CORBIN —
By Charlotte Underwood, Staff Writer
Thanks to efforts of the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department, $24,000 worth of marijuana will never reach the streets.
Members of the sheriff’s department spent most of Thursday hiking in near 100-degree temperatures searching for marijuana plants in the mountains and hollows of the county.
“It’s prime growing season right now and we had several complaints from members of the community about grow activity in their area,” said Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell.
In total, 27 plants were found near the Rockholds community, though only 12 of them were still living.
“The drought did some of our work for us,” Harrell said. The remainder of the plants will be destroyed.
“If all 12 reached maturity and reached average height, then the street value would be about $2,000 each,” said Whitley County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy KY Fuson, who has searched for dope all over the state of Kentucky over the past 20 years.
The sheriff’s department searched in the Verne and Corn Creek areas as well.
Looking for marijuana plants is no easy task as many of the patches are in remote areas of the county.
“You can be within a couple of feet of the plant and still not see it right now because the plants are not that high yet,” Harrell said, explaining as harvest season approached in the fall, the plants would get easier to spot.
The searches were all a reult from anonymous tips.
“It’s a community nuisance and the public is starting to get more involved in helping the law enforcement. It’s a good thing, and means they have trust in the law enforcement,” Harrell said, adding he hoped the tips kept coming in.
Harrell said that while the days of the 1,000-plant marijuana crops are about over due to helicopter surveillance, he still felt that marijuana growing was on the comeback.
“It’s never gone out of style, just went down a little,” Harrell said.
Anyone with information or tips can contact the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department at 606-549-6006.
Homepage
Related Photos
-
Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell (left), Cody Harrell (middle) and KY Fuson stand behind marijuana plants they found Thursday afternoon. Photo by Charlotte Underwood
Discussion
Growing Green
Sheriff’s department discovers 27 plants near Rockholds
- Homepage
-
Brian Martin, fifth from right, explains to the group about how things work at E & B Farms in East Bernstadt. Approximately 50 people took the Laurel County Kiwanis Farm/Industry Tour Thursday. E & B Farms specializes in Registered Black Angus cattle.
-
Fun on the Farm
Farming and industry — that’s part of the backbone and history of most areas of southeastern Kentucky.
-
Fun on the Farm
- Local News
-
-
New design approved for Pleasant View Elementary
Pleasant View Elementary School got its new design approved during a special meeting of the Whitley County Board of Education Thursday.
-
Networking the region’s future
They say, “It pays to have connections, and to stay connected.” In the case of Leadership Tri-County, that saying is part of the bigger picture of identifying and nurturing potential leaders from the region now into leaders needed in the years ahead.
-
Officials set to launch Click It Or Ticket
Picture this: It’s a beautiful spring day, and you decide to take the family out of the house on a drive somewhere in the country.
-
Business interested in former Lion Uniform building
A current Williamsburg business is one step closer to opening bigger doors after Monday’s Williamsburg City Council meeting.
-
- Local Sports
-
North Laurel's Kailin Yantz slides back into first during the Lady Jaguars' 5-2 loss to Somerset.
-
Jumpers stun North
Both North Laurel and Somerset struggled at the plate for six innings, but that didn’t mean the two teams weren’t going to provide some fireworks during the game’s final inning of play Thursday.
-
On the move
Mother Nature played a big role during the opening day of the Boys and Girls State Tennis Tournaments. She caused just enough havoc to put a major dent into Thursday’s first and second round schedules.
-
Jumpers stun North
- Letters
-
-
Disturbing trend of hyperbole in media, politics
There is a disturbing trend of absolute hyperbole on the part of news media and political speakers. What I’m talking about is the immediate use of top shelf words like “dictator,” “fascist,” “communist,” and this really has to stop.
-
Disturbing trend of hyperbole in media, politics
- Features
-
-
Gone, but not forgotten
At 2 p.m. Thursday, the students, teachers and staff of Corbin Elementary School took time out to remember one of their own.
-
- Entertainment
-
-
Corbin to host electronic recycling day
As technology changes, so does the hardware. That means older computers, televisions and other electronic equipment have to find their way out of your home or office, and into the waste bin.
-
Corbin to host electronic recycling day
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
