Pubdate: Mon, 29 Dec 2003
Source: Statesman Journal (OR)
Copyright: 2003 Statesman Journal
Contact:  http://www.statesmanjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/427
Feedback: http://news.statesmanjournal.com/letter_input.cfm
Author: Crystal Bolner

RETIRED AUTO DEALER COMBATS DRUGS

Dick Withnell Is Co-Chairman Of The No Meth Task Force.

Three to seven cars are stolen every year from Withnell Motor Co. car lots. 
Most of the cars eventually are tracked down by police, but with the 
expensive equipment from the vehicles such as compact disc players and 
speakers usually missing.

The thieves steal the equipment to raise cash to finance their drug habits, 
said retired auto dealer Dick Withnell.

Withnell, 62, who lives in southwest Keizer, said the connection between 
property theft and illegal drugs is obvious to him, but he is frustrated 
that many of his neighbors don't see it.

His passion for the issue is one of the reasons that the local businessman 
has gotten involved in a community campaign to stop the area's 
methamphetamine trade. Withnell is co-chairman of the Salem-Area Chamber of 
Commerce's No Meth task force.

"I'm just fearful that my grandchildren will not have the same 
opportunities I had because our cities' infrastructures are being decayed. 
I'm just not going to sit back and accept that. I can't," he said.

Withnell moved to the Salem-Keizer area about 33 years ago. He said he 
remembers the area as an ideal place to raise a family and one of the best 
places in the country to live, but he said all of that has changed.

For a taste of what he is talking about, sit in any courtroom in the 
Salem-Keizer area. There are custody hearings where parents have been 
accused of giving newborns formula laced with meth. And there are domestic 
abuse cases resulting from drug use.

"It's quite an eye-opener," Withnell said.

In the car business, he said increased thefts cause car insurance to go up.

"The mentality is, 'It's not in my back yard.' But the thing is, it is in 
your back yard whether you want to accept it or not," Withnell said.

Because he is retired and his son, David, is running the family business, 
Withnell has more time to spend on issues like combatting drugs. He said he 
feels that, because retirees have the time since they are no longer raising 
families, they need to make a conscious effort to give something back to 
the community.

"If we just hunker down and sit at home and cocoon, the problem is only 
going to get bigger and bigger and bigger." 
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