METH ABUSE PROGRAM TEACHES RECOGNITION

MAYSVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- As abuse of the drug methamphetamine grows
throughout the state, an Ohio River community will work to keep the drug
out of its neighborhood.

The Buffalo Trace Agency for Substance Abuse Policy will host the Meth
Lookout Program on August 12 at the Maysville Community College. The
workshop is designed to help retailers, public utilities, hotel and lodging
owners and emergency workers spot people setting up methamphetamine labs,
said Karen Hall, a substance abuse prevention specialist with the Buffalo
Trace Regional Prevention Center.

Hall said she wants retailers to be able to spot people buying an excessive
amount of the ingredients for making methamphetamine and hotel owners to
recognize activity that would indicate a meth operation on the premises.

Public utilities and emergency workers who may encounter meth labs should
also attend the event to know of hazardous chemicals and other dangers they
will come into contact within a meth lab, she said.

Hall said if the public is informed and can see the warning signs, the
problem might not spread to the Maysville area.

Maysville has experienced little methamphetamine traffic compared to
regions across the Ohio River and in the western portion of the county,
said Maysville Police Chief Van Ingram. The methamphetamine traffic in the
city has been limited to a few arrests, he said.

While the problem hasn't hit Maysville hard yet, Ingram said, it is only a
matter of time before the drug starts to filter over more.

"You would be a fool to think the drug isn't crossing the river," Ingram said.

Authorities in Adams County, Ohio have had their hands full with labs
springing up in abundance, said Detective Jeff McCarty with the Adams
County Sheriff's Office. In some weeks, the sheriff's office clean out as
many as four labs, he said.