BUST AIDS ABC BOARD

With $349,000 in hand, the Rowan County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
has a promise of more money to come from the breakup of a nationwide drug ring.

A top regional U.S. Customs official met recently with members of the local
ABC board and staff to deliver a check.

And Jeff Jordan, resident agent in charge of the Charlotte Customs office,
praised the work of the ABC law enforcement division, which includes agents
Ray Shuler and Robert Boswell Jr.

Customs officials nominated Boswell for a national award he will receive
next month for his work which resulted in what has been termed the largest
drug bust and cash seizure in state history.

Officials seized $1.4 million in cash and more than 8,000 pounds of
marijuana in the March 2001 drug bust in Woodleaf.

Customs officials have said the Woodleaf bust was only a part of a much
larger investigation that dismantled a drug network reaching into Mexico.
Cases are still being prosecuted.

Jordan told officials that the Rowan ABC board will get a portion of every
seizure involved in the investigation.

Shuler said it may be months or years, but they are assured it's coming.

Board members praised the work of Boswell and Shuler.

"It speaks well of the department," said board member Frank Tadlock.

The board has agreed to give $125,000 to the county general fund to help
pay for a security system at the courthouse.

That will leave ABC with nearly $225,000.

The money comes with a four-page list of things to do.

The money can be used only for law enforcement purposes, including
training, equipment, facilities, drug awareness education and some salaries.

The money can't be used to replace funds already going to law enforcement.

ABC officials have placed the forfeiture money on certificates of deposit
with F&M bank, pending decisions on expenditures.

In other matters, the board heard information or acted as follows:

* ABC systems across the state dodged a bullet with the adoption of the
state budget last week.

ABC systems successfully lobbied to keep the state from taking money from
each system to fund the state Alcoholic Law Enforcement officers,
effectively dismantling county and city ABC law enforcement.

ABC Chairman Faye Porter and Shuler said state legislators may try to tap
the local funds next year.

But the state ABC system didn't escape untouched.

Legislators tapped the bailment fees, the fee charged for handling and
shipping cases of liquor from the state warehouse. Currently the fee is
$1.70 per case.

General Manager Linda Lowman said the fee will be going up and that will
result in a small increase in the store price of liquor.

And Shuler noted that the legislators also made off-premise beer and wine
permits renewable annually at a cost of $200 each. The money will go to the
state's general fund.

Board member Hank Palmer and other ABC members said legislators should turn
their attention away from liquor and put new taxes on cigarettes.

Tadlock suggested that if taxes were increased in North Carolina, it would
make smuggling to high tax states less attractive.