school grounds,
Burdette said.

A representative from the Wood County Prosecutor's Office was present to
provide legal guidance and information if necessary.

The dogs detected three possible "hits," or the aroma of marijuana, in
lockers and in one vehicle in the parking lot, Burdette said.

No drugs were found, but Burdette said there are explanations for this. The
smell of marijuana can linger in clothing for several hours and can be
transferred to other surfaces by contact where it will also linger, he said.

"Any aroma leftover from marijuana can cause the dog to pick up that scent.
We all know how sensitive a dog's sense of smell is," Burdette said.

The Williamstown Police Department will conduct further investigations
based on the results of the search, Burdette said. Any further action will
depend on the findings of those investigations.

"This follows an undercover operation we recently had in (Tomlinson) Park
in which we cited upwards of 50 students for underage tobacco possession on
April 7 and 8. We obtained additional information as a result of that
undercover operation that led us to where we're conducting this today,"
Burdette said Wednesday morning.

About 700 students attend Williamstown High School. Burdette believes 99
percent of them are law-abiding, good students who are in school to learn.
He said one percent of the student population violates the law, traffics in
marijuana, uses marijuana and traffics in tobacco products and other
substances.

"I made it clear to them (students) when I appeared before the student body
at the beginning of this school year that we weren't going to tolerate
this," Burdette said. "The recent undercover operation that we had and
today's canine search of the school support the statement I made at the
beginning of the school year," he said.

Williamstown High School Principal John Larry Barton said the drug sweep
covered the school's locker areas, parking areas, random classrooms and the
administrative offices, including his own.

"It was conducted very professionally by the police department and was done
in a very short period of time so our instructional day wasn't interrupted
any more than necessary," Barton said.

Burdette said his department will continue to investigate the drug problem
officials perceive at the school.

"What we know to be a fact is that marijuana is available in this school.
That is beyond dispute and we will take whatever measures are available to
us to find out those who are engaged in the trafficking of marijuana in
this school," Burdette said.

"Our operation does not include the search of any of the students, so
because of the fact that our search did not result in any findings is not
indicative of the true facts here. We know for a fact that kids carry
marijuana on their persons and we're not able to use the dogs to search
them so we will continue with our efforts to root out any student that
finds it appropriate to bring narcotics into this high school," he said.