RURAL PIERCE COUNTY RESIDENTS TAKE ACTION AGAINST METH

MCKENNA, Pierce County - When the meth lab moved in down the road from Jim
and Terry's house in really rural Pierce County, it didn't take long for a
whole bunch of their neighbors to start talking about putting their houses
up for sale.

But that has changed thanks to neighbors who are fighting back. "There's no
way I'm leaving," said Jim, who didn't want to give his last name. "They
(the druggies) are. One way or another."

Jim, his wife and a host of their friends and neighbors are among the
several hundred people in South Pierce County - where an estimated 200
methamphetamine labs are discovered each year - who've formed their own
community groups to drive meth labs out of their neighborhoods.

Yesterday, the group Community Action Team Methamphetamines Eat Opportunity
Out Of Washington (CAT MEOOOW), gathered in the woods behind the
firestation in McKenna to dismantle a handmade, Robinson Crusoe-style fort
that had been used by meth makers and users for years.

"It's exciting to be out here 'cause I'm in 100 percent support of what
they're doing," said State Rep. Tom Campbell, who helped tear down the
two-story structure.

"We've done a lot at the state to strengthen the meth laws, but without
citizen involvement, we can't do it. And we're already seeing the fruits of
their labor. The rats are leaving the ship now," Campbell said.

The CAT MEOOOW, like other similar community-based support groups, uses
vigilance, assertiveness and awareness to flush drug dealers from
neighborhoods, according to President Barb Dolan.

"We have a good community and we don't want it taken over by drug people.
We want to make it uncomfortable for problem people to be here," she said.

"We videotape problem addresses and problem children, that's what I call
our tweakers. We post signs that say there will be surveillance and then we
videotape cars, faces and actions. Then, we turn it over to the police."

The group is careful, however, to stay within the law.

Sgt. Rick Haltunen, of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, said the
various groups' efforts have made a noticeable difference.

District 19, where Haltunen operates, is a 715-square-mile area that
stretches from Mount Rainier to Roy and over to the Orting Valley.

A lot of rural areas in the state, which is listed as the second- largest
meth-producing state in the nation - have seen a proliferation of meth labs
in recent years.

In 1999, there were 21 meth-lab busts in District 19. In 2001, there have
been 79. In addition, crimes such as burglary, which can be fueled by drug
use, have increased by nearly 300 percent over the past few years, Haltunen
said.

Haltunen admitted that the complicated problems surrounding addictions and
crime are not likely to be solved by any one group, but he said the effects
of the community groups are already being felt.

"In the last couple of months we've seen a decrease in thefts, burglaries
and vehicle prowls," he said. "Arrests are up and crimes are down.

"This is one of the best examples of a community-policing effort," said
Haltunen.

"It doesn't solve the problem, but it definitely makes a dent in it."