CHEROKEE COUNTY MARIJUANA ERADICATION SUCCESSFUL

CENTRE - The drug agents used machetes to cut a trail through thick brush,
small trees and briars.

A rough trek to the bottom of a steep gorge was the only way to get to a
crop of marijuana planted at least 50 yards below.

Wearing gloves, water packs on their backs, camouflage knee boots to
protect against snakes and plenty of insect repellent, Cherokee County Drug
Task Force commander Joe Hester and agent Jimmy Wallace followed the
directions of the helicopter pilot circling above to reach the cache.

"Walk to your right, following the tree line," the pilot relayed.

The brush was thick, the agents were not able to see the plants until the
pilot had directed them to within a few feet of the plot.

It took only a few seconds to chop down approximately 30 plants and the
agents began the climb to the top of the gorge.

The climb was so steep, agents often had to hold to trees to pull
themselves up. Temperatures were bumping 90 degrees by 10 a.m. and sweat
was rolling after the climb to the top of the hill.

The agents already had driven four-wheel drive trucks loaded with four
wheelers almost three miles off Alabama 9, near the Georgia state line,
before the marijuana was found.

The agents used a Global Positioning System to match with coordinates given
by the pilot, who guided them from the main highway, along a dirt road to a
small trail up the side of the mountain.

"You're going to have to walk the rest of the way," the pilot said when the
agents reached the area.

The 30 or so plants - between eight and 10 feet high - found there were a
drop in the bucket compared to the amount found the remainder of Friday.
Hester said 579 plants were found, mostly in the Spring Garden community.

"We try to get every bit that we can get," Hester said.

Cherokee County agents have been working with the Alabama Bureau of
Investigation and the Alabama National Guard this week in the annual
eradication program.

Almost 1,600 plants were found Thursday in the Sandy Creek and Spring
Garden communities off U.S. 411, Hester said.

Cherokee County got an early start on Monday, on an unscheduled day of
eradication, when a tip led to the discovery of 1,265 plants, Hester said.

The plants were found in the Sandy Creek area, just north of Centre in
about four or five different plots, Hester said.

The eradication team was in nearby county and assisted Monday in seizing
those plants, he said.

About 3,400 plants have been found this week, he said.

That comes after 2,877 plants were found on an earlier search in May, he said.

Cherokee County led the state for several years in the number of plants
found, but fell in the last few years to second after Cleburne County.

Both Cherokee and Cleburne counties have many rural miles, which
authorities believe leads to a larger number of illegal plants.

More than 10,400 plants were found in Cherokee County in 1999, Hester said.
That same year, 437 were found in Etowah County, 3,716 were found in
DeKalb, 633 were found in Marshall and 1207 were found in Calhoun County,
Hester said.

This year the numbers seem to be rising again, something Hester attributes
to the tightened security at the borders since Sept. 11.

"We're seeing more meth labs and more people are growing their own
marijuana," Hester said.