CITY ASKED TO JOIN TASK FORCE

"We believe there is a drug problem in the area and we need to find ways to
combat this issue; whether it be through treatment centers or other means."
she continued.

The Task Force presentation will be conducted by Congressman Hal Rogers
office and sponsored by the Bell County Drug Coalition. It is scheduled to
meet Oct. 24 in Pineville, and will be open to the public as well.

Woolum said the Task Force had applied for funding, although the amount had
not been disclosed. The money would come in the form of a grant with 75
percent of the funding coming from the federal government and the other 25
percent allocated through local funds from within the county. "Regardless
of the amount, this is a good idea. We have a problem and this is evident
in the report recently presented by Chief Sharpe." said City Councilman
Thomas Epperson.

"I believe we need a treatment center to treat these individuals with drug
addictions." Councilman Epperson added. Woolum also said that the money
provided by the grant would allow for a undercover narcotics agent to be
placed in Bell County.

"This would greatly benefit the county and our cities as well. We are
encouraging all of the local city and county officials to attend this
meeting and get their input, as well as the residents of Bell County."
Woolum said. In the report given to the city council, Chief Sharpe listed
arrests made since 1990 and included a crime index for the same years.
According to the report, there were 72 drug arrests in 1990. By 2001 the
number had grown to 341. These numbers were taken from the police logs over
the last eleven years.

The crime index showed a fluctuation of the numbers. The worst year for
crime was in 1992 when 911 individual crimes were logged. Over the last
three years crime has decreased somewhat with 610 individual crimes
reported in 2001.

"We are currently working to improve our investigation into the drug arena
within the city. We have seen several more arrests within the last few
years in drug related crimes and we will continue to see more arrests with
some new implementations at the department." Chief Sharpe said. He added
that several investigations were on-going, but declined to give further
information.