MONEY REALLY MATTERS

With the near-overwhelming methamphetamine, marijuana, powder cocaine
and crack problem growing in DeKalb County, the DeKalb County Drug
Task Force needs money.

That's where the U.S. Department of Justice and the DeKalb County
Commission comes into play.

The task force was again awarded a $75,000 grant from the Department
of Justice with a $25,000 local match from the commission to keep
fighting the local war on drugs.

According to Drug Task Force Commander Darrell Collins, 90 percent of
the county's violent crime is estimated to be drug-related.

He explained that since Jan. 1, the task force has already worked 39
meth cases, which translates into nearly three meth busts for every
one for marijuana.

"Without this money, we wouldn't be able to function. Before we were
awarded this grant in 2001, we worked mainly on seizing. But now we
are able to do so much more," Collins said.

County administrator Matt Sharp said this is the third year the county
has applied for the grant.

Commission Chairman Sid Holcomb was notified by Alabama Department of
Economic and Community Affairs Director John Harrison that the grant
had been approved.

"The grant has basically been the same amount the last two years, and
the first year we received a little bit more because there was a dire
need for several vehicles," Sharp said.

In Sharp's opinion, the grant helps make drug task force agent's job a
little bit easier.

"It would be very difficult for them to do their job without the means
to purchase the equipment and receive the training they need," Sharp
said.

The funds enable the task force, comprised of personnel from the Fort
Payne and Collinsville police departments, the DeKalb County Sheriff's
Department and the Ninth Judicial Circuit District Attorney's office,
to buy intelligence-gathering equipment and receive training essential
to reducing illegal drug use, trafficking and violent crime.

In a press release, Gov. Bob Riley said, "Our message is
straightforward: If you see illegal drugs in Alabama, you will be
caught and prosecuted. We must be aggressive in enforcing the law
because drug-related violence and crime pose serious threats to the
health and safety of our communities."