Sheriff's official meth lab certified

By Staff
Melissa Cason Franklin County Times
The Franklin County Sheriff's Department now has two officials certified after attending Clandestine Laboratory Certification School.
Sgt. Jason Holcomb, an investigator with eight years of service, completed the course last week at Camp Upshur on the Marine Corps base located in Quantico, Virginia.
"We saw the need to have our investigators to be trained to handle meth labs in 2000," Franklin County Sheriff Larry Plott said. "We sent one investigator for certification 2002."
Lt. Greg Pinkard, an investigator with 12 years of service, was the first with the Sheriff's Department to receive this type of certification.
The course is the most widely recognized law enforcement-sponsored clandestine laboratory training course meeting OSHA standards, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Clandestine labs are used to produce methamphetamine (meth). These labs often house large quantities of chemicals that could cause serious health risks to the producers and to the law enforcement officials, who find them,
"We want our officers to be well trained so that they will know how to handle meth labs," Plott said.
The course teaches law enforcement officials about the dangers of meth labs, equipment and chemicals used in such labs, and how to protect themselves against harm while clearing the lab, Holcomb said.
The certification for both officers was paid for by a grant from the DEA.
"We put in for the grant about two years ago for our second officer to become certified, and we are just now getting the funding to do so," Plott said.
Holcomb and Pinkard are both able to dismantle meth labs, which will be an asset to the county as a whole.
"Meth labs are very dangerous, and law enforcement must have special training to dismantle them," Plott said.
The grant also covers basic equipment for the officer such as apparel, Plott said.