By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — Recovering addict Amanda Noble shared her story of methamphetamine addiction with  the Pilot News as a way of providing hope for the future for others that find themselves in her predicament.

While her personal battle has been a lonely one at times, the battle to give hope for the future has found many fellow crusaders. In addition to Jason Faulstich, the Indiana State Police officer who arrested Noble, Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter took up the cause of fighting for a meth-free future in Marshall County in particular.
A former State Police officer himself, and a member of its meth task force, Senter also has a history with Noble.
“Actually I worked a lab in early 2006 out on the Lincoln Highway and she (Noble) wasn’t there when we went in but she was involved with that lab,” said Senter. “About a year ago she came to visit me, told me her story and I was putting together the Anti-Meth Co-mmittee and I decided I wanted her to be involved with helping in that.”
Senter has seen the devastation that the drug can cause and when running for Mayor, made it a priority item to do something about it. Beginning last year, he formed an Anti-Meth Committee with the purpose of educating the public about the danger to the community posed by meth and even more particularly in the “cooking” or manufacture of that drug.
While it appears Marshall County will end the year as one of the top five counties in the state of Indiana in terms of number of meth lab arrests, Senter has always contended that the number is a two-edged sword.
“We’re going to have more arrests because law enforcement in Marshall County has decided to take a pro-active stance and go after the labs,” said Senter. “Some counties don’t want to admit they have a problem. We haven’t taken a passive approach.”
Senter points to the formation by Plymouth Police Department and Indiana State Police officers of a task force called MAD (Multi Agency Drug unit) to find and take down cooks and their labs. Focusing on the places meth is produced has seemed to make a difference.
“You don’t really have to work undercover for this unit, you can gather enough information to do your job without that,” said Senter. “The drug itself may not go completely away, but the labs in our community can go away. If we can curtail the supply and especially the exposure of families and children to the places where this stuff is made that would really be my number one goal.”
The next step for Senter in the coming year will start with planning. He wants his Anti-Meth Committee to sit down and come up with an action plan for taking another step forward in the coming year.
“I really feel optimistic that we’re having an impact,” said Senter. “But it’s not all going to happen in a single year. Education has a lot to do with it and Amanda being willing to share her story is going to help.”