FLETCHER UNVEILS PLAN TO COMBAT METHAMPHETAMINE

Republican gubernatorial candidate Ernie Fletcher unveiled a three-part
approach to battling the growing Kentucky drug problem Friday during a
brief stop at the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport.

A crowd of 40 people gathered in the airport lobby where Fletcher and
running mate Steve Pence discussed the devastating impact of
methamphetamine in western Kentucky while offering to improve the state's
drug education, enforcement and rehabilitation efforts.

Funds to pay for the initiative would likely surface after a reorganization
of state spending and through federal grants, and without creating a larger
bureaucracy, Fletcher said.

Fletcher said the effort would be tailored to regional problems in the
state such as the OxyContin problem in eastern Kentucky, the prescription
drug problem statewide and the meth problem in western Kentucky.

Fletcher, whose Friday visit was his second to Owensboro this week, said he
would depend heavily on the law enforcement experience of Pence, who is a
former federal prosecutor.

"I'm not going to stand up before you today and tell you we have a silver
bullet . . . " Pence said. "It's going to take more than law enforcement to
beat this problem. I can't overemphasize . . . our dedication to the problem."

Pence said he would increase the power of enforcement by beefing up
"Operation Speedway," a federal initiative that allows federal prosecution
of meth crimes regardless of the amount of drugs involved. That power would
allow first-time meth manufacturers and traffickers to be prosecuted in the
federal court system, where people convicted do not have the option of parole.

The threat of serving hard years in a federal prison would deter people
from making or trafficking meth, Pence said.

Pence would like to organize regional headquarters throughout western
Kentucky that would respond to meth labs.

Once incarcerated, inmates must participate in rehabilitation and
treatment, Pence said. Fletcher said he would like to see a greater number
of rehabilitation centers throughout the state. The centers would be
feasible through private and public partnerships, Fletcher said.

Later Friday, the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ben Chandler
issued a statement criticizing Fletcher.

Chandler spokeswoman Susan Dixen charged that in Congress, Fletcher voted
to cut funding for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program
and to cut $13 million of grant funding in the 2003 COPS budget
specifically for local police to fight meth labs.

"Anyone who knows anything about law enforcement knows you need to have
police on the street, and you need to give them the tools to do their job,"
Dixen said.

Fletcher praised the efforts of Daviess County Jailer David Osborne, who is
gathering support for an intensive, inpatient drug treatment center for
nonviolent addicts at the jail facility on U.S. 60 East.

"This is the kind of local initiative that we are looking for ... "
Fletcher said.

Pence and Fletcher both spoke of the need for "directing more resources"
down to the local level to better assist local police and sheriff's
departments. Those agencies are the first to encounter the problems, but
the last to get resources, Pence said.

Fletcher said his and Pence's federal connections would help garner federal
grants that would assist underfunded agencies. Additional resources would
be available after reviewing every cabinet in Frankfort and eliminating
"runaway spending," Fletcher said.