by Cathy St. Clair
News Editor 
  An ordinance restricting any future location of methadone clinics in Buchanan County was agreed to last Thursday during a meeting of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors.
  The action to adopt the ordinance followed an hour-long public hearing on the topic.
  The ordinance imposes specific requirements on anyone seeking to locate such a clinic in the county related to documenting need, site suitability and more.
  In fact, at present, under the terms of the ordinance, there is no location in Buchanan County which would qualify as eligible for a local license.
  Specifically, the ordinance states that in addition to a variety of other factors, the site proposed for the location of a clinic must be within 1,000 feet of a medical facility providing emergency medical treatment, which County Attorney Mickey McGlothlin defined as a full-fledged hospital emergency room. However, the ordinance further stipulates any proposed clinic could not be located within one half mile of a daycare center or school.
  In Buchanan County, the only hospital emergency room is at Buchanan General, however the hospital's proximity to Grundy High School would rule out that area as any methadone clinic location in the event anyone ever applied with a proposed site in that area.
  Board members and McGlothlin stressed Thursday that there is no one currently proposing or asking to locate a clinic in the county.
  Some members of the public appeared confused about the purpose of the ordinance at the start, telling board members the bottom line was the community did not want a methadone clinic located within the county's borders. They added they thought that was made plain several years ago when a proposed clinic location in the county was halted.
  "The purpose of this ordinance is to regulate it and to make sure we have full control over what happens before anyone ever applies or attempts to get one," South Grundy Chairman Roger Rife explained.
  "When they attempt it . . .  just say no," said Ray Davis. "The only thing you gotta do is say no."
  Davis and other speakers at the hearing suggested there were enough drugs already in the county without more coming in.
  "We don't need no bootlegging pain killers," Davis added.
  Several speakers expressed concern about the safety of driving in the vicinity of methadone clinics and other locations where it appears drugs are present.
  "You can't drive on account of these drugs," Davis said. "You can tell where these drug places are by the traffic count."
  After listening to some of the comments at the public hearing, McGlothlin spoke up, adding there was apparently some misunderstanding about the reason for the ordinance and he clarified again, "this is not an ordinance to set up or to try to get or bring one (a methadone clinic) into Buchanan County. The ordinance regulates how, if someone wanted to open one . . . how they would have to go about doing it. At this point, the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors has no power to just say 'no' if someone wanted to put one in. There is no zoning to zone out methadone clinics, but this ordinance imposes additional law on anyone wanting to bring it in."
  McGlothlin noted the Buchanan ordinance is based on one adopted by Russell County.
  "Instead of making it easier (to locate a methadone clinic in the county), it will make it much more difficult to have one," McGlothlin explained.