METH LAB DISCOVERED NEAR CAMPUS CREATES CONCERN

As law enforcement officials continue to combat rising methamphetamine
addictions, lab discoveries are becoming more frequent.

But when University of Nebraska-Lincoln Police Capt. Carl Oestmann found
out some of his officers had uncovered components of a meth lab on the edge
of campus, he was a bit surprised.

"I would find it somewhat unusual that it was on campus," he said. "If it's
common, it's not common for the campus environment."

Nevertheless, the discovery is evidence that the growing problem is closer
to campus than it has ever been, Oestmann said.

Officers discovered the components of a meth lab after detaining a man who
fled from an area near 16th and Holdredge streets, he said.

According to Oestmann, officers were responding to reports of a suspicious
person around the trees in that area when 44-year-old J. Grahm took off
running. Officers were able to catch him near 17th and Y streets. Grahm's
last known residence is in Iowa, he said.

Once in custody, Grahm led authorities to lab components in the trunk of
his vehicle and near a creek adjacent to the residence hall parking lot for
the Harper-Schramm-Smith Complex, Oestmann said.

Grahm was then arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamines and
intent to manufacture methamphetamines, he said.

Lincoln Police Officer Katherine Finnell said members of the
Lincoln-Lancaster Clandestine Lab Team helped clean up the evidence and
secure the area.

Oestmann commended the people who called police and said the arrest should
encourage members of the university community to report suspicious activity
immediately.

"College students should always be aware of their surroundings," he said.
"This is a prime example of how that works."

But not everyone is as concerned as the individuals who reported the
suspicious man.

Jim Johnson, an English major who lives in Schramm Residence Hall, said he
didn't worry about what other people were doing.

"There's so much other stuff going on," he said. "Drugs never bothered me
as long as they didn't make me do it.

"If it doesn't affect me, I don't care if they destroys their brains."

But police care.

Officer Tyler Schmidt said members of the department were working to be
more vigilant during patrols.

And even though meth has not been a significant area of concentration in
the department, he said, officers have received training on both the local
and national levels.

"They can handle stuff like this," Schmidt said. Meth labs are "just one
more of the areas that we have to be prepared for."