KSP busts Eubank mushroom operation

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November 13, 2009

By CHRIS HARRIS, Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Fri Nov 13, 2009, 08:31 PM EST

Somerset — In making a drug bust Thursday, authorities expected to potentially find a methamphetamine operation. Instead, they found a fungus — lots of it.

According to Trooper Don Trosper, at 10 a.m. Thursday morning, Kentucky State Police units responded to the report of a possible meth lab at a residence in Eubank. A search warrant was obtained go inside the home located at 104 Tank Pond Spur Road.

Upon arrival, Trooper First Class Darren Allen, Trooper Anthony Phillips, and Det. Doug Boyd discovered an indoor growing operation. According to the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force (LCADTF), there inside were approximately a thousand psilocybin mushrooms — that is, mushrooms which have psychedelic effects when ingested.

TFC Allen contacted the Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force, the London, Ky. Drug Enforcement Administration office and the London Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms office for assistance at the scene.

Many of the mushrooms were in various growing stages, along with some already dried, processed and packaged for sale, according to LCADTF’s David Gilbert. The operation consisted of a semi-sterile grow-room holding 40 large plastic totes which contained the mushrooms in “a very sophisticated growth recording system,” according to Gilbert. The growing environment was humidity- and temperature-controlled.

Also found were large amounts of sterilized rice wheat and corn that were being converted into a growth medium for sterile spore cultivation, according to Gilbert. Culture-laden Petri dishes, along with several truck loads of grow equipment were seized by the LCADTF.

The operation is believed to be one of the largest psilocybin cultivation cases in Kentucky, being capable or producing thousands of high grade psilocybin mushrooms annually, the LCADTF stated.

Following the discovery, KSP arrested Robert Keith Clark, 45, of Eubank, and charged with second-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, a first offense. He was lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center.

The Lake Cumberland Area Drug Task Force is continuing the investigation. Following a complete forensic analysis of the evidence, the case will be presented to a federal or state grand jury, and more arrests are expected in the case, according to the LCADTF.

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Pulaski carries Girdler to win

In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s primary election, it was impossible to miss the colorful signs dotting nearly every Pulaski roadway. The names in the race for the 15th State Senatorial District seat popped out: A.C. Donahue. Chris Girdler. Mark Polston.

Once citizens hit the ballots, however, the results mirrored the dimensions of the signs themselves: Chris Girdler stood the tallest.

Girdler, deputy district director for Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers, ran away with the votes inside Pulaski County’s borders, earning 3,926 votes for 62.05 percent of the total number cast.

That number more than doubled the next highest vote-getter, businessman Mark Polston, who raked in 1,624 votes for 25.67 percent.

However, Polston — who owns Classic Carpet, a home-flooring business located just off the southern 914 bypass — can claim a moral victory ... three of them, in fact. In all three counties in the district other than Pulaski — those being Adair, Casey, and Russell Counties — Polston actually edged out Girdler.

In Adair, Polston beat Girdler 629 to 394. In Casey County, it was 538 to 417, and in Russell, it was 1,862 to 1,038.

Polston said he just “couldn’t pull it out with the numbers” and that “the machine worked for” Girdler in Pulaski County.

“I think that was their strategy — I think they had a Pulaski County strategy all along,” said Polston. “They played the political game well.”

Polston said the difference between his and Girdler’s campaigns was that “mine was a very, very grass roots campaign,” he said. “I did not have a political machine behind me. I understand how this process works, and in this instance, he prevailed.”

As for why Girdler didn’t take three of four counties, the winning candidate — since there are no Democrats in the race, winning the Republican primary was effectively a final victory for Girdler — said he didn’t have an answer for that.

However, “I believe things happen for a reason and I hope the long and strenuous campaign will only heighten my desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past,” said Girdler.

“Regionalism is a goal of mine, and I look forward to helping all four counties,” he added, noting that he campaigned heavily in each of them.

Sen. Vernie McGaha, the long-time state senator whose seat the candidates were vying for, actually supported Polston after Liberty’s Todd Hoskins dropped out of the race earlier this month.

Donahue, a local attorney, got 556 votes in Pulaski County, 8.79 percent of the vote. He only received 145 votes in Russell County, 74 in Adair County, and 75 in Casey County, where hometown candidate Hoskins almost matched him with 71 votes despite no longer being officially in the race.

Polston said he’s “still digesting” what happened, and though “the process has been a very good experience for me,” he wouldn’t commit to running again in the future. “I wouldn’t shut the door to anything, but I’m not opening any doors either.”

Still, “I think I got a lot of people involved in the process that had not been involved before and would not have been otherwise,” he said. “A lot of people got out and worked really hard, got motivated to talk to friends and neighbors. I think a lot of people became involved through this campaign that are going to be involved for a long time.”

Girdler stressed his “positive message” and said that Rogers is a “mentor and good friend” that he would turn to for advice in dealing with a frequently combative legislative body in Frankfort, one for which Girdler hopes to help change the culture.

Girdler said that he was “confident and optimistic” during the day Tuesday because he’d “worked extremely hard.” Nevertheless, the realization that he’d won gave him “chill bumps,” he said.

“I’m absolutely honored,” said Girdler. “The position of state senator is more than an honor, more than an office. It’s a charge to keep, and I will give it my all.

“I pledge to be the people’s state senator,” he added. “I look forward to working with everyone to move this region forward.”

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