NIMBIN'S 22nd annual Mardi Grass - a festival supporting the legalisation of cannabis that includes a bong-throwing competition, joint rolling events and a hemp rope tug of war - has been blitzed by police. A total of 86 people were nabbed for driving under the influence of a prohibited drug and five people were caught drink driving The annual festival, which attracted up to 10,000 people over the weekend and offers visitors tips about what to do if you get pulled over by police, was closely watched by Richmond local area command police. [continues 100 words]
Over the past few weeks, The Recorder as done an admirable job bringing to light the drug epidemic facing our community, however time and time again the people in charge of curing this epidemic are given a pass. The biggest failure on the "War on Drugs" has been focusing on ending the supply, while ignoring the demand curve, with the most recent headline being "We can't arrest our way out of this" (May 6). That cannot be further from the truth. [continues 218 words]
The Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement team (CRIME) is nearing the end of its year-long pilot project run and will not end on its one-year anniversary, Sept. 4. Cpl. Annie Linteau with the federal RCMP media relations, says the team will carry on beyond that date to help advance a second "community phase" initiative. That is currently underway and consists of a long-term community phase in which the marijuana grow operation provincial working group, the province and stakeholders "explore other solutions to the marijuana grow operation problem in the Cariboo region besides enforcement." [continues 310 words]
If the Supreme Court of Canada decides Insite, a Vancouver-based health-care facility in the city's downtown eastside, falls under provincial jurisdiction, similar 'safe' injection sites could become a reality in cities across the country. And soon would begin the downward spiral further blurring the lines between right and wrong, legal and illegal in this country. Insite offers, among other things, the option for drug users to shoot up under the watchful eye of a nurse. Forget for a moment the ongoing war on drugs, and forget for a moment that selling drugs is illegal, using drugs is illegal, and there is a facility in existence in this country that not only turns a blind eye to both of these facts. Insite chooses to not only condone the use of injection drugs but offers medical supervision so as to ensure that the users can continue to break the law -- safely. [continues 258 words]
If the Supreme Court of Canada decides Insite, a Vancouver-based health-care facility in the city's downtown eastside, falls under provincial jurisdiction, similar 'safe' injection sites could become a reality in cities across the country. And soon would begin the downward spiral further blurring the lines between right and wrong, legal and illegal in this country. Insite offers, among other things, the option for drug users to shoot up under the watchful eye of a nurse. Forget for a moment the ongoing war on drugs, and forget for a moment that selling drugs is illegal, using drugs is illegal, and there is a facility in existence in this country that not only turns a blind eye to both of these facts. Insite chooses to not only condone the use of injection drugs but offers medical supervision so as to ensure that the users can continue to break the law --safely. [continues 258 words]
While the RCMP's Cariboo Region Integrated Marijuana Enforcement task force (CRIME) may be adept at taking down marijuana grow operations, it has uncovered an ugly environmental side to the operations that, for now, seems to be without a solution. According to Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson, after a grow operation is taken down the RCMP are left to deal with the collection, transportation and storage of the operation's equipment as well as the "toxic remains" for which they neither have a budget nor the skills to handle. [continues 373 words]
Enforcement of State Law Leaves Cities, Defendants Confused Several showdowns over Michigan's medical marijuana law are slated for courtrooms across the state this year as users and law enforcement officials clash over the drug's legality. Oakland County prosecutors have until Friday to file legal arguments stating why nine people arrested in a medical marijuana raid should be tried on felony drug charges in a Ferndale court. In a Wayne County courtroom Jan. 21, attorneys for Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills will ask to have a lawsuit against their cities moved to Oakland County, where prosecutors and law enforcement have declared medical marijuana dispensaries illegal. [continues 760 words]
Undercover Cop Testifies at Hearing Phony ID Approved by Prosecutor, Sheriff's Offices Ferndale - A phony Michigan medical marijuana identity card used by an undercover narcotics officer to make purchases came under attack Friday by a group of defense lawyers representing nine employees of a Ferndale dispensary. Derek Myers, an undercover detective for the Oakland County Sheriff's Office, testified during a probable cause hearing about six visits he made to Clinical Relief in Ferndale in July and August. Myers acknowledged he made the phony card, told the staff at Clinical Relief he had back pain and made several purchases of marijuana. During one visit, he said he sold marijuana to the staff for $140. For the sale, he was given a receipt. [continues 271 words]
To the editor: I first tried marijuana like many people in college. By the time I graduated I had long realized that "reefer madness" and the idea of pot as a "gateway drug" was a myth invented by people who had either never tried pot, who stood to profit from its prohibition, or who had misdiagnosed social problems rooted in the more complex issues of social inequality, cycles of poverty, and the environmental conditions that create addictive personalities. This failed logic has been on brilliant display this last week on the Daily Sun's op/ed page, where the prospect of legalizing medical marijuana has been mischaracterized (once again) as a scourge worse than the seven plagues of Egypt. [continues 144 words]
Lawmakers Urged to Act Against Backdrop of Recent Clinic Raids A Michigan Court of Appeals judge urged lawmakers Wednesday to clarify the state's medical marijuana law, saying the "inartfully drafted" measure has resulted in confusion and arrests. Judge Peter O'Connell issued his call Wednesday in a 30-page opinion on an Oakland County case in which the court upheld marijuana possession charges against two Madison Heights residents. The judge said the law is so confusing that users "who proceed without due caution" could "lose both their property and their liberty." [continues 984 words]
Charges Stem From Arrests at Three Medical Marijuana Facilities The legal face-off over Michigan's medical marijuana law continued Friday as 16 people arrested during raids of three medical marijuana facilities were arraigned in court. It took more than an hour to read charges against each of 16 suspects who were arraigned in two Oakland County courtrooms on felony charges including conspiracy to deliver marijuana and delivery of marijuana. Raids were conducted this week at Everybody's Cafe and Herbal Remedies in Waterford Township and Clinical Relief in Ferndale by the Oakland County narcotics enforcement team. [continues 458 words]
Marijuana goes Mainstream in Amaerica The casual use of marijuana is becoming increasingly accepted, or at least tolerated, in the United States. According to The San Francisco Chronicle, 100 million Americans have used weed, with 15 million smoking in the last month and two million more people trying it each year. According to The New York Times, citing Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, Americans spend about $25 billion a year on weed. Medical marijuana has created what amounts to the legalization of weed in 14 states so far, including California. Fortune magazine calls it "the greening of America." [continues 700 words]
Since the events of Sept. 10 that precipitated the death of Rev. Ayers, a swirling rage has engulfed the majority of the populace like an inferno never imagined by Dante. Ninety-nine percent of the people who have written to The Record are totally against the Drug Task Force and police in general. The common thought seems to be that, regardless of any actions taken by Ayers, he should have been ignored just because he was a preacher and could do no wrong. [continues 484 words]
It seems that some people's ignorance is exceeded only by their stupidity. Frank Whittle's current letter (The Toccoa Record Dec. 3) not only calls everyone who is against the epidemic of drugs and the war on drugs a bunch of liars (even accusing the police and D.A. of making up "facts"), but continues to decry the black community as the reason for the "so-called drug problem." He then concludes the drug task force and or police are using the citizens of Stephens County as target practice dummies! [continues 389 words]
The business of medical marijuana is rapidly evolving in Michigan, with Royal Oak preparing to pass the state's first zoning law to cluster professional growers and the opening in Southfield of a trade school teaching plant cultivation. On Tuesday, Royal Oak city leaders are expected to debate a proposed zoning ordinance requiring all licensed medical marijuana caregivers to grow pot in a dispensary in the city's general business district, which encompasses the retail and commercial strip along Woodward Avenue. [continues 621 words]
In response to Frank Whittle's letter in the 9/24/09 edition, are you serious? Are you on medication? This guy goes off on a tirade about something he obviously has no idea about! Man, drugs are the No. 1 trade and recreation here in Toccoa, whether you want to believe it or not. How can you not know about the problem of drugs in Toccoa? Did you reside in Never-Never Land when the news came on and when the papers came out? [continues 329 words]
Madison Heights -- Declaring Michigan's medical marijuana act the "worst piece of legislation" he has ever seen, an Oakland County judge on Wednesday dismissed felony drug charges against a couple who say they grew pot for medical reasons. Torey Clark and Bob Redden jubilantly walked out of the Madison Heights courtroom of 43rd District Court Judge Robert Turner . The judge had heard testimony from the physician who qualified the couple to use medical marijuana under the state's new law. Clark and Redden were charged with growing marijuana after Madison Heights police raided their home March 30 -- days before the medical pot law took effect -- and found 21 plants. With prior drug convictions, they faced up to 14 years in prison. [continues 191 words]
Madison Heights -- An attorney for a Madison Heights woman who is physician-certified to use medical marijuana plans to ask a judge today to dismiss felony drug charges against her. Torey Alison Clark, along with her co-defendant, Robert Redden, is scheduled to appear in Madison Heights 43rd District Court in a case being widely watched by legal observers and community leaders who are trying to understand the parameters of Michigan's new medical marijuana law. Clark and Redden, who live together, say they are physician-certified to grow and use medical marijuana, yet 21 marijuana plants were seized from their home March 30. Madison Heights Police used a battering ram to knock down their front door. [continues 261 words]
Royal Oak Weighs Letting Growers Set Up in Business District Royal Oak -- Woodward Avenue has been a magnet for car enthusiasts and shoppers for decades, but the boulevard soon may earn a new reputation as Michigan's first pot zone. Royal Oak's leaders are contemplating a zoning ordinance that would require medical marijuana growers to set up shop in the city's general business district, which encompasses the retail and commercial business strip along the byway. The proposal, to be discussed Tuesday by the city's Plan Commission, targets growers who are state registered caregivers of medical marijuana patients. It would not apply to qualified patients who are physician-certified to grow the drug. [continues 291 words]
Couple Who Say They Have Permission to Use Plants for Illnesses Are Charged With Felonies Madison Heights --A legal test of Michigan's new medical marijuana law is brewing in Oakland County, where a man and woman vow to fight felony charges of manufacturing plants in their home. Robert Lee Redden and Torey Allison Clark appeared before a Madison Heights magistrate Tuesday afternoon to be arraigned on charges that could send them to prison for up to 14 years and cost them up to $1 million. [continues 507 words]
MADISON HEIGHTS -- An arrest warrant has been issued for a Madison Heights man who claims he has a legal right to possess 21 medical marijuana plants in his home. Robert L. Redden is named in a warrant charging him with manufacturing 20 to 200 marijuana plants. Redden is also charged with being a repeat offender for having a prior marijuana conviction in March 2006. Madison Heights police used a battering ram to break down Redden's front door March 30 to investigate a tip about someone growing marijuana in the home. [continues 166 words]
State to Soon Outline a Program Explaining Patients' Rights Madison Heights --Bob Redden says he thought he was doing the right thing when he went to a medical clinic in Southfield to get paperwork to qualify for medical marijuana. Redden, 59, said he suffers from bone disease and two deteriorating hips, and was told medical marijuana would ease his pain. But on Monday, when Madison Heights police smashed open the front door of his house with a battering ram and seized 21 marijuana plants from a back room, Redden wondered what he had done wrong. [continues 330 words]
Since the HSTA now finds that the members refuse to comply with the labor contract they agreed to, there is only one fair thing to do. The state must stop all pay raises, reverting back to the pay scale in effect when the new contract began. They must also recoup all money paid to HSTA members under the new contract. Negotiations should be restarted, just as if a contract had never been agreed upon. The union will, of course, threaten to strike. HSTA never had any intention of meeting the requirement for random drug testing, they intended from the start to get the raises and then find a multitude of reasons why they cannot/will not do random testing. Isn't it about time the HSTA learns it does not control the state? Don Chambers Mililani [end]
Being kind or talented is no excuse for being stupid. The U. S. has very strict drug laws -- if you break them, you will go to jail. Jack Chambers, Langley, B. C. [end]
Jonathan Kay's straw-man argument is hardly convincing. Comparing the abuse of alcohol with the non-abuse of marijuana is hardly fair. Abuse anything and it will have dire consequences (guns, certain foods, even lovers). The only issue that matters is toxicity. Marijuana is toxic, alcohol is not. Jack Chambers, Langley, B. C. [end]
I for one support the Conservative Party's decision to criminalize marijuana. Marijuana advocates love to portray their weed as harmless. It is far from it. The combination of toxins, carcinogens and THC compounds lead to a number of health and safety concerns. The medical use of marijuana has had mixed reviews from medical professionals. Truly, how smart is it to introduce more toxins to the grossly compromised immune system of an AIDS patient? Yes, marijuana isn't as harmful as tobacco, but hey, let's ban them both. To expensive to enforce prohibition? Here's a solution: anyone who smokes, forfeits universal health care coverage. All smokers pay their own medical bills. Watch how quickly usage falls - and not one extra police officer is required. Parksville [end]
In response to DARE to compare effectiveness, (The News, Nov. 13), Constable Jeff Scott is to be commended for providing important information to a new generation. What we do with that knowledge is another thing. No institution, including the police, can guarantee that young people will heed warnings wisely or develop healthy attitudes. The same goes for sex education. As for God creating cannabis for the good of mankind, give me a break. Just because all plants were created good, doesn't mean they're good for man. Have you ever heard of the poison berry (holly) or leaf (hemlock) or fungus (mushroom)? John Chambers, Parksville [end]
Programs That Put Offenders in Alcohol, Drug Therapy Instead of Jail Forced to Retrench. DETROIT -- A runaway at 12 and a prostitute by 14, Felicia Donahue was desperate for a fresh start. It wasn't until the 30-year-old woman was arrested -- seriously addicted to crack cocaine and alcohol -- that she got the chance. A program at the 36th District Court in Detroit called Project Fresh Start that targets drug-addicted prostitutes put Donahue on the right path. Today she is sober, enrolled in community college and is preparing to move into her own apartment. [continues 758 words]
I applaud the Post for opposing the legalization of safe injection sites. (Alcoholics Anonymous have been helping addicts for years without providing a safe place to drink.) I am puzzled, however, by the Post's support for the legalization of prostitution. Aren't legalized brothels merely a safe injection site of a different type? Do they not both help destroy lives, each in its own unique way? [continues 5 words]
SPRINGFIELD -- During his 30 years as a Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. Bob Hillenbrand said, he encountered a number of folks whose treatment could have been enhanced by medical marijuana. Hillenbrand, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Rockford, recently joined an effort to allow those with debilitating medical conditions to legally possess the drug in Illinois. "I think there's a lot of ignorance about this," he said Monday. "I'm certainly not an expert myself, but I have heard quite a number of doctors say -- and I happen to agree with them -- that treatment like this might very well be in order." [continues 86 words]
Pascagoula - Young offenders will be be prosecuted, defended and judged by their peers in a new drug court in Jackson County. Jim Yancey, executive director of the Jackson County Community Coalition, said the project had been on the drawing board three years. A recent $37,366 grant from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety's Office of Justice Program will allow the project to become reality. The Jackson County Youth Court is a program partner. "What happens is the judge oversees the process . The kids will have their cases heard by the judge and other teens," said Yancey. [continues 404 words]
The proliferation of grow ops in Yarrow-from two last year to 10 currently-has motivated residents against what's seen to be a growing trend in the rural community. Chilliwack RCMP released the numbers at a forum held Tuesday evening at the Yarrow Community Hall. The forum, attended by city officials, the RCMP and representatives of non-profit agencies who work with drug users, gave information primarily on the City of Chilliwack's newest weapon against the drug trade, the Nuisance, Noxious, Offensive Trades Health and Safety bylaw and the levying of heavy fines. [continues 264 words]
The community of Yarrow has awoken to discover it's not such a sleepy little burg. In response to a recent flurry of drug busts made in the community of 2,000, residents held a drug awareness forum recently to consider ways to curb drug cultivation and use locally and increase residents' knowledge of what to look for in recognizing the illegal operations. The forum, attended by residents and officials representing the RCMP, realtors, and addiction counsellors, resulted in the following recommendations: the establishment of a citizen's patrol, organization of a Block Watch/Grow Watch group, the establishment of a committee to look at alcohol issues in the community, and the creation of more punitive bylaws and laws for grow-ops and drug trafficking. To get involved in the Yarrow Safe Community Initiative individuals can pick up a sign up sheet in Yarrow at the library, Envision Credit Union, Yarrow Deli, the post office or Teen Challenge. For more info e-mail empoweryarrow@uniserve.com. [end]
Bloomfield teen was arrested and confessed weeks before dying from fentanyl overdose. PONTIAC -- A 17-year-old Bloomfield Township girl who overdosed on heroin and fentanyl had provided police in Oakland County with information on two men who may be suspects in her death. Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe said Tuesday that Lauren Jolly was arrested by detectives with the county's Narcotics Enforcement Team on April 12 for heroin possession in Beverly Hills. After her arrest, Jolly, with her mother and lawyer present, wrote a full confession to police providing details on where she bought her drugs and who her suppliers were. [continues 281 words]
HUNTINGTON -- Detroit drug dealers, who already control most of the crack cocaine market in the Tri-State, are now shipping in a steady stream of heroin, local authorities say. "We haven't made any large seizures as of yet, but it's definitely making a strong comeback," said Doug Adams, a Cabell County Sheriff's deputy and member of the department's drug enforcement unit. "You can now buy heroin at any time of the day on any day of the week in this county." [continues 370 words]
Huntington isn't the only city that has dealt with an influx of drug dealers from Detroit. Several towns along U.S. 23 in Ohio have stories about traffickers from the Motor City using intimidation and violence to take control of the drug trade. Their presence has even stretched into Pennsylvania. It's in the small town of New Castle, Pa., where authorities have had success. The town, which has a population of about 26,000 and is 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, put a dent in its drug trade in February when police issued arrest warrants for 28 members of two drug rings that moved at least $2 million worth of crack cocaine since 2003. Seventeen of the fugitives were from Detroit. [continues 875 words]
It's unfortunate that Dr. Stephen Gleason relapsed into substance abuse and surrendered his medical license ("Licensing Board Files Charges Against Gleason," Feb.16). However, it's also unfortunate that it took hitting rock bottom and two years for his license to be surrendered. Where were the state Medical Board and legal authorities? Gleason's history (25 years) and behavior were clearly known to his colleagues, pharmacists, peers -- even the governor's office. The medical profession is a very tight "union" that believes it should police itself. We (the public) don't know if a patient has been maltreated or misdiagnosed. Because these situations are usually handled by insurance companies, internal investigations and out-of-court settlements, they are rarely publicized. If there is a lesson to be learned, it's that professionals -- be they doctors, lawyers and other people we hold in very high regard -- need to be highly scrutinized, thoroughly investigated by impartial experts and, if guilty, severely punished. - -- John Chambers Des Moines [end]
The partnership between Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada and Sto:lo Nation Tribal Society is a first and the lead beneficiaries are the students at Seabird Island school. On Friday several hundred students filed into the gym of the Agassiz band's office. What they were there to see was a presentation on drinking and driving entitled Truth, a video designed to battle inaccurate perceptions or false impressions of drinking and driving as well as its impact on both perpetrators, victims and families. [continues 323 words]
Royal Oak Woman, A Uaw Employee Representative And A Former Addict, Receives National Honor For Efforts ROYAL OAK -- Kathleen Stacy understands the struggles of addiction better than most. She was an addict to crack cocaine and alcohol. So today when Stacy counsels workers at the Warren Truck plant for DaimlerChrysler, it isn't difficult for her to remember what it was like to fight to give up an addiction, let alone recognize you have one. [continues 376 words]
Re: Column underplayed the seriousness of crystal meth, Letters, Oct. 3 As a recovering drug addict in his 50s, I was relieved to see Peter McKnight's Sept. 24 column "The Meth Myth" as a dispassionate attempt to examine the meth problem, amid the media hype and artificially generated hysteria about what has been a cyclical problem here since the mid-1960s. In his letter, Steve Fachler made the astounding claim that 60 per cent of marijuana seized is "dusted" with crystal meth. This claim is ridiculous and untrue. [continues 72 words]
Grow Ops Are On The Rise, But No More So Here Than Elsewhere In Canada Members of the Kawartha Combined Forces Drug Unit continue to uncover multi-million dollar marijuana grow operations throughout the region as part of their annual fall eradication program. Last week, officers uncovered roughly 14,000 plants near Havelock with an estimated street value of $14 million. OPP Detective Constable Neil Brown said the plants were about two weeks away from reaching maturity. "They were approximately three feet tall, so they were probably a couple of weeks away from being on the street," Mr. Brown said. "We figure mature plants are worth about $1,000 each, so this grow op was worth $14 million." [continues 515 words]
Rising Oil Costs Make Natural Product Viable Alternative The provincial hemp industry is at a pivotal time, the president of the Ontario Hemp Alliance says. "The rapidly increasing cost of oil is putting a lot of industries into a serious mode of pursuing bio fibres and alternative sources for energy," Gordon Scheifele says. "A year or six months ago, it was only curiosity or interest." Industrial hemp is an alternative to synthetic materials for products, including car interior linings, plastics and carpet backing. Hemp is also used to produce cooking oils and other food products, Scheifele says. [continues 913 words]
Chilliwack's needle exchange is going mobile. Last Friday the Fraser Health Authority announced the contract to offer community-based addiction services was switching hands from Fraser Valley Connections to Pacific Community Resources Society and that means not only a change in service providers but also a change in service-for now at least. "It's our target to continue providing services under PCRS that Fraser Valley Connections was handling," Tom Hetherington, addictions program manager for PCRS, said. According to Hetherington, counselling and referrals will continue through PCRS's existing CAPS-Chilliwack Addiction and Prevention Services-program in the community. [continues 158 words]
Fraser Health Authority's second medical detox unit will be located at Chilliwack General Hospital. Sharing the fifth floor with the facility's subacute unit, the withdrawal management unit consists of nine beds. It opened Monday. The unit itself is permanent, but its location may change, according to David Plug, spokesperson for the Fraser Health Authority. It won't move far, however, as the goal is to have it located near complementary services like psychiatry. Officials expect it to be busy. [continues 280 words]
On Friday Fraser Valley Connections ceased offering addiction services at its controversial location on Spadina Avenue. But its closure wasn't due to pubic complaints of late, instead the services have being shifted to Pacific Community Resources Society. The work, contracted to PCRS by the Fraser Health Authority, will be an expansion on what Fraser Valley Connections already offered, and will include: addictions counselling, education, peer support, referral to recovery and a needle exchange. Those will be in addition to an addictions outpatient clinic, school-based prevention and youth outreach programs already provided by PCRS in Chilliwack. [continues 263 words]
HUNTINGTON - Tri-State residents have an opportunity next week to learn more about how to spot drug activity in their neighborhoods and the mentality of drug dealers. Two Charleston Police officers who are involved in drug and anti-gang enforcement efforts will give a presentation titled "Street Gang Identification and Drug Awareness" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium at Huntington City Hall, 800 5th Ave. One of the officers is a member of the CPD's anti-gang enforcement unit. The other is a member of the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, or MDENT, an 18-person unit consisting of officers from the Kanawha Sheriff's Department, Charleston Police Department, State Police and several small municipal police departments in Kanawha County. [continues 191 words]
Violence, Intimidation At Heart Of Crack Trade HUNTINGTON -- The city of Huntington has learned the hard way that behind the shadows of a smalltime crack cocaine street dealer is a violent world of drug trafficking that begins in South America and spreads like wildfire to U.S. cities both large and small. Law enforcement officials say the people involved in the drug trade in Huntington -- whether they come from Detroit, Columbus, Ohio, or the Tri-State -- are no different than other traffickers across the country. These incidents have shaken Tri-State residents and shed light on what police say is a thriving enterprise controlled by traffickers from large metropolitan areas. [continues 1256 words]
Area Residents Say They Must Lead Local Fight Against Crime HUNTINGTON -- Two weeks ago, more than 1,000 people gathered to mourn the loss of four local teenagers who were shot and killed in the front lawn of a home on Charleston Avenue. As they held candles that represented the lives of Donte Ward, Eddrick Clark, Megan Poston and Michael Dillon, they asked questions for which there were few answers at the time. Why were four teens who had so much potential gunned down? And what could residents do to end the violence that police believe is tied to the influx of crack cocaine dealers from Detroit? [continues 1433 words]
Huntington Police Department crime scene investigator David Castle looks for evidence on Wednesday evening following the shooting of fellow officer Cpl. Darin Dempsey at the corner of Hal Greer and Charleston Ave. HUNTINGTON -- A Huntington Police officer was shot Wednesday night while working undercover in the 1600 block of Charleston Avenue. Cpl. Darin Dempsey was shot in the right calf shortly after he had pulled his motorcycle into the parking lot of a vacant gas station at Charleston Avenue and Hal Greer Boulevard about 7:40 p.m., said Capt. Steve Hall of the Huntington Police Department. [continues 421 words]
Allegations Of Drug Use Has Ledto Discipline Of Four Firefighters HUNTINGTON -- During the past two years, four Huntington firefighters have been suspended without pay or opted to retire amid allegations of drug use or tampering with drug tests, according to court documents. The information was revealed in a 137-page transcript of a July 2 Fireman's Civil Service Commission hearing that was filed last week in Cabell County Circuit Court. The transcript was submitted as part of the city of Huntington's appeal to the Civil Service Commission's ruling to suspend Lt. Gary Turner 180 days without pay for tampering with a drug test. [continues 924 words]
