MEETING ABOUT METH SATURDAY

On Saturday, if the snow isn't keeping you indoors, an important event is
taking place that many in the county should attend.

A special town meeting is being sponsoring by the Winchester Public Safety
Department and the Franklin County Sheriff's Department in an effort to
combat problems associated with the escalating methamphetamine problem that
Franklin County is experiencing.

The topic of discussion will be Methamphetamine: The Racing Flatliner and
will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Winchester City Park's Citizens
Pavilion.

As we have reported to you over the past year, the Winchester Police
Department and the Sheriff's Department have each had to deal with about 50
methamphetamine raids each in the past 12 months.

According to Winchester Public Safety Director Dennis Young, 100 major
arrests indicate that a bad problem is getting out of hand.

We couldn't agree more. Over the past year, there have been very few
editions of The Herald Chronicle that went to press that did not have some
report of a meth lab bust or report of a meth related arrest included in
it's pages.

It's not just the users that are affected anymore either. Young also
referred to the Department of Children's Services and how 38 of 39 children
taken into protective custody recently were victims of parents who had
allegedly abused methamphetamine.

It's no secret that this problem has been getting out of hand in our area.
One of the best weapons we have against it is educating the public about the
danger associated with the drug.

So if the weather hasn't got you trapped, head over to the Citizens Pavilion
on Saturday and take part in this important discussion.