PARKERSBURG POLICE GET FEDERAL GRANT

The Parkersburg Police Department will receive a $222,222 grant from the
U.S. Department of Justice for the city's community policing program.

The grant is part of $17.7 million awarded nationally to combat the
production and use of methamphetamine, U.S. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va.,
said. The money will be used for enforcement, training and laboratory
cleanup, he said. Numerous arrests and raids of methamphetamine
laboratories and operations in the city, county and region have taken place
in recent years. The Parkersburg Narcotics Task Force Wednesday raided
three alleged labs in Wirt County.

''I wish we had this money a long time ago,'' Parkersburg police Chief Bob
Newell said. ''Better late than never.''

The city, which received short notice before application deadline, applied
for the grant several weeks ago, Newell said. The swift turn-around time
was surprising, he said.

The money can be used for numerous purposes against the manufacture and
distribution of the illegal substance, including hiring part-time
prosecutors for methamphetamine cases and safety equipment for officers in
the labs, he said. Caustic and toxic ingredients, such as lye, are used in
the production of the drug.

About $12 million of the funding will go to 57 police agencies across the
country and the remainder to the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Western
Regional Training Center in California, Mollohan said. The two groups will
train law enforcement agents and improve the national methamphetamine
tracking system.

Parkersburg was the only city in the state to receive a grant, Ron Hudok,
Mollohan's press spokesman, said.

Mayor Jimmy Colombo, in no uncertain terms, was ecstatic, surprised and
appreciative.

''This is wonderful,'' Colombo said. ''This is a lot of money.''

While personnel is the major expense in a police department, this money can
be used to purchase equipment to help police officers and agents perform
their work, he said.

The mayor commended the congressman for his attention to the needs of law
enforcement.

''This shows his heart is in the right place,'' Colombo said.