PAINTSVILLE COPS TO BE DRUG TESTED

PAINTSVILLE - Mayor Doug Pugh signed an executive order Thursday, requiring
random drug testing for all city police officers. Pugh and interim police
chief Larry VanHoose, who replaced former chief Doug Wallen and assistant
chief Crystal McKenzie on the new mayor's first day in office, said they
would each be the first to undergo a drug test as an example for the police
officers. VanHoose praised the mayor's action Thursday, saying the random
drug testing will "move the integrity of this department forward." "I don't
want any doubt on this department," the chief said, adding that drug
testing of the city police officers is "something that should have been
done a long time ago." The mayor's executive order says that "all members
of the Paintsville Police Department" are required to take an initial drug
test upon the signing of the order. The tests will be conducted by the
Methadone Clinic in Paintsville, and officers will begin testing at the
facility within the next few days. Any officer who refuses to take a drug
test will have his or her employment with the city terminated, the order
says. "I think the random drug testing will strengthen the police
department," Pugh said Thursday afternoon, "and re-enforce the department's
efforts to eradicate drugs in our community." On the first day of Pugh's
administration and of the new year, the mayor shook up the Paintsville
Police Department by demoting Wallen and McKenzie to the status of police
officers. Officers promoted during Wallen's stint as chief were also
reclassified as patrolmen - eliminating Wallen's ranking system.