By Lori EhdeRock County Sheriff Mike Winkels took his message about rural meth abuse to local township leaders Tuesday afternoon."We really need your help in keeping your eyes open," Winkels said. "I want to stress if you guys see anything unusual let us know. … If you see a bottle of Drano in the ditch that could be an indication that there’s a meth lab in the area."Winkels updated township supervisors and rural city mayors about meth during their annual Noxious Weed and County Update meeting.He told them this time of year it’s especially important to secure anhydrous ammonia tanks, because it’s a key ingredient in meth production.Now, he said, meth cookers have learned to transport anhydrous in water fire extinguishers, because the valves are stainless steel. Winkels said he heard one report of a farmer’s anhydrous tank that had been completely emptied.He said 13 meth labs were seized in Rock County from 1999 to 2004, but he said the story doesn’t end with the arrests.Deputy John McCarty is training to become certified in meth lab teardown, and the department has invested $5,000 in equipment needed to enter a meth lab.Costs for the training and equipment were offset by grants through EMS and the Homeland Security Act.Clean-up of seized meth labs can cost thousands, and rural landlords are left paying the bill for their tenants’ drug habits.Low-rent rural acreages are popular rental sites among meth producers, because of their remote, affordable locations.The Sheriff’s Department is part of the Southwestern Methamphetamines Task Force in Rock County, and one of the goals of the group is to educate landlords of their potential liability in renting to meth users.Commissioner Jane Wildung, who also serves on the task force, and Commissioner Richard Bakken said landlords should reconsider renting rural acreages at all."Being a landlord is risky business," Wildung said. "If I own property, it’s my responsibility to know that my renter is not cooking meth."Because the chemicals used to produce meth are so dangerous and it’s difficult to assess the extent of contamination in a meth lab, older buildings are often condemned, and property owners are responsible for all costs incurred.Special lease agreements can allow landlords to enter a renter’s living quarters, but the lease requires the landowners to take classes for certification.Rock County Deputy Evan Verbrugge is certified to teach rental property classes.For more information, the Southwest Minnesota Meth Task Force can be reached at 283-5077 and the Sheriff’s Department can be reached at 283-5000.Weed updateTuesday’s gathering at the library in Luverne was a mandatory meeting of township and city officials to discuss noxious weeds in the county, but the Rock County Land Management Office is getting creative with the use of that time.Assistant Land Management Director Doug Bos said modern farming techniques have shortened the county’s presentation on weeds, so he said the meth information was a way to make use of that time spent at the meeting.Also on the agenda were updates on: othe national animal identification system (see related story), obulk fertilizer tank requirements and pesticide use checks andoRock County zoning.In addition, Bos provided an ag inspection update, which included information about the noxious weed problem in the Touch the Sky Prairie.Last year, about 700 acres of thistles got out of control, Bos said, because U.S. Fish and Wildlife workers started spraying too late and weren’t able to get the job done with two four-wheelers spot spraying such a large area."It was kind of a thorn in the side of the landowners who received notices that they need to control their noxious weeds," Bos said.The good news, he said, is that this year the Fish and Wildlife Service is planning an early start – about mid-May – for spraying and should have the problem contained this year.
