WATAUGA IS RIDDLED WITH HIDING PLACES FOR ILLEGAL DRUG `COOKS'

Wooded Slopes, Hollows That Hid Liquor Stills Now Conceal Meth Labs

BOONE - North Carolina's growing methamphetamine problem has found its
flashpoint in Watauga County.

As recently as 2001, meth-related arrests were almost unheard of in the
picturesque mountain county. There were 34 meth lab busts statewide that
year, but none in Watauga.

But just two years later, the county led the state with 34 meth lab busts,
more than twice as many as the runner-up, Rutherford, which had 14.

The surge is, in part, the product of location, officials say. The
mountains attract meth labs -- dangerous, unwieldy contraptions usually set
up in homes -- because they require privacy to hide telltale fumes and
waste. Watauga is the most populous of the counties that border Tennessee,
where much of the drug comes from.

Another reason: The Watauga Sheriff's Office has aggressively pursued meth
offenders since former detective Mark Shook was elected sheriff in 2002,
said Van Shaw, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation agent who supervises
meth enforcement statewide.

"I think meth is in every county. We're just making a concentrated effort
to go out and find them," Shook said. "And the more officers and citizens
you train, the more labs you're going to get, because people become aware."

The county was one of the first in the state to form a task force that
includes members from law enforcement, social services, public health and
other agencies that wrestle with the drug's effects.

"Certainly," Shaw said, "Watauga County has served as an excellent example
for the entire state."

But the numbers already are beginning to overwhelm the sheriff's office,
Shook said. The drug has led to a rise in felony arrests, including sex and
drug offenses; the number of felony arrests rose from 292 in 2002 to 511
last year, and drug arrests soared from 179 to 513.

And, he said, judging from the long struggles of other states, Watauga's
problem will get worse.

"In talking to people out west, once you've got it, you've got it," said
Lt. Jamey Fletcher, a sheriff's office detective who mostly works meth
cases. "It's going to be a long, drawn-out battle."

A threat to the community

Watauga County is trying to fight the problem with too few people and not
enough money, Shook said.In the sheriff's office, detectives frequently
work overtime, and the average daily population in the 34-bed jail has
swelled from about 30 two years ago to as many as 75 now, Shook said.

Meth-related arrests are the main reason for the rise, he said. In January,
Watauga paid neighboring Caldwell County about $23,000 to house as many as
30 overflow inmates per day, "and we still had 40-something here."

The problem is beginning to change the way some of Watauga's 43,000
residents feel about their county. There's talk about meth users becoming
desperate and violent, stealing to pay for their habit.

"Once you get caught up into the drug, you lose your ability to think
rationally," said David Mclemore, a recovered meth addict who works at a
Boone drug treatment clinic. "You're going to lie to people. You're going
to steal. If someone catches you, you're going to hurt them. Your main
focus is getting high."

He was introduced to the drug nearly 30 years ago while working as a truck
driver in Johnson City, Tenn., about a half-hour's drive from Boone. Many
drivers used meth, he said, to help them stay awake and give them energy.

"You do think that you are Superman and can jump over tall buildings," he
said. "That can be dangerous if it goes too far."

Meth has taken hold most strongly outside the resort towns of Boone and
Blowing Rock. In the country, Watauga's wooded mountain slopes and hollows
make good places to hide the pungent odors and waste that meth labs
produce, much as those natural features once concealed moonshine stills.

William and April Price moved from near Knoxville, Tenn., to Sugar Grove, a
community west of Boone, in late January. Since then, they've learned about
Watauga's meth problem and heard talk about a drug house close by.

"We definitely pay more attention," April Price said. "Every time (William)
is away, working late or something, I'm on pins and needles