GRANITE FALLS – Residents, town leaders and school officials here have labored to shake the town’s “Methville” image as reported in a national magazine two years ago.
It’s no wonder some are nervous about being back in the spotlight. This time talk show icon Oprah Winfrey is flipping the switch.
Last week, a crew from “The Oprah Winfrey Show” came to town for an upcoming episode about methamphetamine.
“I hope it’s not a hatchet job,” said Sheriff Rick Bart, who was interviewed Thursday.
The Chicago-based program chose to visit Granite Falls because of prior media attention, said Carly Ubersox, a spokeswoman for Harpo Productions.
She didn’t know if the interest arose specifically out of the January 2003 Rolling Stone article, which labeled Granite Falls “Methville.”
She also said she doesn’t know what the focus of the show will be or when it will air, saying it is still being taped.
The crew spent time filming the town and high school, Bart said.
Kathy Grant, spokeswoman for the Granite Falls School District, said she could not comment about the filming because of a confidentiality agreement the district made with producers.
Bart said he was led to believe the talk show will focus on the nation’s meth problem – not just the battle in Granite Falls.
Bart was concerned, however, about the crew’s line of questioning last week and a request for pictures of meth labs, he said.
“I’m worried about how this will be portrayed,” the sheriff said. “It was making people nervous.”
Bart heard part of the script for the show Friday, which offered some reassurance that Granite Falls wasn’t going to be singled out, he said.
“I wanted to get the message across that (Granite Falls) doesn’t have any worse of a problem than anywhere else,” he said. “Meth is a national problem.”
Granite Falls hasn’t wiped out meth and it continues to fight the drug, but Bart believes the town has a better handle on it than most communities.
Overall, the number of meth labs and dumpsites has dropped significantly in Snohomish County in the past year.
There were 51 reported in 2004 – a more than 50 percent decrease from 2003, according to information from the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force.
As in previous years, Granite Falls didn’t top the list of labs or dumpsites.
“It was a tag put on by Rolling Stone – not us,” task force Sgt. Mark Richardson said of the “Methville” label.
On Thursday, Granite Falls Mayor Lyle Romack said he had not been contacted by the television show, but he had heard about the filming.
“I want it to be a positive force,” Romack said of the show. “We’re trying so hard to deal with” the meth problem.
While some people in town did not appreciate the attention from Rolling Stone, Romack said some good came out of it.
The Granite Falls Community Coalition secured a $100,000 federal grant to establish an office with drug counselors and other resources for families in town.
Law enforcement worked with local neighborhoods to set up watch groups.
“People said, ‘Not in our town,’” Romack said.
The Granite Falls Community Coalition, a nonprofit group that has been closely involved with anti-drug efforts in town, was not contacted by the Oprah show, said Trudy Sullivan, the coalition’s office coordinator.
A few kids walking home from school in Granite Falls on Monday were not aware of the filming. Crystal McKenzie, 15, rolled her eyes when she heard about it.
“Of course, they come to Granite,” she said, sarcastically. “I think it’s dumb that we’re known for meth.”
Josh Davis, 16, remembered the reaction in town after the Rolling Stone story was published.
“Most everybody in Granite was pissed off,” he said, because they felt picked on.
“There’s drugs everywhere,” agreed Kevin Ahrens, 14.
The main positive thing the added attention brought last time was to focus more police attention on town, Davis said.
Neither Davis nor Ahrens were optimistic the new publicity would reduce drug use in town, though.
“I think the people who are doing drugs are just more secretive now,” Davis said.
“Kids are going to do it whether it’s on Oprah or not,” Ahrens said.
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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