Pubdate: Tue, 09 Mar 2004
Source: Drayton Valley Western Review (CN AB)
Copyright: 2004 Bowes Publishers Limited
Contact:  http://www.draytonvalleywesternreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/980
Author: Graham Long
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DRAYTON VALLEY HITS CBC NEWS

Drayton Valley Western Review - Drayton Valley had its 15 minutes of fame 
last week as the CBC aired a documentary looking at how the town is dealing 
with its methamphetamine problem.

The documentary, which ran on Tuesday evening as part of CBC's The 
National, looked at the growing meth problem throughout this part of 
Alberta. However, the main focus was on Drayton Valley.

"I loved it," says community mobilzer Norma Block. "I wish they could have 
focused more on the specifics of what we're doing here but in 20 minutes 
they can only focus on so much."

Mayor Moe Hamdon said he thought the CBC showed Drayton Valley in a bad 
light when he first watched the documentary. After watching it a second 
time he changed his mind.

"Without showing the negatives you can't appreciate the positives," he 
says. "There's nothing scientific about this, it's just an observation but 
I've talked to several people since the show went out. People from out of 
town thought it was very balanced while people who are attached to the 
community had some concerns with the story."

The documentary featured on-camera interviews with several local residents 
including Hamdon, Dr. Mike Murphy, Kevin Fisher of AADAC, and RCMP Const. 
Steve Browne. Much of the time was devoted to Suzanne Armstrong, whose 
daughter Melissa had a run-in with the drug a couple of years ago.

"They were looking for a couple of people and asked if I'd be willing to 
talk about it," says Armstrong. "I've never been someone who thinks you can 
make something get better by ignoring it."

Melissa is now living in Edmonton and has a daughter of her own.

"It's two years this month she's been clean and getting on with her life," 
says Armstrong. "I'm quite proud that she's turned out to be such a good 
mother."

Hamdon and Block both say they hope the documentary will increase public 
awareness of the problems methamphetamine can cause and help move other 
levels of government into taking action.

"There's no hiding with this issue any more," says Hamdon. "Not only 
Drayton Valley but communities across the country are going to have to deal 
with it."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom