Organizers of this year's Rural Ministry Conference hope to raise awareness of drug abuse in West Virginia and to find ways to combat the problem.

The eighth annual conference will be held June 1-3 at Bishop Hodges Pastoral Center in Huttonsville. It's being presented by the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and the Clifford M. Lewis, SJ, Appalachian Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University.

Jane Cors Smith, executive director of Diocesan Pastoral Services, says the conference will include speakers and workshops focusing on drug abuse and prevention efforts.