CLINIC TO SOON START DISPENSING METHADONE

A long-contested methadone clinic in Saginaw is signing up patients
and will start dispensing the drug by the end of the year, a partner
in the clinic said.

Meanwhile, on Friday a group of Saginaw residents who don't want the
clinic in their neighborhood appealed the ruling that appears to
clear the way for it to open.

Mickey Johnson, the group's lawyer, said the motion he filed asks the
Alabama Court of Civil Appeals to reconsider its Oct. 21 ruling. That
order overturned an injunction that had kept Shelby County Treatment
Center from opening its doors in the community near Alabaster.

Johnson said if that motion fails, he will file an appeal with the
Alabama Supreme Court.

'Delay Tactic'

Susan Staats-Sidwell, a partner in the group opening the clinic,
called the appeal "a delay tactic."

She said Shelby County Treatment Center plans to start issuing
methadone once it gets clearance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

"We are open now, but we will have methadone in the building within a
matter of weeks," Staats-Sidwell said.

Methadone is a drug prescribed to ease the desire for drugs such as
heroin and painkillers.

Alan Edmondson, a Saginaw resident and the lead plaintiff in the
lawsuit that sought to block the clinic, said residents plan to take
the case as far as they can. "It's just something nobody wants next
door to them," Edmondson said.

Saginaw residents said they believe the clinic will bring drug
addicts and crime to their neighborhood.

The legal battle has been over whether a state agency that licenses
medical facilities should have granted Shelby County Treatment Center
a permit to open in Saginaw without first notifying Saginaw residents
and allowing them the opportunity to express their objections. At the
time the clinic got its permit to open in Shelby County, owners
planned to put it in Calera; they subsequently switched the location
to Saginaw.

The Court of Civil Appeals' decision reversed an order from Shelby
County Circuit Judge Dan Reeves, who ruled that Saginaw residents had
not been given a chance to mount meaningful protest against the clinic.

The appeals court found the clinic had followed state rules and that
the permit issued in 2004 covered the entire county. The court also
found that the clinic had not misrepresented its intended location
when it filed for the permit.

David Belser, a lawyer for the clinic, said that, based on the
strength of the opinion, he doesn't believe the Court of Civil
Appeals will reverse itself.

Johnson said his clients contend the law refers to services rendered
when it talks about a permit covering the entire county, not the
clinic's location.

He also said the state Health Planning and Development Agency had a
duty to notify residents who would be most affected by the clinic's
change in location.

Going into the appeal, Johnson will be handling the case alone.

Shelby County District Attorney Robby Owens said he no longer will
participate after the Court of Civil Appeals ruled that the state has
no interest in the case and that Owens lacked the authority to
represent Saginaw residents, as he had done in the case.