—
There’s no debating that Southwest Missouri, Northeast Oklahoma and Southeast Kansas all have drug problems.
Interstate 44, while great for transportation, is also a drug pipeline. Add to that methamphetamine operations and the ever-growing black market for prescription pain medication, and we see a greater need than ever for operations that work to stem the source of the operations.
One such operation is the Jasper County Drug Task Force. It works narcotics cases throughout the county, according to Carl Francis, Webb City police chief and a longtime task force board member.
“It allows us to work the entire county without worrying about jurisdictional boundaries. That also puts us with the state and federal systems. We have a DEA agent who has an office with the task force, and that allows us to expand our region even more. The recent federal K-2 indictments were the result of that,” Francis said.
He said the biggest benefit of the drug task force is that so many cases are intertwined, and officers can take the time to work their way to the source.
“Our goal is not the individual cases; it is to go after the source of manufacturing and supply and getting the drugs off the street.”
Currently, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and the Joplin and Webb City police departments are task force members.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says he wants to increase funding for drug task forces in Missouri.
The governor’s budget plan would provide $3 million for drug task forces — a move he says is necessary because of a planned cut in federal spending.
While we understand that cuts have to be made, we also know the devastating effect drugs have had on this area. Poverty, child abuse, crime and domestic violence are just a few of the social and economic ills the drug culture brings with it.
We would urge our legislators to examine the needs of drug task forces to make sure they have the funding to continue their investigations.
Opinion
Related Photos
Discussion
Our View: Funds for drug task forces
- Opinion
-
-
Other Views: Conflicts in SEC
Money talks. In the continuing dispute over the all-too-cozy relationship between the people who create and sell financial products and the people who rate their risk, the money says: Shut up and let us do what we want.
-
Phill Brooks, columnist: Missouri Senate did what Founding Fathers had in mind
George Washington once described the Senate as being like a saucer in which you pour coffee or tea.
-
Our View: Fixing failure
Some 1,200 injured workers will finally get the payments they are owed. In its final week in session, Missouri’s General Assembly, through bipartisan efforts, passed a solution to address the insolvency of the state’s Second Injury Fund.
-
Herb B. Kuhn, guest columnist: Delaying Medicaid reform could hurt rural Missouri
The Missouri Legislature missed a rare opportunity in the just-ended session to transform Medicaid and make a real difference in the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors. Rural Missouri has the most to lose from the legislature’s failure to act.
-
Kevin Wilson, guest columnist: When fear wins out, so do the terrorists
I’m going to make a bold statement that’s sure to draw a lot of comments, but hear me out before reaching for the keyboard to type a rebuttal.
-
Sandie Morgan, guest columnist: Unions benefit workers more than they may know
In a recent guest column (Globe, May 14), Elliott Denniston made the case for Missouri not to become a right-to-work state, and he made this case very well.
-
Marta Mossburg, columnist: Maybe government is tyrannical after all
Less than two weeks ago President Obama stood in front of graduates from The Ohio State University and told them to reject those who warn of government tyranny.
-
Our View: Spying on us
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
Our View: Pass on the legacy
Forty hungry members of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry began gathering corn at the Rader farm near the village of Sherwood when they were ambushed by a guerrilla band of about 70 Southern sympathizers.
-
Our View: Big Brother looms large
The federal government, working under the cloak of secrecy, has been having a heyday at the expense of all Americans.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
Wave of Attacks Kills Scores in Iraq
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
Company Promises to Make All Snail Mail Digital
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
AP CEO: Records Seizure 'Unconstitutional'
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
