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Parkersburg police train others to recognize meth

Parkersburg News and Sentinel photo by Evan Bevins Parkersburg Police Detective Doug Sturm, standing, discusses physical signs of meth abuse during a training session for Parkersburg Utility Board employees earlier this month at the board’s administrative offices.
Parkersburg News and Sentinel photo by Evan Bevins
Parkersburg Police Detective Doug Sturm, standing, discusses physical signs of meth abuse during a training session for Parkersburg Utility Board employees earlier this month at the board’s administrative offices.

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — As discoveries of clandestine meth labs have increased in recent years, Parkersburg city employees outside the police department have received training in recognizing evidence of their existence.

This helps sanitation workers and others recognize potential hazards, as well as assisting law enforcement in tracking down people who are making and using methamphetamine, Parkersburg Police Chief Joe Martin said. Training has also been provided to employees of Dominion Hope.

“We felt those that may come in contact with these types of situations, sometimes they may not know what they’re looking at,” he said.

Training was first provided to sanitation workers a couple years ago as discarded meth ingredients and paraphernalia in trash bags were leading to fires in sanitation trucks.

That happened most recently on April 30, and workers brought the truck to the nearest fire station. Evidence recovered led to the arrest of two people on charges of operating or attempting to operate a clandestine drug laboratory.

“A lot of it was attributed to the awareness of the sanitation guys,” Martin said…

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