REX Aids our Local Economy

Now I know what Allen Fore, the REX PR guy, means when he says all of the REX contractors coming into a community will add so much to the local economy. Reading this article from the Greensburg Daily News would cause me to have to question the quality of the welds on the pipeline. Too bad REX apparently doesn't require drug screening of its contractor employees. At least his significant other wants her son to only have home made meth because you never know what you might get on the street. I love a family unit with such caring adults in it. Here is the link to the article and I pasted it below:

http://www.greensburgdailynews.com/local/local_story_339192448.html

Public Awareness Nabs Meth Makers
Joe Hornaday
Greensburg Daily News
December 04, 2008 07:24 pm

A quiet room and its strange, powerful odors caused workers at a local hotel to place a call to law enforcement that resulted in the arrests of two individuals for manufacturing meth on Wednesday.

Jeff E. Adams, 47 and Cleva J. Kimbrel, 42, were arrested early in the evening by Indiana State Police (ISP) Master Trooper Chip Ayers of the meth suppression section. The two had only been in Greensburg for approximately two weeks, according to Kimbrel. Both Kimbrel and Adams were from Arkansas and staying in the city while Adams was working on the construction of Rockies Express (REX) pipeline.

Upon arriving at the scene in the hotel room, Ayers said he immediately noticed the strong smell of solvents before speaking to the occupants and searching the room.

“We found an operational meth lab inside their room,” Ayers explained.

Also within the hotel room was Kimbrel’s 17 year-old son, who Ayers said was “higher than a kite” on the drugs when he arrived. Upon further investigation, Ayers discovered that the youth had been using the drugs for some time. Previously, when his mother discovered her son’s drug abuse, she insisted that he use only the meth she created so that it was “safe” and he “would not get poisoned.” After the arrest of Kimbrel and Adams, the 17 year-old was taken out of the mother’s care and put into a temporary foster home elsewhere in the state.

All of the necessary crystal meth precursors and chemicals were found in the hotel room. Ayers said that it was clearly an active meth lab in the process of making the drug. However, it could not be determined if the batches being made were for personal use or for distribution.

Both were charged with separate counts of manufacturing methamphetamines, a Class B felony. If convicted, each could face a sentence ranging from six to 20 years.

Kimbrel and her son accompanied Adams to Greensburg, as part of Adams’ duties as a welder for the installation of the REX pipeline. That pipeline will unite Ohio to Colorado and transport natural gas. The pipeline snakes its way through several Indiana counties, including Decatur.

The arrest of Kimbrel and Adams removed two meth users from the community, and Ayers believes much of the credit for their removal goes to the public.

“Law enforcement can only do so much without the community’s help,” he said.

Often, Ayers and the meth suppression section travel to Indiana communities spreading the word on meth identification. One of the average targets for meth makers is hotels, Ayers said, which is why the meth suppression section focuses on hotel staffs and encourages them to be wary and to keep an eye open for suspicious people.

“The training of hotel employees and staff have really helped us,” Ayers said.

He added the ISP meth suppression section engages in programs with all types of groups to help curb the problem of meth addiction and distribution.