A 1985 diving accident at Village Creek left then-Kountze High School junior Chris Cain paralyzed. Now 39, Cain said he treats muscle spasms associated with the accident with marijuana. Prescription drugs, according to the Kountze resident, caused him to feel zombie-like, or set his heart to racing. "The doctors have put me on sedatives and different drugs. And for a couple years, I couldn't work, I couldn't think and couldn't function because of these pills," Cain said Monday, while seated before a trio of glowing computer screens he uses to connect to clients of his home-based Web site consulting service. [continues 474 words]
It's either good living or good hiding that is keeping Southeast Texas teachers and students out of the drug spotlight. A series of teacher drug arrests in the Houston Independent School District prompted its superintendent, Abelardo Saavedra, to call for drug dogs to visit all campus employee parking lots in the coming weeks, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday. But, Southeast Texas school officials say they have had few drug-related incidents involving employees, rendering drug testing and drug searches unwarranted. [continues 573 words]
The price of vice is going up along with gas and food. Southeast Texas law enforcement officials said drug peddlers these days are charging more for less, and prostitutes are charging more for their services as well. For Beaumont drug dealers, the price of doing business is higher here than the state average, according to the most recent numbers released by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Violet Szeleczky, Houston DEA public information officer, said kilo prices for cocaine and marijuana have increased as a result of problems smuggling the drugs across the border. [continues 418 words]
VIDOR - Now in the fourth week of school, the Vidor Independent School District has yet to set a date as to when its mandatory, random drug testing will begin. Advertisement Testing could begin as soon as October, but it will definitely occur sometime this fall, said Willie Hayes, assistant superintendent of personnel and school operations. Last year, the VISD Board of Trustees approved the random testing, and it was scheduled to begin in the 2005-06 school year. However, in September 2005, the school district announced the program would be postponed because consent forms were not distributed in a timely manner, VISD board President Michael Quinn said. [continues 155 words]
In Vidor schools, random drug testing forms that had to be signed and returned by parents Friday are no longer due this week, school board President Billy Jordan said. The deadline has been extended to an unspecified date, Jordan said. "We still intend to do it," he said. "We haven't heard back from our attorney in writing yet." Drug testing has been delayed because students have been driving and participating in activities such as cheerleading, volleyball and band since school began, Jordan said. The school district wants to make sure it has not violated its own testing policy by starting the testing mid-way through the semester, Jordan said. If students fail drug tests, they can lose their right to drive to school and participate in extracurricular activities. [end]
BEAUMONT - The rate of violent incidents in schools dropped sharply after 1999-2000 and is now holding steady, school officials reported Thursday at the Beaumont Independent School District board meeting. W. Preston Shaw, assistant superintendent for administration, told trustees that he was "happy to share with you this sharp, sharp decrease in in-school violent incidents." He credited the drop to the implementation of dozens of preventative programs in the schools. There are 12 drug and violence prevention programs in place at the elementary level, 16 at the middle school level and 13 at the high school level. [continues 203 words]
When Kizzie White Applies For A Job Next Week, The Information On Her Application Form Will Be Different. The 26-year-old mother of two was one of 38 defendants convicted in a Tulia drug sting on the word of an undercover agent later charged with perjury. Friday, she and 34 other involved in the bust were granted pardons by Gov. Rick Perry. "We actually can put on our application 'never been convicted of a felony'" White said. "I'm really free, and I thank God I am." [continues 535 words]
An East Texas assistant district attorney out on bond could face additional charges after more than two pounds of prescription drugs were found in his car. Michael Hamilton Rodgers, 53, posted bond Wednesday after being arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Rodgers had been employed with the DA's office since July 1 and was still within his probationary period, said Van Zandt County District Attorney Leslie Poynter Dixon. He has been fired from his job, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in its Thursday editions. [continues 176 words]
Here is a sampling of Texas editorial opinion on the Baylor scandal: Houston Chronicle, Aug. 18: Baylor University basketball player Patrick Dennehy is dead, another player, Carlton Dotson, is jailed on suspicion of his murder, and coaches have been accused of brushing off Dennehy's concerns over threats against his life. The NCAA is investigating whether rules against payments to players were broken. Meanwhile, practically the entire men's basketball squad is scattering to other colleges. Now, audio tapes indicate recently resigned head coach Dave Bliss tried to get players not only to aid and abet a cover up, but to besmirch the reputation of the dead player by contributing to innuendo that he was a drug dealer. [continues 1723 words]
Not all of Southeast Texas's soldiers are fighting on the other side of the ocean. Others are struggling against elements whose body count isn't tallied on the battlefield but from street to street. U.S. Navy Sailor Anna J. Wade and her peers aboard the U.S.S. McCampbell won a big battle in the "war on drugs" last month, seizing 1.36 metric tons of cocaine from a sailing vessel off the coast of Central America. The crew was dispatched to stop and board the suspected ship "Sin Rumbo," a Canadian-flagged vessel. During a search, they discovered the illegal cargo in a hidden hold aboard the vessel. [continues 120 words]
Former Baylor University basketball coach Dave Bliss tried to cover up allegations of NCAA violations by telling assistant coaches and players to lie to investigators and say a slain player had been dealing drugs to pay for school, secretly recorded audiotapes reveal. The recordings of Bliss were made by an assistant coach, who turned them over to Baylor and NCAA investigators on Friday. "The tapes reveal a desperate man trying to figure out how to cover himself and to cover up" NCAA violations, said Kirk Watson, counsel for Baylor's in-house investigations committee. [continues 967 words]
Federal prosecutors want a judge to knock time off the 11-year sentence of a former prosecutor in exchange for his help in convicting a man in Texas. Former Saline County Prosecutor Dan Harmon was convicted in a scheme in which he was accused of taking money and drugs from criminal defendants in exchange for dropped charges. The U.S. attorney's office said in a court filing Tuesday that Harmon helped the government convict a former inmate he met in federal prison in Pekin, Ill. The inmate confided to Harmon that he planned to kill an informant and an FBI agent responsible for his incarceration. [continues 198 words]
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers on traffic patrol have seized illegal drugs valued at more than $100 million for the third consecutive year. The 2002 statistics released Monday by the Traffic Law Enforcement Division show that DPS troopers intercepted illegal drugs valued at $123.8 million while on routine patrol duty. Texas troopers have led the nation in highway drug seizures for the last several years, the DPS said. "Seizing drugs intended for someone's neighborhood is just one positive byproduct of our normal patrol activities," said DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. [continues 60 words]
The only thing worse than a government agency that acts contrary to the greater public good is one that keeps trying to, even after it is rightfully challenged. The Newton school district has taken a good step by replacing mandatory drug-testing with random screening, but one aspect of the new policy is still troublesome. Under the policy adopted by trustees last week, students in grades six through 12 volunteer with a guardian's written consent to go into a pool from which 10 names will be drawn each month for testing. So far, so good, and certainly better than the policy that had parents and students protesting its intrusiveness in September. [continues 126 words]
BEAUMONT - A new state law aimed at eliminating racial profiling from police department arrest criteria is also going to make prosecutions easier, police administrators and prosecutors say. The law adopted by the 77th Legislature uses patrol car video technology to help combat racial profiling, the practice of stopping motorists or pedestrians based on racial or ethnic stereotypes. Senate Bill 1074 prohibits racial profiling and requires Texas law enforcement agencies to adopt such a policy before Jan. 1, the first day officers are mandated to start keeping track of stops resulting in either a citation or an arrest. [continues 741 words]
Amie Simmons, a Newton High honor roll student who has never received a detention, is facing a slew of punishments for refusing to agree to school-mandated drug testing. Her father, Mack Simmons, believes she is doing the right thing by refusing the test. Like other parents in the Newton Independent School District, he says the new drug-testing policy is unconstitutional. "They are violating my constitutional rights, and hers too," Simmons said. In April, the Newton school board adopted a policy requiring random drug testing for students in grades six through 12 who drive to school or participate in athletic activities. [continues 537 words]
Random drug testing is an essential element in preparing students for what lies ahead in future employment, some area school officials say. But one federal judge in Amarillo deemed the Tulia district's program, which tests all seventh through twelfth graders involved in extracurricular activities, unconstitutional under Amendment IV. The amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures without probable cause. Four districts in this area have random drug testing programs in place, although all are not exactly alike. They include Bridge City, Deweyville, Evadale and Little Cypress-Mauriceville school districts. [continues 774 words]
BRIDGE CITY - Middle and high school students who wish to participate in extra-curricular activities or drive to school next year will be required to submit to random drug testing. School board members voted Thursday night to implement a drug-testing policy for secondary students. Teachers may also submit voluntarily to the random program. Most parents and students at a public forum Thursday favored the policy; however, three men spoke out against it. "So, the kids can't say a prayer, but we want to test them for drugs," said Mike Peoples, a parent. "There's plenty (of drugs) in these schools; we all know it. There's just got to be a better way." [continues 301 words]
ORANGE - The rented building in the rear parking lot of a shopping center is filled with former addicts trying to help others go straight. The staff members at the Orange County Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse have seen their share of battles, but the latest battle has them worried about funding and upset about a community's perception. When the Orange City Council denied funding to the agency June 13, it was just another blow to the 46-year-old organization that has already seen a 65-percent cut from United Way over the past two years. [continues 780 words]
