CITY POLICE HIRE TWO NEW OFFICERS

The Marietta Police Department has taken two steps to deal with its
manpower shortage and both actions figure to aid the city's drug fighting
efforts.

One of those steps is an agreement with the Washington County Sheriff's
Office to assist in the transporting of prisoners.

The other step includes the hiring of two new police officers to begin in
the next week. Douglas E. Titus, of Walhonding, begins March 1 and Brandon
H. Chapman, of Vinton, begins March 8.

The agreement clears the way for fifth-graders at Marietta City Schools to
participate in the DARE program this school year. DARE, or Drug Abuse
Resistance Education, had been in question for Marietta City Schools
because of the department's shortage.

Mayor Michael Mullen said the steps are crucial to the county-wide fight
against the drug epidemic to hit the area in recent years.

"To have a successful program in this fight against drugs, we need
education, we need enforcement and we need treatment," Mullen said.

Mullen and Washington County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Larry Mincks announced
the agreement between the police department and the sheriff's office in a
press conference Thursday. Chief of Police Brett McKitrick was not in
attendance due to other responsibilities.

City Council also agreed Thursday to reappropriate the $6,304 in state
funding for the salary of a DARE officer. The money will go into the DARE
account, but there is no decision yet on how it will be used.

The agreement also means the DARE program will continue because the DARE
officer for the sheriff's office will run the city's program this school
year. There was no word yet on when the 10-week program would start.

Mullen also said the two entities would be working on the possibility of
continuing the DARE program into middle school, and specifically eighth grade.

A University of Akron study found the program is most effective when it's
continued through the ninth grade.

Mincks said the agreement between the two entities is a steppingstone for
cooperation in other areas.

"We're very interested in this pioneer effort," Mincks said. "We're looking
forward to ... the multi-jurisdictional drug task force."

The drug task force is still in the development stage awaiting funding.

Since Christmas 2003 there has been one confirmed drug overdose death and
two more suspected of an overdose.

In Washington County there were 13 deaths between May 2001 and August 2002
attributed to heroin/opioid. And 52 nonfatal related overdoses were
reported in the county between May and August 2002.