The Carbon County salary board on Thursday approved, and lauded, District Attorney Gary Dobias' request to double the hours of a drug-fighting detective.

The interim part-time detective's hours had been capped at 500 hours. But now the ceiling is 1,000 hours.The detective, who earns $15.98 an hour, is dedicated solely to drug surveillance, commissioners said."This is an aggressive attempt by the county commissioners, the controller and the district attorney to fight back against drugs in our communities," said Commissioner William O'Gurek.The scourge of drug abuse looms large in Carbon County.Just last year, there were 13 drug-related deaths in county, said Commissioner Thomas Gerhard."For us, one is too many," he said.So far this year, police have caught 10 clandestine methamphetamine operations, said Commissioners chairman Wayne Nothstein."It shows how severe this problem is in Carbon County, and who knows how many are out there that we don't even know about," he said.He said the Lehighton fire department was called out on early Tuesday morning when a fire alarm sounded in an apartment in the borough."Someone smoking marijuana set off the alarm system," he said.County Controller Robert Crampsie reminded people to tell police when they see unusual activity in their neighborhoods. He cited as an example someone in his home town of Summit Hill who mentioned seeing an unusual amount of traffic and people coming and going to and from any particular house."I think it's important that you do report that to law enforcement," he said.He said that the detective's work may bring forfeiture money into the county, offsetting the cost of the expanded hours."This person is not going to be sitting in the office on the second floor of courthouse from 8 a.m. to noon. He'll be out there in the evenings working with our police departments," O'Gurek said.