CLENDENIN HIRES 'SECRET' OFFICER

In an effort to combat an increasing drug problem, Clendenin Police Chief
D.A. Crowder has added a military man with counter-drug experience to his
force.

Crowder and Mayor Kenneth Payne hired Sgt. James Wilson, 29, a full-time
West Virginia Army National Guardsman with the Guard's Drug Demand
Reduction unit. Wilson has been conducting drug reconnaissance and
surveillance as a part-time police officer.

Crowder said Saturday he could not reveal the man's name because of his
"top secret" clearance status with the military.

Wilson provided his name himself when he returned a call from the Gazette.
He said he is a member of Bravo Company 1st of the 150th, an infantry
platoon based at the Dunbar Armory. He spent five years on active duty in
the U.S. Marine Corps, about two years on active duty with the Army and has
been a Guardsman since 1996, he said.

He confirmed his top-secret clearance status, and said he has been trained
in the military's sniper and reconnaissance schools.

Wilson lives in Kanawha County, but not in Clendenin, he said. He declined
to provide his town of residence.

"I've known the chief for a while," Wilson said when asked how he became
part of the police force.

Secrecy surrounding Wilson's identity and role caused a stir among some
Clendenin residents when Crowder introduced him at the town council's Nov.
11 meeting.

When Crowder called out to him, Wilson entered the room wearing full
camouflage military fatigues, camouflage paint on his face and carrying a
scoped assault rifle.

"If there were any kids in there, he would have scared the hell out of
them," said Henry T. Shafer, editor of the Clendenin Herald newspaper. "I
thought I had seen just about everything, but this was bizarre. He said
"I've seen you; have you seen me?'"

The officer was brought to the town council meeting to make a presentation
on his work in the Army's drug unit, Crowder said.

"I think everyone else was pleased with the presentation to see what the
Clendenin Police Department is doing to rid the town of drugs," Crowder
said. "I don't see what the problem was. What's the big deal?"

Crowder said Wilson works undercover to conduct drug reconnaissance.
Wilson's face was covered and his name was kept secret when the chief
introduced him in order to conceal his identity, Crowder said.

"I guess we're supposed to go tell the drug dealers and say, 'Hey, here we
are'?" Crowder asked. "That's not how it works. If someone's undercover,
you don't know where they are."

"Because of his work with the Army, he has special orders," Crowder said.
"His name and picture can't be printed in the paper."

The chief said Saturday he did not know where Wilson is stationed, what
specific unit he belongs to or who his commanding officer is.

"The military issues are above and beyond me," he said.

Wilson provided many of the details and said his commanding officer is
aware of his work with the Clendenin police.

"There are plenty of Guardsmen on police departments all across West
Virginia," Wilson said. "In no way does my connection with the Guard affect
my job with the police. But I have a lot of military training that benefits
them in fighting the town's drug problem."

Crowder said he hired Wilson about two months ago to work about two shifts
a week doing surveillance and drug reconnaissance for the Clendenin Police
Department. Payne approved the hire, Crowder said.

Payne could not be reached for comment.

Wilson has spent time wearing his camouflage fatigues and face paint in the
woods while taking photographs and video surveillance of houses with
suspected methamphetamine labs, Wilson said. He has also done both
plainclothes and uniformed police work, he said. He supplements his job
with the Guard by working 14 to 15 hours each weekend with the police, he said.

Wilson uses photographic equipment and binoculars, but does not carry his
assault rifle on his police reconnaissance missions, he said

"The rifle and camouflage at my introduction were just to show the full
capabilities the police department had," Wilson said. "I'm not some lone
bandit in the woods. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

At the town council meeting, Wilson told members what kind of information
he had gathered related to drug investigations with the police and
explained he had not been seen because he had been on surveillance, he said.

The police department has had six full-time officers on patrol since May,
Crowder said. Now, this seventh man is helping them enforce drug laws.

"The town of Clendenin has had a drug problem because we didn't have an
adequate police service," Crowder said. "Now people feel safe walking the
streets again. We've had several drug warrants, searches and arrests at
labs making methamphetamine and people selling marijuana. And with the
increase in manpower, vandalism is now almost nonexistent."

Shafer said the police activity is unreasonable.

"We've got a police force that's out of this world," Shafer said. "They're
chasing people out of town and giving tickets out like wild. They've got
six or seven police officers for a town of 1,150 people. And we're a
bankrupt community."

Payne revealed last week that the town owed the Internal Revenue Service
and state tax division a combined total of about $70,000 in unpaid taxes
from the past three years. The town works with about $192,000 in its annual
budget and currently has about $35,000 in the bank, Payne told county
commissioners Nov. 14.

Commissioners sent a letter Wednesday to Payne and town attorney Garth
Atkins and requested they attend Monday's commission meeting to discuss
Clendenin's financial situation.

An initial inquiry by commission staff members found "quite often, checks
noted in the minutes as being for a certain payee, for a certain amount,
were not supported by the canceled checks themselves," the letter from
Commissioner Kent Carper states. "This is in addition to missing financial
records, missing fine-box keys, and the lack of proper reporting to state
and federal agencies."

Atkins could not be reached for comment.

At the last town council meeting, when the police officer was introduced,
Payne also told town council members that Clendenin is facing serious
financial problems.

Former town Recorder Barbara L. Davis resigned at the meeting. She said her
decision was based on health issues.

Davis was apparently responsible for writing the checks to pay the
now-delinquent taxes. Payne, who became mayor four months ago, said Davis
did not pay the bills, indicated she had and never told council members
about the delinquencies.

Payne met with IRS agents a couple of weeks ago and has paid part of the
federal tax bill. He was trying to meet with state tax officials earlier
this week.

County prosecutor Mike Clifford's office has been notified of the problem
and may conduct an investigation.