By: Sheriff Jim Ruth

Many years ago when I was a patrolman for the Cleveland Police Department we were getting complaints about traffic problems. One or more people were speeding up and down the streets on motorcycles (dirt bikes) or tearing up the terrain on the site where the Everhart subdivision was being developed.

One day I tried to stop a speeder on his dirt bike that had very loud mufflers or no mufflers. Instead of stopping he tried to outrun me. When we reached the area where dirt bikes and 4-wheelers had made a rough trail on the Everhart property, the guy I was chasing left the roadway and went out this trail.

There certainly was no way I could have continued the chase over this rough terrain in my patrol car, so I bailed out and continued to chase on foot. As the guy made his way up and down the hills along the trail he apparently did not expect me to be chasing him on foot, so he did not go as fast as he possibly could have gone. Well, about a quarter mile or so out the trail I caught him as he was halfway up one of the hills, and I pulled him off the dirt bike. I was much younger then and a better runner, as well.

Over the years we have had to adapt our ways of enforcing traffic laws in an effort to keep the driving public safe. This past year we have tried to bring down the number of traffic deaths in Bradley County. We have done that through advertisements and increased enforcement efforts.

Yet, we are battling overwhelming odds as we work to make our streets and roads safer. There are more cars operating in Bradley County than ever before and we also have a large amount of traffic traveling through Bradley County on Interstate 75. The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and the THP work the state roads, county roads and I-75. The Cleveland Police patrol some of the interstate as well.

In all of Bradley County this year so far we have had 19 traffic fatalities. What you may not have known is that only one of these deaths was related to alcohol and only three to speed. The rest of the deaths were related to attention problems. So, these attention problems have accounted for almost 74 percent of our traffic deaths. It is also worth noting that in six of these deaths (31.5 percent) the victims were not wearing their seat belts.

So, you can see that inattention while driving is a real problem. People are frequently placing themselves and others in danger when they reach down to pick up something off the floorboard, adjust the radio, answer their cellphone or create and send text messages. People are still texting while driving and are rear-ending other vehicles or otherwise running into them, or are running out of the roadway and hitting stationary objects such as trees or buildings.

It seems that those who do these things on a regular basis think that they can get by with these actions, although others can’t. Also, while Tennessee has a law against texting while driving, violations of this law appear to be on the increase. I get reports all the time of people driving and texting. One man complained that he sees several people texting and driving as he drives a short distance from his work to home each day.

There seems to be no let-up of this dangerous, illegal activity even though there have been so many public service ads warning of this danger.

I would suggest that families and groups make this a much bigger part of their conversations as we in law enforcement try to get a handle on this very real problem.

Now, in ending this column I want to say to the residents of Bradley County that what I predicted two weeks ago in my article about the methamphetamine problem was true. There were those that did come after me for my stance on the meth problem and the sale of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine products. I believe that there are still some who are uninformed on the evils and dangers of meth to our community. To these we will continue to sound the alarm. To those who are aware of the great danger and persist in advocating a flawed system that does not work, shame on you.

What I also want to say is that two United States congressmen, one a Democrat and the other a Republican, have called for a federal investigation into Tennessee’s database system that is in place to control the sale of these products.

This system has been cited as ineffective, which I stated in my prior article, and a potential conflict of interest in the way in which it is administered.

My life and motives are out there for all to see, as I am a public servant. Therefore, I believe those who would throw rocks should not be able to hide their hand. I still maintain that the present law as it exists relating to the sale of ephedrine/pseudoephedrine products only benefits the big money profiteers, while bringing a curse on thousands of children and families.

Tennessee is still on track to be No. 2 or at least No. 3 in the nation for meth lab busts this year.

Mr. Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." I would add to that, "Or continue to do the wrong thing."

It is for certain that everything about meth is evil, so I will keep you informed on this developing battle.

Thanks for reading.

In a recent article Sheriff Jim Ruth pointed out state laws have been ineffective sustaining a reduction in sales
of pseudoephedrine and labs in the last six months have doubled in number.

You can read the Knoxville News Sentinel article by clicking here.

Sheriff Ruth's article appears below.

The State House of Representatives and the Senate have failed the people of Tennessee. They have done so by not curbing the use of methamphetamine. They have failed to enact laws that will effectively stop or even slow down meth production.

What most people don’t know is that prior to 1976 pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient to make meth, was a controlled substance which required a prescription from a doctor. Due to the availability of this product, now the meth problem in Tennessee has become epidemic.

The Meth Free Tennessee Act of 2005 which required pseudoephedrine to be sold behind the pharmacy counter only temporarily slowed the tide of meth production. Tennessee has experienced substantial increases in meth lab seizures since 2007. In 2010 alone Tennessee dealt with 2,082 meth lab seizures and disposals. It is reported that Tennessee’s annual cost due to all the problems with methamphetamine is over $1 billion per year.

In Bradley County meth lab busts have doubled over the past six months compared to the previous six months. Since Jan. 1, 2012, to date there have been almost 50 busts, and Tennessee is still second in the nation in meth lab busts with 1,344 through September of this year. We appear to be on track to surpass the total for 2010.

The problem is that this cheap drug is relatively easy to make and the ingredients are still easy to get. The database system that is in place simply is not slowing the tide of meth production. All it is doing is causing the meth cooks to get more "smurfs" (people who will go buy pseudoephedrine for them) to travel around purchasing the ingredients. Then there are always places these smurfs learn they can go where they are able to obtain pseudoephedrine much easier.

Everyone knows meth is highly addictive. Since the bill to make ephedrine products a controlled substance was not pushed or even sent through the right committee, it had no realistic chance of passing. It is for certain that many more people have become addicted to meth in the meantime.

So, some legislators have bobbed and weaved and have not taken a stand against this damnable drug that is ruining many of our children. Why would they not take a stand against this insidious cancer that leads to all sorts of crimes like burglaries, child abuse or neglect, broken marriages, even murder? It also leads to loss of jobs and early death from loss of health. Someone said meth is so addictive that only God can save an addict from his or her own ruin. For most it becomes a lifelong addiction, because only about 8 percent of those addicted ever overcome it.

Much publicity has been given to the dangers of meth use over the last few years, yet in some places, like Tennessee, the problem continues to grow. Also, every time an officer investigates a meth lab or makes a meth lab bust they do so at great risk to their own health.

Tennessee’s lawmakers must know that we are losing the war against meth production. The problem is, the buck has been passed. The big-money lobbyists have taken a very strong position against any laws that might in some way restrict anyone from purchasing the products that go into making meth.

It has become the same old story that repeats itself throughout history; David vs. Goliath. It is law-enforcement professionals against big money. In Nashville and Washington big money wins.

One editor of a nearby city newspaper made a statement like, "I would rather it be easier for a few criminals to make meth and allow Tennesseans to purchase cold medicine with privacy and dignity rather than to inconvenience so many innocent people and subject them to a database that allows government to see what they buy and where, under the guise of fighting meth." Well, 50 meth makers busted in nine months in one county is not a few criminals, especially when you consider they are supplying dozens or perhaps hundreds of others with meth.

These criminals have an insatiable appetite for more money, more users, and more victims. This means that your neighborhood, your children, your loved ones are targets for these greedy, sleazy profiteers.

There are certain areas in our community where criminal conduct occurs much more frequently than in other neighborhoods. This does not mean, however, that the other communities are not affected. We are all victims, whether or not we are directly involved in a specific crime.

Any way the problem is approached, it is not going to be popular, whether by database creation or making it a controlled substance. Most law-enforcement professionals around the state realize making these over-the-counter ingredients a controlled substance is the only way meth production can be controlled. Pseudoephedrine needs to be a controlled substance, as it was before 1976. We, certainly, cannot continue to take a casual view about the meth problem.

Many of us have allergies, colds and sinus infections, etc., and need the legal products sold at the drugstore. Yet, we don’t need to continue to let our legal supplier be the main supplier to the criminal meth producer. There are, certainly, more products out there that help with these health issues.

Please get involved and call your legislators and tell them how you really feel about lawmakers who refuse to take a hard, active stance against this very big problem. You may hear some double talk and lip service, so tell them we are in desperate need of some fast and hard action.

Prediction: Watch for the big money to come after me to shut me down. Remember though, David overcame Goliath. He did so through faith and action.

Thanks for reading.

By: Sheriff Jim Ruth

It is hard for a country boy to understand the ways of some people. Actually, I am not a country boy, since I grew up in Cleveland when it was still a small town. Yet, I have lived in other states and another country while in the military. I even lived near some high dollar beach front property for a time and went swimming in the ocean, often. That property was in Chu Lai, Vietnam.

So, I am a little more, well traveled and have been around the block a few times more than some country boys. All of life’s experiences, as we all know, contribute to how we view the world.

But, I see folks who are probably good folks stand and complain and make demands on our country who have no legal or moral right to do so. Similarly, folks on welfare have marched in large groups and demanded more benefits from the government. I suppose the good thing is that we can be free in this country to do just that.

By Sheriff Jim Ruth

The history of moonshine in America had its roots in Scotland and Ireland. It all began with the Scots and Irish bringing their knowledge of distilling with them to America.

The making of moonshine whiskey caught on in a big way, especially, in Appalachia, because of the economics of it. In the early days a few barrels of whiskey was all that it took to purchase land or a farm. So, in areas where it was difficult to make a good living, people resorted to making whiskey.