SHERIFFS CRITICIZE DRUG PLAN

Law Officers Say Holden Slow To Respond To Meth Problem.

More than half of Missouri's sheriffs have signed a letter criticizing Gov.
Bob Holden's stance on battling the state's methamphetamine problem.

The letter was distributed by Shannon County Sheriff Butter Reeves and
signed by 61 of his colleagues, including more than 25 Democrats.

The letter cites a recent anti-meth proposal unveiled by Holden, who is
running for re-election. Many law enforcement officials, it said, are
"puzzled as to where the Governor has been the last few years when Sheriff
departments and regional drug task forces were on the front lines battling
this horrific problem plaguing our state."

Last month, Holden created two new task forces focusing on the prevention
of meth use and treatment for meth users. He also announced an April summit
to allow those task forces and an existing task force to meet and discuss
the problem.

Reeves said this morning that he gathered the signatures last week at the
midwinter meeting of the Missouri Sheriffs' Association. His main complaint
centers on Holden's veto of a bill last year that would have allowed
counties to create a "crime-reduction fund" to battle narcotics. That bill
would have allowed judges to order payments by defendants to the fund.

Reeves said that of the two deputies in his county, one is paid for with
federal money obtained by U.S. Sen. Kit Bond. "This crime reduction fund
bill, if we had that in my county . it would be a tremendous benefit to us
because I could probably hire another deputy, perhaps two deputies," he said.

In his veto letter, Holden said the funding mechanism set up in the bill
was unconstitutional, citing a provision which dictates that "all
penalties, forfeitures and fines collected . for any breach of the penal
laws of the state" should go to public schools.

Roy Temple, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said Holden offered
to include the bill in a special session but that the sheriffs tried
instead to override his veto.

Temple said the letter is politically motivated, alleging that sheriffs who
signed it might be motivated by a fear of losing out on the federal money
obtained by Bond.

Mary Still, a spokesman for Holden, pointed out that he signed a law last
year that limits access to the precursor ingredients of methamphetamine.

"This shouldn't be considered a Republican or a Democratic issue," she
said. "This is good law enforcement and we all need to be working together."

John Page, a Democrat who is Sheriff of Camden County, said enforcement of
anti-drug laws must be the top priority for the state.

"The other issues of training and education and treatment needs to be
behind that," he said. "That's my concern. And I think it's a concern of a
lot of other people."

Boone County Sheriff Ted Boehm did not sign the letter and said he was
unaware of it.

The letter praised Bond for garnering federal money for the Missouri
Sheriffs' Methamphetamine Relief Team, or MOSMART. Rob Ostrander, a
spokesman for Bond, said Reeves alerted Bond about the letter, but that
Bond's office was not involved in writing it.

Meth could become a political issue in the upcoming months, particularly
because Bond and Holden are both locked in re-election battles.