Meth task force goes online

Tue, 02/14/2006 - 4:30pm
By: Ben Nelms

You take ingredients like rubbing alcohol, engine starter fluid, lye, decongestants, antifreeze and acetone. Scrape the phosphorus off some matches and throw it in the mix.

You can manufacture the concoction in your home, in your car, in a motel room or in some out of the way place in the woods. Cook it for a while, then package it up for sale.

People all over the place will buy it to snort or smoke. It’s methamphetamine. And it’s use has already gotten out of hand, even in idyllic Fayette County.

To combat that reality, the Fayette Meth Task Force has launched a Web site to help inform the public about what is at stake.

The new Web site was announced at the group’s Feb. 7 meeting by task force coordinators Det. Steve Crawshaw and Cpl. Matt Myers. The Web site, up and running and still undergoing development, was paid for by Fayetteville Police Department, said Crawshaw.

“We needed to establish a Web site and make information accessible,” said Crawshaw. “The idea was presented to the department and they agreed to fund it for the first year.”

Web site contents currently include task force committees and their missions, information on area service providers, provisions of state law, letters and upcoming events. But it is the many links on the burgeoning site that tell the story and provide a wealth of information on the nature, the power and the tragedy of meth.

Task force members Feb. 7 discussed and gave input on various aspects of the Web site, including opinions on graphics and additional needed components. The group also suggested that the Web site layout and components be viewed by a selected group of young people to solicit their input. The group discussed the development of a logo for its upcoming business cards and the need for the services of a graphic artist to assist with the project.

Also at the meeting, the group gave final approval to the task force Mission Statement: To combat the meth epidemic by educating the community about its dangers, preventing its spread and providing treatment to victims and all those affected while actively pursuing the arrest and prosecution of persons facilitating the manufacture and sale of methamphetamine.

Task force coordinator and Fayette Factor Director Becky Smith said the non-profit Fayette Meth Task Force is in need of tax deductible donations. The task force, she said, has applied for a $4,000 grant and is currently searching for other grant opportunities.

“We’ve got significant manpower but it’s going to take dollars to get us out there like we need to be,” Smith said. “We’re a viable entity with a product and a service. The more we get out there and get our name known the more dollars will come in.”

The Fayette Meth Task Force Web site is www.fayettemethtaskforce.com.

The next meeting of Fayette Meth Task Force will be March 17 at 7 p.m. at the Fayetteville Municipal Court building.

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