Pubdate: Fri, 10 Jun 2011
Source: Calgary Herald (CN AB)
Copyright: 2011 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/letters.html
Website: http://www.calgaryherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/66
Author: Clara Ho, Calgary Herald

STRATHMORE TEEN CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING AFTER 15-YEAR-OLD OVERDOSES
ON ECSTASY, DIES

As a Strathmore group rallies to reopen a youth centre following the
fatal drug overdose of a local teen, RCMP have laid charges against a
17-year-old male in connection with the death.

The accused, also from Strathmore, was arrested Wednesday and charged
with trafficking a controlled substance after allegedly selling a
quantity of pills, believed to be ecstasy, to 15-year-old Jonathan
Herrmann.

Herrmann went into "medical distress" and died in hospital last Friday
after taking the yellow pills, each bearing a Mickey Mouse design.

His friend, 19-year-old Richard Mulvihill, was also taken to hospital
after taking up to four pills. He was released Saturday.

RCMP said the drugs may have been tainted with additional
chemicals.

The death has spurred Courtney Herasemluk and other young Strathmore
citizens to lobby town council for the lease on the shuttered building
where the former youth centre was housed.

She said she plans to attend next Wednesday's town council meeting
with a proposed plan to fix up the facility, repair its broken
windows, repaint the spray-painted walls, plant some flowers, get a
counsellor and volunteers in place, and reopen the youth centre to
give young locals ages 12 to 17 a fun and safe place to hang out.

"I think if we had a dropin centre for our youths and someone was
there to supervise, we wouldn't have a problem at the skate park with
fighting, drugs, drinking and sexual activity," said the
19-year-old.

"If we cleaned it up and made it a positive environment, it would
benefit the youths of the community."

The pink and green building in question currently shares the land with
the local skate park, where many of the town's youths hang out and
where Herrmann and Mulvihill took the drugs Friday evening.

Not all the youths who hang out at the park are bad, Herasemluk
stressed.

But because there's no current youth centre to turn to and nothing
else to do, some youths will inevitably get into trouble, she said.

The town's former youth hangout, which was run by the Christian
faith-based group Youth for Christ, occupied that space. But it shut
down about a year ago after the centre struggled to find volunteers,
Herasemluk said.

She added some kids may have also been reluctant to attend a
Christian-run facility, which is why she wants the new centre to be
secular.

The previous centre had a zero-tolerance policy for smoking and drugs,
and the counsellors would call the police if someone showed up with
drugs, said 17-year-old Preston Farness, who attended for many years.

"Ever since it closed, some kids have been lost," he said, adding many
fellow teens indulge in drugs as well as underage drinking and
vandalism to entertain themselves.

Mulvihill and Herrmann's girlfriend, 16-year-old Danica Williams, also
voiced their support for a new youth centre.

"I think it's a good idea," Williams said.

"Youths should have something to do instead of drugs. There's nothing
for youths to do here," said Mulvihill, who vowed never to touch drugs
again after losing his friend and nearly losing his own life.

Herrmann's parents, Brenda and Ed Herrmann, urged friends and family
to make donations toward the new youth centre instead of sending flowers.

"We want the town to step up to the plate and do something for these
teens," said Brenda, adding she and Ed plan to attend next Wednesday's
council meeting. "They need a place to go and have good, clean fun and
be safe. We need someone there for them, not just a drive-by cop."

Responding to the charges laid in connection with his son's death, Ed
said he was pleased to hear police had made an arrest. "I hope they'll
get more of this stuff off the streets," he said.

Meanwhile, the couple paused to remember Herrmann, the youngest child
of six. Brenda called him a funny, athletic kid who liked to get on
his brothers' nerves.

He had taken ecstasy and smoked marijuana before, but stopped after
getting in trouble with the law, which scared him and made him
realize, "I don't want this kind of life," Brenda said.

He was turning his life around, getting reacquainted with his old
friends and rekindling a relationship with his girlfriend. That's why
it was such a shock to learn of his overdose, Brenda said, fighting
back tears.

"He was a good kid. He just made a terrible mistake," Ed
said.

A memorial for Herrmann was held Monday at the skate park where family
and friends spray-painted messages on the cement, released balloons,
and wore navy blue yarn bracelets in his memory.

His funeral is scheduled for today at 1 p.m. at the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in Strathmore. Brenda urged attendees to
dress up, because "Jon loved dressing up and looking good."
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.