WASHINGTON BOARD PASSES RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF METH BILL

ABINGDON - The Washington County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution
Tuesday supporting a bill in the General Assembly governing methadone clinics.

The resolution was passed as part of the board's ongoing opposition to a
drug-treatment clinic proposed in the Lowry Hills community late last year.

Senate Bill 607, sponsored by Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, would forbid
clinics from locating within half a mile of day-care centers or schools. It
also would require the state to notify local governments and community
service boards when a clinic application was made.

The bill would give local governments and service boards a chance to
comment on the application, require a public hearing on the matter and
require a summary of the application to be published in a local newspaper.

Drug-treatment clinics like the one proposed in Washington County try to
wean addicts off opiates like oxycodone using another drug, methadone.

The Highlands Community Service Board and the county School Board have sent
notices to the county about concerns about the methadone clinic.

Residents of Lowry Hills have challenged the clinic's local application for
zoning approval. Residents said they believe the county's zoning ordinance
does not allow drug-treatment clinics in general-business zones. The clinic
also would be near John S. Battle High School.

The zoning matter now is before County Administrator Mark Reeter, who said
he would make a decision by the end of the month.

In other business, the board voted to budget an additional $75,000 for the
ongoing fight against county landowners bordering Bristol who have asked to
be annexed into the city.

The county lost a court battle last year to prevent the annexation. A
notice of appeal has been filed with the Virginia Supreme Court.

The board also shifted about $324,000 from its budget to county schools.

Of that, $303,631 was a federal reading grant. The remaining money came
from insurance payments stemming from a bus wreck and small fire at
Abingdon High School in September.