LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES TO GET $300,000 TO FIGHT METH

Area law enforcement agencies will share more than $300,000 in
federal money meant to curb the methamphetamine trade in the region.

The money is part of nearly $3.2 million awarded by a panel of
Missouri sheriffs to county sheriff's departments and drug task forces
as part of the Missouri Sheriffs Methamphetamine Relief Team. The
grants were announced by the office of U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit"
Bond, who said in a prepared statement that the money will help
"continue to fight the infiltration of this terrible drug in our state."

The money may be used for training, equipment and prevention programs,
the statement said.

Sheriff's departments that will receive the money include Barry
County, $40,900; Newton County, $50,000; and Vernon County, $49,989.
In addition, $100,000 will go to the Jasper County Drug Task Force,
and $80,445 to the Southwest Missouri Drug Task Force, which includes
officers from agencies in Newton, McDonald, Barry and Lawrence
counties. Missouri has become a draw for meth makers and dealers, Bond
said in the statement, because of its location in the middle of the
country, its rural makeup and the number of interstate highways
crossing the state.