JENNINGS COUNTY — The Annual Soil and Water Conservation District Dinner will take an unusual turn this year as the guest speaker will be an Indiana State Police undercover narcotics detective.
Master Trooper Howard “Chip” Ayers will give an overview of the drug epidemic in Jennings County and surrounding region.
The Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Dinner will take place at the Jennings County Community Building at 6 P.M. March 3.
Soil and Water Conservation District Directer Andy Ertel said while the work of the district mainly deals with environmental issues, “People are natural resources as well and taking care of people is as important as taking care of all our other natural resources.”
Ertel added that the drug epidemic affects the entire Jennings County community in many ways but the people who work in nature are often the first to run across such things as needles and other dangerous paraphernalia left behind by drug users.
“We need to keep our volunteers, staff and guests as safe as possible. Chip knows about everything there is to know about how the drugs are made, how they are distributed and how they are used,” he said.
According to Ertel, Ayers has participated in more than 1,300 drug lab investigations and assisted in 5,000 methamphetamine and controlled substance investigations.
Ayers has testified as a recognized expert in drug trials in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
In addition to the guest speaker’s presentation, the evening will include a dinner provided by Rolling Pin Catering.
Tickets for the event, which are $12, should be purchased by Feb. 24, organizers said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
WHAT : The Jennings County Soil and Water Conservation District Annual Meeting
WHEN: 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 3
WHERE: Jennings County Community Building, Jennings County Fairgrounds, North Vernon
HOW: Tickets are $12 each and include dinner. Tickets can be purchased at the district office at 2700 N. State Highway 7, North Vernon. For more information call 812-346-3411, ext 3.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
