DRUG TASK FORCE RECEIVING FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING FOR ANOTHER YEAR

In 10 Years, Todd Entrekin Has Seen A Lot Of Changes In The Drug World.

Entrekin, one of the original members of the Etowah County Drug Task Force,
believes that without the task force, the drug problems would be much worse
in Etowah County. Entrekin now is chief deputy of the Etowah County
Sheriff's Department. But the drug problem, still, is bad enough, he said.

"We're not making much headway," he said, "but if we were not doing what
we're doing, it would be much worse."

The current drug problem of methamphetamine keeps the task force's
commander and six agents busy, with more than 600 cases worked last year,
he said.

Of those cases worked, 397 arrests were made, 14 meth labs were dismantled
and 77 guns used in drug-related crimes were seized.

"We're mainly seeing meth now," Randall Johnson, commander of the task
force, said. "We see some marijuana, cocaine and crack cocaine, but it's
mostly meth."

The drug trends have changed somewhat, Entrekin said, even though the
agents were seeing meth 10 years ago.

"Primarily, the meth we saw was brought in from California," Entrekin said.
"We didn't see labs like we're seeing now"

One or two labs across the entire state might have been found in a year,
Entrekin said, and those labs usually were elaborate. "It was something
like you'd see a chemist have set up," he said. "Now they're popping up all
over the place."

The biggest decline is with marijuana, Entrekin said.

"It's still a problem, but it's not as prevalent now," he said.

An announcement was made this week that a federal grant that funds the task
force was awarded.

The funds are available through the U.S. Department of Justice and
administered through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community
Affairs, according to a news release from the office of Gov. Bob Riley.
Matching funds of $66,000 are required for the grant.

The task force is a combined effort of the Etowah County Sheriff's
Department, the district attorney's office, Glencoe, Altoona and Hokes
Bluff police departments, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the
Alabama National Guard. The organizations join forces to create a
multi-jurisdictional unit dedicated to the enforcement of drug laws and the
investigation of drug-related crimes in Etowah County.

"With the budget constraints we're now seeing, there is no way we could
have the number of agents we have without the grant," Entrekin said.
"Without it, the drug problem would be even more serious."