Police are investigating a methamphetamine lab on East Lake Drive, according to Sheriff Wayne Byrd.
The discovery of a meth lab at a home in a Harstville community sent shock waves of alarm through the neighborhood. Those living nearby were understandably concerned because their homes weren't the only thing in danger. There's a school just 500 yards away.
Officers shut down part of East Lake Drive Thursday morning, after getting a tip about a possible methamphetamine lab inside a home. Meth labs have the potential to be explosive. Charles Dadswell lives on the street. "In our neighborhood, everybody on my street is keeps their eyes and ears open see what's going on. Yeah! I was surprised."
So imagine how parents of students at North Hartsville Elementary felt when they realized what was going on. The school is about 500 yards from the home.
Tara Steen has a third-grader at the school. "When I heard it was here, it just floored me that we're this close to a school, that's just absolutely unreal that a meth lab is right here where my child goes to school every day."
Police notified school administrators as soon as they discovered the lab. They told the principal the students weren't in any danger. District leaders spent the day at the school monitoring the situation.
The meth lab was disabled by late afternoon, but police say the people on East Lake Drive should continue to keep their eyes and ears open. Without that tip, police may not have know the lab was even there.
Police made an arrest in the case, charging McKenzie Albert Atkinson with possesion of methamphetamine. They're not sure if he lives in the home.
