Government

Meth labs pop back up after police raids

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By LAUREN GENTILE
Capital News Service
LANSING – Meth labs are a growing and dangerous problem in Michigan, with more than 400 cases tallied by the State Police this year. “The incidents we have numbers for are just ones that the State Police have handled, so the number could be much higher,” Shanon Banner, public affairs manager for the  State Police, said. “These incidents include busting a meth lab, finding a vacant lab, finding containers used to store or create the drug and even finding dumpsites.”
Meth is a synthetic stimulant created from pseudoephedrine and a number of toxic chemicals that affects the central nervous system through smoking, snorting, injecting or swallowing the drug. Meth was first discovered in Michigan in 1996 and has been an escalating problem since then, Banner said. “As soon we try and get it in control, another spike will happen and more cases will appear.”
Detective Sgt.

Business & Economy

Mild winter saves money but only for some counties

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By WEI YU
Capital News Service
LANSING – If this mild winter continues into April, the Lenawee County Road Commission will definitely be a winner, but the situation isn’t as rosy in St. Joseph County. Lenawee County has spent only about $220,000 of its $900,000 winter maintenance budget since the beginning of 2012, according to Jason Schnaidt, its operations manager. “We are not buying salt, which is a big saving. Fuel usage has decreased because of less use of the big trucks.”
However, staff is about the same as last winter and, employees keep busy doing such things as filling pothole and clearing brush, he said.