Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Alex Cabrero ReportingBy now we've all heard the warnings about meth and how widespread it is. But many still don't think it's a problem in their community.
Vernal and Uintah County are best known as the land of ancient dinosaurs, but there's something a lot smaller there right now that just might be even deadlier.
Lynn Hadlock: "I've left a couple of times, moved away, but it always tugs me to come back."
There's just something about being in Vernal that Lynn Hadlock can't live without. It's where his sister can give him a haircut and his buddies are just a car horn away.
Lynn Hadlock: "Kind of like going to a high school reunion every time you go downtown."
But for all the Mayberry-type feelings he has of his hometown, he knows it's changed.
Lynn Hadlock, Vernal: "You can't leave your house unlocked or your sheds unlocked or your kids bikes in the yard anymore, you know?"
There's a little more crime in Vernal, but police chief Gary Jensen feels most of it can all be traced back to the rise of one drug.
Gary Jensen: "The use of meth is a growing problem."
In the past five and a half years, Vernal police have worked some 1200 cases involving meth. That's about one every two days.
Gary Jensen, Chief, Vernal Police Dept.: "It's taking the United States by storm, but clearly in Vernal, this is our problem drug."
Some of the problem, not all, but some of the problems are coming from the oil fields in Uintah County, which is a growing industry.
Lt. Keith Campbell, Uintah Co. Sheriff's Office: "There's a lot of guys out here that'll work 12, 15 days, seven, 10 days straight."
There is plenty of overtime money for oil field workers, but to work that much, for some, meth is the answer. Police see it all the time.
Keith Campbell: "We win battles on occasion, maybe even frequently. But I wouldn't say we're winning the war by any means."
Those are tough words to hear, but police say it's reality.
Gary Jensen: "It's time to care."
Which is why they held a sort of wake-up to meth class. About 60 residents came to get the facts and ask questions. The thinking is, you don't beat meth with guns and jail; you beat it with awareness and knowledge.
Gary Jensen: "It's certainly not the next big epidemic. It is the epidemic."
You have to give Vernal credit for admitting the problem and facing it, because it all comes down to the first time you or your friend or your child is offered meth and you or them say no.
