THREE STATES TEAM UP TO FIGHT METH LABS

District attorneys and law enforcement officials from three states met in
the Ashe County Courthouse Wednesday to begin a new cooperative effort
against methamphetamine labs in this region. The gathering marked the first
meeting of the Three Corners Methamphetamine Task Force. This cooperative
group now includes agencies from northwestern North Carolina-all the way to
Winston-Salem-southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. Over 70
officials attended the first of what will be monthly meetings. Clandestine
methamphetamine labs are appearing rapidly in this part of the state, and
spreading eastward. "If they are not in your county now, they will be,"
said Jerry Ratley, SBI special agent in charge of Diversion and
Environmental Crimes. He warned that "officers are in greater danger of
being injured by a meth lab than of being shot." Ratley went on to say,
"This problem is not like other problems we've faced in law enforcement before.

This is a problem we can't deal with by ourselves.

We must have training to go into these environments and survive." Ratley
said it would take a joint effort by law enforcement and the judicial
system, along with social services, public health, emergency management,
community colleges, public utilities, the business community and ordinary
citizens to stop this problem. "It will take all of us to combat the
challenge before us," he said. "Instead of playing defense, we must be on
the offensive." Thomas Keith, district attorney for Forsyth County,
moderated the meeting. "The key thing is information sharing," Keith said.
"We can't be working alone." In terms of cases per capita, Watauga County
had the highest rate of meth labs in the state last year. This year,
Sheriff Mark Shook told the group, 30 labs have been found already.

To date, Ashe County authorities have seized 11 illegal labs. Sheriff Jim
Hartley, who attended the meeting, hopes the task force will help by
encouraging cooperation among departments. "The county will take a more
active role in meeting this problem," he said. He also re-emphasized the
point made in the meeting: the need for a broad spectrum of agencies in and
outside of law enforcement to work together to stop the meth lab epidemic.