6/23/09
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7 comments
EDITORIAL
Morgan does good job busting meth labs
One way The Daily gauges news that interests the most people is by looking at the hits articles get on our Web site. The recent article on the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department busting a meth lab drew far more hits than other news items. Whether it was the dead owl that reportedly led deputies to the illegal operation, or good police work, people were interested. The owl, which is a federally protected species, was hanging from a tree in a backyard at a county residence. Authorities responded to a harassment call there and learned that the homeowner already had a charge for manufacture of a controlled substance. Deputies and a state trooper found evidence of a clandestine methamphetamine lab inside the home, Sheriff Greg Bartlett said. Members of the Drug Task Force dismantled the lab and charged four people, including the homeowner, with manufacture of a controlled substance. The sheriff said in a story recently that Morgan is leading in meth lab arrests. It’s comforting to know that Bartlett’s department is at the top in getting this horrible drug off the streets. Each bust makes citizens of the county safer; perhaps that was what interested them the most.
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Now wait a minute, if I read your stories right, the biggest percent are found when they are called to the scene or serving a warrent or a traffic stop. They are not searching for all these labs. I'm very glad they are finding these labs but let's not give Bartlett any credit just because he is currently the sheriff. It is the knowledge and experience of the officers on the scene that become aware there is meth or a lab present. God protect our men and women serving in law enforcement at home in the USA that protect us also.
Barlett is the county's top cop, so he does deserve the credit.
Thank you Decatur Daily for reporting something positive about the Sheriff and his office. They do a great job keeping drugs off the streets in our entire county. Good job Sheriff Bartlett & his office and good job Daily for some positive feedback.
It was the dead owl headline that got me to read the story.
The owl was what got my attention. The meth lab was found as a result of a neighbor complaint not necessarily as a result of the police department finding it on their own. Most times it is something of that nature that draws the police to these awful things. I'm glad that people are paying attention.
Coverage of meth lab busts is a lot like plugging up a bug zapper on your porch. Sure it's entertaining and the constant flicker of doomed insects makes it look effective, but at the end of the day only a minute fraction of bugs flying around your house are caught by it. What we need is an honest, fact-based debate about drugs in our society and not editorials fawning over an ineffective political patronage-based enforcement system that has, despite 40 years and billions of dollars, overseen a steady rise in the availability and purity of illegal drugs together with a drop in their prices.
Why should it matter how the meth lab is discovered, or who actually finds it? The point is that the labs are being dismantled and the bad guys are being arrested. Kudos to the authorities who are doing this fine work.