When some communities come together, there is a feeling that there is nothing they cannot do.

When some communities come together, there is a feeling that there is nothing they cannot do.

The collective energies of neighbors joined by a purpose is powerful.

That is what 60 or so Yavapai County residents found out at the Friday, April 13, meeting of a newly formed anti-methamphetamine strategic planning group, the Substance Abuse Coalition.

Representatives from the business community, law enforcement, government agencies, nonprofit organizations and others got together to develop a strategy to battle this modern scourge.

Sedona City Councilman Rob Adams, Camp Verde Town Councilwoman Brenda Hauser, Cottonwood City Councilwoman Diane Joens and Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Tom Thurman, among others, took part in the meeting.

?The excitement in the air was palpable as community leaders and volunteers from across the county gathered for the day in Jerome to develop a strategic plan for Yavapai County to address methamphetamine and substance abuse,? Sheila Polk, Yavapai county attorney, stated in a press release.

Polk is the MATForce co-chair. MATForce is a law enforcement program dedicated to eradicating crime related to the use of methamphetamine.

Polk said, ?Unlike other issues that have divided the county, this problem has united us as city and town council members from Camp Verde, Sedona, Cottonwood, Prescott Valley and Prescott worked side by side to find solutions.?

?Guided by facilitators, participants in the Friday, April 13, session grouped the ideas into categories, created a mission statement and identified ways to break through the barriers preventing the ideas from becoming reality,? Polk stated.

The same group will meet again in May for another full day to develop and implement the final Substance Abuse Plan for Yavapai County.

The group began by examining the wide variety of ideas generated at 14 workshops sponsored by MATForce and the Substance Abuse Coalition in February and March.

Over 300 community members ranging in age from 14 to 87, representing all geographic sectors, attended those workshops, Polk stated.

For more information about MATForce and the new Substance Abuse Coalition, visit www.matforce.org.

Also in attendance were Doug Bartosh, police chief for Cottonwood and MATForce Co-Chair; David Smith, Camp Verde marshal; Kevin Nelson, police chief for Yavapai College; Kathleen Murphy, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters; Larry Green; Thomas Beauty of the Yavapai-Apache Nation; Janet Lincoln of the Yavapai County Public Defender?s Office; Steve Estes, CEO of the Mingus Center; Richard Denhert of the Verde Valley Guidance Clinic; and Judy Denton, director of the emergency room at Yavapai Regional Medical Center.

The Verde Valley Meth Coalition meets the second Wednesday of each month in the Cottonwood Public Safety Building from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.