DRUG SWEEPS REQUIRE A LOT OF PLANNING

Because of the numerous things that can go wrong, a drug sweep can be a
very dangerous task to undertake, and during Friday's drug sweep the mayor
of Jasper and a member of the city council got an up close look at just how
things are done.

Jasper Mayor Don Goetz and Councilman Morris Studdard rode along with
Jasper Police Chief Bobby Cain as members of the Walker County Drug
Enforcement Team, Jasper Police and Walker County Sheriff's departments and
the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board began their sweep of Jasper city
streets.

Friday was the first time Studdard was involved in a drug sweep since
taking office and he was really impressed by the NET unit and other law
enforcement agencies that took part.

"I fully support any effort to curb drug traffic in Jasper," Studdard said.
"Drugs have affected a lot of homes and neighborhoods in the city and in
the county as well.

"We need to do everything we can to help our NET unit, police and sheriff's
department and the ABC Board rid our fair city and county of all the
illegal drugs. We have a lot of good citizens who don't do drugs and they
don't deserve such activity taking place outside their front door or in
their neighborhood."

Studdard said if the opportunity arose again to be a part of another drug
sweep he would definitely be there, because he is 100 percent against drugs
and alcohol and he doesn't mind letting anyone in on that fact.

"I stand behind our law enforcement agencies in their efforts to do away
with the drugs," Studdard said. "I know we're not going to get rid of all
of it by doing one of these sweeps, but after what I witnessed Friday it
sure does help to slow it down just a little."

The mayor has been on several drug sweeps over the past five years and
according to him a lot of hard work goes into one before it can happen.

"This sweep was a combination of six month's to a year's worth of work by
the NET Unit and Jasper Police," Goetz said. "There were a lot of things
that had to come together, such as collecting evidence to make a case in
court, before the warrants could be issued.

"I appreciate the way the NET unit and the Jasper Police Department is
working together to clean the drugs off our city streets. Oh, we know we're
not going to eliminate it all together, but it's sure not like it used to be."

According to NET director Paul Kilgore, Friday's sweep went real smooth,
but he said it only takes a second for things to become very dangerous when
doing a drug sweep or busting up a drug lab.

"People just don't realize how dangerous it can get, especially when we go
after someone who is running a meth lab," Kilgore said. "The components
used to make that stuff (methamphetamine) is very volatile, so we have to
be really careful when we go into a place where a lab is being operated.

"You have to remember, when we do a sweep or bust a lab we're dealing with
individuals who are on drugs, using dangerous chemicals and some of them
probably haven't slept for days. So we have no way of knowing what they
might do from one minute to the next."

Friday's sweep, which took place in various sections of Jasper and Walker
County, resulted in the arrest of 22 individuals on various charges ranging
from unlawful distribution of a controlled substance to giving false
information to a police officer.