THE 'METHBUSTER'

Sheriff's Department Unveils Latest D.A.R.E. Vehicle

If there's something strange in your neighborhood, the Daviess County
Sheriff's Department has just the car for you.

A converted 1962 Cadillac ambulance has been transformed into the
10-foot-tall, 4-wheel-drive "Methbuster," the latest anti-drug message in
the department's Drug Abuse Resistance Education fleet of crime-fighting
vehicles.

The monster car, donated by an Owensboro doctor, will be used at local
schools, parades and other events to spread D.A.R.E.'s message, said
Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain.

The "Methbuster" theme was selected for the car because the Cadillac is
similar to the Ectomobile used in the "Ghostbusters" movie in 1984.

"We were looking for something to capture the interest of young people, as
well as a number of adults, for the D.A.R.E. program," Cain said. "It's a
good vehicle to do that."

The car began life as an ambulance, was later converted into a hearse and
then into a monster car for display on the monster-truck racing circuit,
Cain said. The car, now painted white, was last known as "The Last Ride"
and was painted maroon.

The car, powered by a 396 Chevrolet engine, sports four large tires that
look ready to crush the next lawbreaker it meets. The rear bumper says
"Dead End."

The car and a converted bus to haul it on were donated by Dr. George
Gilliam, chairman of the Owensboro Board of Education, Cain said. The paint
job was donated in part by Greg's Collision Center and Hippie Designs, the
same team that has painted the department's two other D.A.R.E. police cruisers.

"I've had it for several years, and we just don't get it out and show it
enough," Gilliam said. "I thought if I was going to do something with it, I
should give it to someone who would use it."

The only thing left to do is install a 1960s "bubble" style emergency
flashing light on the car's roof, said Greg Wimsatt, owner of Greg's
Collision Center. The bus will also be painted to match the other cars'
red-white-and-blue flag design, he said.

The department has spent about $1,800 from the department's D.A.R.E. fund
on the car, Cain said. The fund is generated by assets forfeited in
drug-related convictions, he said.

Painters had to use ladders to paint the car, Wimsatt said.

"We've painted semi trucks before, but nothing this big," Wimsatt said.

How does it handle on the road?

"It doesn't," said Robin Woolard, an employee at Greg's Collision Center.
"It doesn't have power steering, so it's tough to turn it."

The vehicle may be the oddest D.A.R.E. car in the country. Typically,
D.A.R.E. cars are police vehicles donated by police departments, vehicles
seized from drug dealers or vehicles donated by auto dealerships.

In 1999, the Owensboro Police Department's D.A.R.E. car, a 1999 Chevrolet
Camaro, won first-place honors in a nationwide competition at the National
D.A.R.E. Officers Association convention in Washington, D.C.

OPD's previous car, a 1988 Pontiac Firebird, won Best of Show at the
national convention in 1988 and -- after being repainted -- second-place
honors in 1996.

On The Web

A collection of D.A.R.E. vehicles from across the country are on display at
the D.A.R.E. America Web site at http://www.dare.com/index2.htm. None of
the cars on the Web site, however, are from Owensboro or Daviess County.