LINDA HACKETT greeted the approximately 30 members in attendance and she filled in as invocator as PRESIDENT DOUG had no one in that slot.

RUSS DIX was reminded he had the rat and was supposed to bring a guest. He escaped introducing guests today as there were none. He promised to have a least one at the next meeting.

CHRIS CRISTMAN thanked the 11 Kiwanians who worked the Case of the Blues parking detail last Saturday.

President Doug, STEVE EMHOFF, PAM CALDWELL and very last minute replacement STEVE PICKETT, made a successful interclub to Rodeo City in Ellensburg that morning. The Rodeo City club is looking for help with their Pancake Feed Fund-raiser Labor Day Weekend. If you are interested in helping August 31 and September 1 at 6:30 a.m., get in touch with Steve Emhoff for the phone number of their president, Mike McClostsky.

Doug performed Bingo duties (because he had a loud voice) and Sergeant tasks (because he had no one filling that slot).

SALLY BALDWIN, Queen of Programs/Most Likely to Offend, introduced the meeting's speaker. Rick Beghtol gave a 2 hour Methamphetamine 101 course in about 20 minutes. He started with a brief history that traced the three types of meth labs.
First Generation labs produced DL-Meth which was not very popular, except with outlaw motorcycle gangs, and took over a day to produce. It also created quite a stink, so there were only about 35-40 labs found each year in Washington State.
Second Generation labs were presented as production labs. These produced pure D-Meth and were used a marketing tactic by Mexican Drug rings to switch addicts from cocaine to meth (they would give away the meth with every order of cocaine and because it produced a more powerful "high", addicts soon started purchasing meth in place of cocaine). The by-products of this production method are very toxic and the labs usually become hazardous waste sites. It is also quite a bit faster to make meth with this method, an 8 hour production cycle. The number of Washington State labs jumped from 60 in 1995 to 1,800 in 2001. That number is second behind California.
Third Generation labs take only 1.5 hours to produce a batch of meth that is extremely pure. This "Nazi Method" is what the previous meth speaker showed us how to make. These labs are EVERYWHERE according to Beghtol because they are so compact and require no heat source.
The cost to our society is tremendous. Increased property crime, mail theft (for credit cards and checks), burglaries, assaults, domestic violence and child abuse/neglect. Everyone is affected either directly or indirectly.
Beghtol left us with the steps in helping curb this epidemic. Strong enforcement will help, but education is the key to reducing demand. Community involvement, letting authorities know of suspicious activities and staying active in our children's lives are two other important ways to have an impact.

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