IF only the Palm Beach drowning last Thursday was an exception to an idyllic lifestyle in this sublime stretch of the Gold Coast. Few living on the shoreline at Palm Beach are in any hurry to move. This end of the Gold Coast has more than a picturesque setting. It is close to important family facilities such as schools and shopping centres. The waterways and lakes are not all pounding surf influenced by the elements. The M1 is handy; the Tugun bypass is over budget but may be finished this year. [continues 1027 words]
Bowie County Sheriff James Prince has a unique perspective when it comes to dealing with methamphetamine users and their families. Three and a half years ago, he had his own 31-year-old son arrested on drug charges. ‘Its a tough thing to put your kid in jail, but a lot of people are doing it. The alternative is a whole lot worse. I told my son I would rather see him in jail than in a casket' Prince said. Prince spoke Tuesday night in Redwater, Texas, at the first town hall meeting held by the Bowie County Sheriffs Office and the East Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. He said he caught a plane to Georgia when he received a phone call saying his son might be doing drugs. [continues 414 words]
IT'S an ideal way to write a column. I'm attending a medical conference while cruising the Caribbean sea. But don't think I'm goofing off. I'm spending long days listening to a variety of international speakers. But, as a former ship's surgeon, I also love being at sea. One speaker, Dr. George Carson, director of fetal medicine at the University of Regina, reported on the use of alcohol in pregnancy. Some authorities have a simple solution for the tragic habit of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Dr. Christine Lock, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, says it's a myth that only irresponsible derelict mothers cause serious birth defects. Her blunt message, "If we drink in pregnancy we place our children at risk." [continues 601 words]
Two young boys are fortunate to be alive after nearly overdosing on some heavy-duty prescription pills the morning of March 30. With information that two teens were unconscious, paramedics and two ambulances raced to the 103 Mile area at 6 a.m. Upon arrival, the emergency crews found the boys semiconscious, gave treatment and then rushed them to 100 Mile District General Hospital. Showing no improvement, the 14-year-old boys were flown by the Infant Transport Team to Vancouver Children's Hospital just after 11:30 a.m. [continues 662 words]
U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, the Democrat representing Arkansas' First District, discussed issues as varied as law enforcement and access to water with about 20 local officials and residents in a forum Tuesday morning at the Baxter County Courthouse. Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery told Berry he appreciated the congressman's effort to increase funding to law enforcement through Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants and Byrne grants. Law-enforcement grant funding had been cut by the previous Legislature, especially Byrne grants, which go toward anti-drug efforts. [continues 600 words]
Passaic Firings, One Pending In Atlantic City, In Accord With State Law Two school teachers have been fired and a third is expected to be after an Asbury Park Press database search found they had criminal records that disqualified them from school employment. Two Passaic teachers were fired this week, Superintendent Robert Holster said. An Atlantic City teacher also is expected to be terminated. The state Department of Education sent letters last week to request the employees be fired after state officials independently confirmed the criminal convictions provided by the Press. [continues 492 words]
Many Chronic Inmates Are Mentally Ill And Addicted, Study Finds Chronic offenders, most charged with minor crimes, are clogging Mecklenburg County courts, crowding the jail and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to keep locked up, according to a new study. The study says repeatedly locking up the same people -- many of them mentally ill and addicted to alcohol or drugs -- is not working. Finding alternative ways to deal with chronic offenders, the study says, will free up space in jails for people who pose a serious threat to the community. "It's frustrating for everyone from the arresting officers to the prosecutors and others in the court system to deal with the same people over and over and over again," Sheriff Jim Pendergraph said. "I wanted to get some facts on paper, so the public knows what's going on and where our resources are and are not going." [continues 630 words]
THE DRUG prohibition causes crime," proclaims Jerry Cameron to a room filled with rapt libertarians. A former police chief with FBI and DEA training, Cameron is doing "penance" for his seventeen-year law enforcement career in the "war on drugs." He spends an hour setting forth the case for the total decriminalization of all drugs to the Students for Individual Liberty's delight. Sadly, Cameron takes it too far. Although he spends most of his time discussing the legalization of marijuana, he supports legalizing all drugs and even wants the government to hand out free heroin. [continues 743 words]
