Customs Officer Makes Good Find at Marion Shelter Nearly a year ago on the nose, Braddock got a new leash on life. Braddock's boundless energy is most likely what landed him in the Marion County pound in the first place, but it was also his ticket out. Because boundless energy, said U.S. Customs supervisory canine enforcement officer Ed Hoisington, is exactly what the customs department is looking for. Braddock, a German shepherd mix, first made the acquaintance of the Marion County Humane Society in January 2002 when he was brought in as a stray. But luckily for Braddock, Hoisington was close by, on one of his many procurement runs in the area. [continues 588 words]
Helicopter Gives Imaginations A Whirl At Local Schools Morgantown Police DARE Officer Joel Smith (left) and Officer M. Charlton show off a helicopter used for drug investigations as part of the DARE program at St. Francis Elementary School Wednesday. The officers also visited North Elementary with the copter Wednesday. The If you think standing around in a snowy field being swathed in sub-zero freezing winds Wednesday sounds like torture, you aren't a fifth-grader at St. Francis Central Catholic or North Elementary schools. [continues 280 words]
Twenty-two-year-old Gabe Friedberg may have read Hunter S. Thompson, but his personality couldn't have been more different from the wild, crazy journalist known for his outrageous antics and vast drug experimentation. Gabe was quiet -- a writer, like Thompson -- but deep and introspective rather than brash and boisterous. His father, WVU law professor Jim Friedberg, said Gabe was an artistic, developing writer who identified with beat poets like Jack Kerouac and lyricis ts like Bob Dylan. And maybe that identification, that desire to look inside himself, inside of life, led to his decision to try heroin. [continues 652 words]
The hills of Morgantown form a quiet community, but not one impervious to the world's ills many think exist only in the "big city." The word 'heroin' may conjure up images of rock stars and street people for some, but the recent death of Gabriel Friedberg, makes it apparent the big city is never far away. Friedberg, a 22-year-old WVU student, succumbed to a heroin overdose on Sept. 3, said his father, WVU law professor James Friedberg. [continues 476 words]
WVU President: -- 'There's A Startling Realization That The Drug Culture Is A Part Of America' WVU President David Hardesty said his first reaction when he heard what caused the death of 22-year-old WVU student Gabriel Friedberg -- an apparent heroin overdose -- was deep sadness. "We're parents of children Gabe's age. My son knew Gabriel," he said. "We know his parents (WVU law professor James Friedberg and former city councilwoman Helen Friedberg), and we know they are good parents, and we knew that he was a good young man." [continues 468 words]
Five fifth-grade classes at Mountainview Elementary got a gust of excitement during their school day Thursday as Morgantown DARE Officer Joel Smith, along with pilot Claude Laplante, landed a bona fide U.S. Army helicopter on the school's field. Oohs and aahs emanated from all 125 mouths as the two men circled the skies above the school before finally touching down. After the enormous blades of the helicopter came to a safe stop, each class had a chance to check the copter out from inside. [continues 338 words]
Local law enforcement officers agree that a proposal by the Bush administration to cut federal police funding could seriously hurt many West Virginia departments. Community Oriented Policing Services grants and funds from the Byrne grant program have allowed the Monongalia County Sheriff's Department and the Morgantown Police Department to step up manpower and build a drug task force. If those funds are cut, the departments would certainly suffer, authorities said. "Cutting federal funding would have a devastating effect on law enforcement, especially on small departments and municipalities," said Sheriff Joe Bartolo. "It would definitely mean a reduction in a lot of programs that the department would not be able to do without grant money." [continues 369 words]
Post Office Has Lots Of Foot Traffic Monday The post office on South High Street was a busy place Monday as taxpayers hurried in and out to meet the April 15 deadline, making it an ideal place for local folks to peddle their platforms. Members of the local chapter of Families Against Mandatory Minimums took advantage of the heavy foot traffic at the post office to hand out flyers that read, "Do you know where your taxes go?" "Basically, we are out here because there is a lot of tax money being spent for incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders, first offenders, and it could be a heck of a lot better for us and everyone else if we spent that money on rehab instead," said Connie DeVore, co-organizer of the local FAMM chapter. [continues 526 words]
Almost 200 fifth-graders gathered in the auditorium of North Elementary Tuesday morning to celebrate their commitment to staying drug free. Morgantown DARE Officer Joel Smith, joined by special guests Lt. Reese Groscup of MPD, Board of Education member Nancy Walker, Mon County West Virginia Education Information System Coordinator Betsy Mullett, WVU Mountaineers coach Rich Rodriguez and "Voice of the Mountaineers" Tony Caridi, welcomed the 170 North Elementary and St. Francis students and their parents. "These students have spent the past 17 weeks preparing themselves for when they move on to middle school and through life," Smith said. "DARE not only teaches the kids about drugs, but it also teaches them how to make decisions, understand the consequences of their actions, handle peer pressure and build self esteem." [continues 468 words]
