By Sara Strong
Citizens turned to the Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday for answers to and assistance with the area's drug problems.
Those attending the meeting ranged from parents of addicts, residents who saw problems in their neighborhoods and school and city of Luverne leaders.
Specifically, the group wanted some issues, pertinent to the county, addressed by the board. They also look forward to working with the schools and other county towns.
Commissioners said they will spend about a month researching in order to address:
Officer numbers or assignments in the Sheriff's Department. One statistic estimates that there should be 14 to 20 officers to cover a population like Rock County's. Here, there are now 14, including three part-timers, an investigator and the sheriff.
The work load of the corrections officer. It is difficult to do follow-up drug tests on offenders on probation to ensure they are substance-free.
The disbanded Drug Task Force. The task force used to have trained swat team officers and utilized regional resources for drug arrests. Since it is no longer available, does the county have other similar options?
A specialized drug enforcement officer. The board is almost sure it can't fund another officer but said it would look into grants or other funding sources to bring more resources to the department.
The county is strapped for funds because of a state-imposed limit on what it can collect from taxpayers, but commissioners made a commitment to help in whatever way possible.
County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said he was pleased that the requests came in a positive tone and noted that taxpayers offering to spend more money was a rare sentiment.
'This is my daughter'
The board's meeting room was filled to capacity, but the presentation was led by Lila Bauer and Elaine Fick, both of Luverne, and Stan Nelson, Hills.
Bauer held up a picture of her daughter, Leslie, and said, "This is my 19-year-old daughter and right now, she's in jail."
Bauer has known about her daughter's methamphetamine addiction since August, when Leslie called 911 after having paranoid delusions of a break-in when she was coming off a high.
Leslie is now in jail on grand theft auto charges, which her mother instigated to try to force her into drug treatment through the court system.
"Kids make bad choices, but the drugs are there to help," Bauer said.
That's where she said law enforcement should come in - to take away the availability of drugs.
"We're losing good kids to this," Bauer said.
She said, "If workload is the issue with law enforcement, then we should hire more."
Fick's son has been through treatment, and she said she is worried for the safety of the community - not just the health of meth users. She pointed to crimes like burglaries in the county that are probably drug-related.
Nelson echoed Fick’s statement. "What I'm concerned about is the violence," he said.
Nelson is the father of Carrie Nelson, who was killed during an apparent robbery at Blue Mound State Park more than a year ago. That crime is unsolved.
Nelson's emotions came to the surface as he cried and showed pictures of Carrie to board members.
"I don't know that whoever killed Carrie was a tweaker, but my gut just burns that it was...Meth causes violent behavior and causes chemical reactions in the brain that change people."
Nelson said he advocates the county having a narcotics officer to deal solely with drug enforcement issues.
"It's not drinking beer and smoking pot and getting goofy anymore," Nelson said.
Country Kitchen owner Raney Israelson said, "We keep talking about meth here, and law enforcement is trying to clean up the drug labs and that's great. But what about the marijuana that's getting kids addicted first?"
Legal substances like cigarettes and alcohol are also being illegally consumed, and Israelson said enforcing those laws might stop those users from moving up to other drugs.
With law enforcement such a part of the discussion, Sheriff Ron McClure addressed the group, saying he's generally proud of his department, but he is continually working to improve standards and outcomes.
He said he takes the role of law enforcement seriously - professionally and personally. "We care," he said through tears. "We care as much about your kids as you. We are patrolling and walking around more and checking in with people more often, but we do have to stay within the law."
Fick said she's gained respect for McClure and the department as she's related to them more recently. "They care," she said. "They truly, truly care about our kids and our community."
Commissioner Wendell Erickson said, "This is probably the most important one hour I've ever put in on the County Board."
Board Chairman Jane Wildung said, "The last nine months, the city and county have been working with law enforcement on ways to improve life. The city and the sheriff have been wonderful partners in improving service in Rock County."
County staff, Wildung and board member Ron Boyenga will meet to address the specific concerns outlined at the meeting.