LIBERTY - School officials have been asked to consider a "no-nit" policy after results from a new study indicate that most nits do not develop into lice. Casey County Board of Education is considering a change in its policy that will keep students in school rather than send them home when there is evidence of nits. Other changes for this school year include that students may be subject to search by a bus driver, see different foods in vending machines and on school menus, a decrease in unexcused days allowed for truancy, a change in regulations on the use of cellular phones, and may be expelled on the first offense of trafficking in illegal drugs and alcohol. [continues 358 words]
City Should Find Funds To Continue Program The non-profit Hope Center operates a drug-rehabilitation program at the Fayette County jail that needs $175,000 to stay open for another year. The Urban County Council should find the money to help. The state has allocated $57,000 for the program, but it can be awarded only if the city government matches it. A council committee is scheduled to consider that contribution next month. At less than three years old, it's too early to deem the drug-treatment program an unqualified success. [continues 235 words]
Finding Meaning In Statistics Is Difficult FRANKFORT - Crime was down in Kentucky in 2004. Or crime was up in Kentucky. It depends on perspective and the interpretation of the statistics provided in the annual report compiled by the Kentucky State Police. KSP Capt. Lisa Rudzinski cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the report, despite its volume and detail. "I don't think you can say anything about a crime trend based on one year," Rudzinski said. But there is a snapshot that can be viewed and while parts of it might seem encouraging, the overall view is of a state troubled by crime, especially drugs. [continues 395 words]
LOUISVILLE -- The mining industry and states should decide whether they want to drug test miners, the nation's top mine safety regulator said. David Dye, head of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, said last week that he is not urging Congress to pass a law allowing MSHA to test miners for drugs. Instead, the federal government will try to educate miners about the dangers of using drugs at work, he said. "We're looking at using all our authority and resources that are appropriate to deal with the issue," Dye told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "A change of law at the federal level is always a long and arduous process." [continues 124 words]
FRANKFORT -- Crime was down in Kentucky in 2004. Or crime was up in Kentucky. It depends on perspective and the interpretation of the statistics provided in the annual report compiled by the Kentucky State Police. Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the report, despite its volume and detail. "I don't think you can say anything about a crime trend based on one year," Rudzinski said. But there is a snapshot that can be viewed, and while parts of it may seem encouraging, the overall view is of a state still troubled by crime, especially drugs. [continues 445 words]
In Some Counties, They Use Up 20% Of Budget, Luallen Says LOUISVILLE - Kentucky's county jails are a rapidly growing expense eating up increasing amounts of local resources, state Auditor Crit Luallen said Thursday. Luallen, speaking to a gathering of county executives in Louisville, said some counties are contributing as much as 20 percent of their general funds to jails. The crisis has reached grave proportions in some areas with the state taking over jail management or advising closure of some facilities, Luallen said. [continues 301 words]
The addiction recovery program at Lexington detention center is in trouble. The Hope Center, which has been operating the program with little financial support from either the city or the judicial system, needs $175,340 yearly to keep the recovery program going. Already stretched to the limit by other demands for its services, the Hope Center has notified the mayor, the Urban County Council and Lexington judges that it will no longer provide addiction recovery assistance unless new funds come available. [continues 469 words]
This week, the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration kicked off a "Make the Right Decision" safety awareness campaign that it hopes will further reduce mining deaths and injuries, the numbers of which remain too high. But, at the same time, MSHA chief David Dye refused to embrace the idea of federal drug testing, saying that any such initiative should be run by the coal industry and state regulators. MSHA-administered tests for the use of controlled substances by miners would require passage of new federal law, which Mr. Dye described as "always a long and arduous process." [continues 205 words]
The nation's top mine-safety regulator said yesterday that federal authorities will try to educate miners about the dangers of using drugs at work but that the industry and states should be responsible for drug testing. David Dye, head of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration, said he would not urge Congress to pass a law allowing MSHA to test miners for drugs. "We're looking at using all our authority and resources that are appropriate to deal with the issue," Dye said in a telephone interview. "A change of law at the federal level is always a long and arduous process." [continues 468 words]
Reporter Gets Lortabs Without Answering Any Diagnostic Questions WINCHESTER - Sometimes an investigative reporter's work goes down the toilet. In an effort to determine how easily narcotics can be purchased online, The Winchester Sun authorized me to buy prescription drugs that would be delivered to my door. All it took was a simple Internet search to find a list of cyberpharmacies offering pain medication. Twenty-four hours after speaking on the phone with the pharmacy's "doctor," 90 Lortabs -- a potent prescription painkiller that is commonly trafficked illegally - -- were delivered to my home in a nondescript package. [continues 498 words]
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. - Faced with staunch opposition from local residents, a company has withdrawn its application to open a methadone clinic in Middlesboro. Rehabilitation Drug Services sent a letter to that effect on Thursday, said Steve Shannon, director of the Kentucky Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. After receiving the letter, the State Narcotic Authority canceled a meeting set for Friday to consider whether to allow the methadone clinic to open. Dr. Ronald Dubin, head of Middlesboro Against Drugs, said he expected several hundred people opposed to the proposed clinic to drive to Frankfort to attend the meeting. [continues 277 words]
Middlesboro Residents Had Been Set To Take Protest To Frankfort MIDDLESBORO - Faced with staunch opposition from residents of the Bell County town, a company has withdrawn its application to open a methadone clinic in Middlesboro. Rehabilitation Drug Services sent a letter to that effect yesterday, said Steve Shannon, director of the Kentucky Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. After receiving the letter, the State Narcotic Authority canceled a meeting set for today to consider whether to allow the methadone clinic to open. Dr. Ronald Dubin, head of Middlesboro Against Drugs, said he had expected several hundred people opposed to the proposed clinic to drive to Frankfort to attend the meeting. [continues 280 words]
MIDDLESBORO (AP) -- Residents are expected to learn this week whether a methadone clinic will be allowed to open in their southeastern Kentucky town. The State Narcotics Authority will meet Friday in Frankfort to consider the matter. Dr. Ronald Dubin, head of Middlesboro Against Drugs, said he expects several hundred people opposed to the proposed clinic to drive to Frankfort to attend the meeting. Middlesboro residents are upset because the proposed clinic would be within three blocks of two schools and because residents weren't told about plans for it, Dubin said. Residents didn't find out about the clinic until its owners had a ribbon-cutting ceremony. [continues 313 words]
State Needs Full-Scale Campaign Against Damaging Drug In Daviess County, otherwise known for barbecue, a new product has taken hold: methamphetamine. Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain told the National Sheriff's Association in Louisville last week that about 700 meth labs have been discovered in his county since 1997. Keep in mind, the verb here is "discovered." Presumably, because small, highly mobile meth labs are hard to track down, many more existed in that one county. A survey released yesterday by the National Association of Counties indicates Daviess County's meth production is probably closer to the rule than the exception. Meth was defined as the No. 1 illegal drug in 58 percent of the counties surveyed, where it contributes to increases in burglary and robbery. [continues 258 words]
The pictures are heartbreaking: frightened toddlers covered in sores, burns and bruises; baby bottles on counters next to chemical-crusted jars; needles in nurseries. About 80 of Muhlenberg County's concerned residents -- including from law enforcement, social services and schools -- were hit Thursday with the grim images and startling statistics that tell the story of drug-endangered children. Methamphetamine production puts children at risk of injury from explosion or fire. Exposure to the toxic chemicals used to make meth can cause serious respiratory problems, skin irritation and sores, watery eyes and concentration problems. [continues 521 words]
Law restricts sales of cold medicines INDIANAPOLIS -- The state is producing millions of posters, cards, shopping bag inserts and other materials to educate Hoosiers about a law that takes effect today restricting their purchases of some cold and allergy medicines to combat the spread of methamphetamine use. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute began sending out packets of the materials -- created by an outside firm -- to 5,000 grocery stores, pharmacies, discount retailers and convenience stores yesterday. "You can imagine how many questions pharmacists will get every day about this change," said Heather Bolejack, executive director of the agency. "These materials will answer those frequently asked questions." [continues 655 words]
This week, Kentucky joined more than a dozen other states across the nation to wage a more aggressive fight against the manufacture and use of illegal methamphetamine drugs. Senate Bill 63 -- the "Meth Bill" as it and similar bills have become known -- took effect last Monday. The new law changes the way many cold, allergy and other such drugs containing psuedoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine may be purchased. These medications, with brand names like Sudafed, Claritin, Nyquil and others that previously were sold over-the-counter, now only can be stocked behind the counter by licensed pharmacies. Customers are required to be at least 18 years of age, present identification and sign their names, addresses and birthdates in a logbook to purchase the medications. Purchases are limited to three or fewer packages of the medication per transaction and no more than 9 grams may be bought within any 30-day period. [continues 241 words]
Tossed Wrappings Of Drug's Ingredients Can Lead To Hidden Labs LOUISVILLE (AP) - The message about methamphetamines was simple for sheriffs from around the nation who gathered yesterday to exchange ideas about curbing production: Law enforcement needs help. "Methamphetamine is not just another drug. It's not just a passing fad that will be taken over by another," said Daviess County Sheriff Keith Cain. "It's not a law enforcement phenomenon. It's a community problem." About 700 meth labs have been discovered in Daviess County since 1997, Cain told about a dozen sheriffs during a session on clandestine meth labs at the National Sheriffs Association's annual conference. [continues 330 words]
During the past five years, law enforcement agencies in Kentucky have found and destroyed an average of more than 450,000 marijuana plants annually, or about one plant for every nine state residents. Through Friday, police throughout the state had seized 10,295 plants so far this year, which is about 500 more than were found during the same period last year. And the main growing season is just beginning. "It's still early in the marijuana growing season," said Capt. Lisa Rudzinski, spokeswoman for the Kentucky State Police. "Within the next few months, we'll find the bulk of the plants we find each year." [continues 846 words]
MIDDLESBORO - Faced with increases in violent crime that came with widespread drug addiction, some of the hardest hit communities in central Appalachia wanted help so badly that they embraced even methadone clinics. No more. Some 300 people, many carrying anti-methadone placards, protested outside Middlesboro City Hall last week, signaling what might be an end to the free pass the clinics have enjoyed in the mountain region since illegal trafficking in the painkiller OxyContin began wreaking havoc about five years ago. [continues 600 words]
I don't smoke pot, but I don't see why sick people shouldn't be allowed to if they think it makes them feel better. I also think I correctly ascertained that the Supreme Court's majority opinion intended to reflect not so much drug policy, but the upholding of federal authority over that of the states. That isn't surprising. What surprised me was that three of the Court's conservatives, whom I had assumed were not for states' rights, but for states' rights when convenient, sided against the government. Well, OK, it was a little surprising, too, that the Court's more liberal side voted against pot. It would have been nice to be surprised by Justice Antonin Scalia. Louisville 40207 [end]
The State Narcotic Authority has decided to reschedule today's review of Rehabilitation Drug Services' application to dispense Methadone in order to allow the public to attend the meeting. But, there will be limitations. "It's an open meeting with no public hearing or testimony. They'll let us in and listen to them, but that's good enough," said Dr. Ronald Dubin, founder of M.A.D (Middlesboro Against Drugs). Dubin and his organization have led the fight against the proposed clinic. [continues 270 words]
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) - Faced with increases in violent crime that came with widespread drug addiction, some of the hardest hit communities in central Appalachia wanted help so badly that they embraced even methadone clinics. No more. About 300 people, many with anti-methadone placards, protested outside Middlesboro City Hall last week, signaling what may be an end to the free pass that clinics have enjoyed in the mountain region since illegal trafficking in the painkiller OxyContin began wreaking havoc about five years ago. [continues 388 words]
MIDDLESBORO, Ky. (AP) - Faced with increases in violent crime that came with widespread drug addiction, some of the hardest hit communities in central Appalachia wanted help so badly that they embraced even methadone clinics. No more. Some 300 people, many carrying anti-methadone placards, protested outside Middlesboro City Hall this month, signaling what may be an end to the free pass the clinics have enjoyed in the mountain region since illegal trafficking in the painkiller OxyContin began wreaking havoc about five years ago. [continues 762 words]
The Internet revolutionized the way the world does business. Unfortunately, it also seems to have revolutionized the way drug dealers do business. A series of reports in this week's editions of The Sun has shown how disturbingly easy it is for anybody to get prescription narcotics from online pharmacies. A minimal telephone consultation from a physician's assistant and old medical records were all it took for one online pharmacy to send 90 high-strength painkillers to a Sun reporter recently. One former drug dealer recounted how easy it was for her to get multiple shipments of narcotics shipped straight to her door, which were then put out on the streets, netting her hundreds of thousands of dollars. [continues 439 words]
Did you know that Colombia is second after Sudan for having the most displaced people? Colombia receives the third-largest amount of U.S. foreign aid -- only Israel and Egypt receive more. Despite having the worst humanitarian conditions in our hemisphere, 80 percent of our aid to Colombia is military. Did you know the primary rationale for sending $4 billion to Colombia over the past five years has been to curb the flow of drugs into the United States? Kentucky's U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Ben Chandler are on congressional committees that will decide to either help the Colombian people with humanitarian aid or continue wasting our money on failed military policies. If you are counting on the Herald-Leader for your information, you probably don't know these things. But at least you are well-informed about Michael Jackson and the status of pet monkeys. Regina Wink Swinford Frankfort [end]
Pseudoephedrine cold medicines are now being controlled. And, "although the law may cause an inconvenience for law-abiding citizens . it is a big step forward in curbing the production of meth," Joel Thornbury said. The president of the Kentucky Pharmacists Association goes on to say, "And this is just the beginning . if it works, we may very well end up taking (the inconveniences) further." The national homeland security laws also are "inconveniences" to law-abiding citizens: keeping tabs on library and Internet usage among an abundance of other big brother monitoring. [continues 246 words]
At a recent meth lab bust in Hardin County, Detective Chris Thompson was serving a search warrant when a man came out the back door of a home and tossed ingredients used to make methamphetamine under an air conditioning unit. The chemicals were sucked into the ventilation system, sending fumes into the home. Inside, directly in front of the air conditioner and absorbing the potentially deadly chemicals, were two children under 12 years old. As methamphetamine labs pop up around the country, another trend also is on the rise. Children are now being exposed to meth and its toxic chemicals at an alarming rate as parents manufacture the drug in their homes. [continues 853 words]
Sometimes an investigative reporter's work goes down the toilet - literally. In an effort to determine how easily narcotics can be purchased online, The Sun authorized me to do exactly what a growing number of drug dealers in Clark County do on a regular basis - buy prescription drugs online that would be delivered right to my door. All it took was a simple Internet search to find a list of cyberpharmacies offering pain medication. Twenty-four hours after speaking on the phone with the pharmacy's "doctor," 90 Lortabs - a potent prescription painkiller that is commonly trafficked illegally in Clark County - were delivered to my home in a nondescript FedEx package. [continues 1026 words]
The last legal hurdle to dispensing Methadone at Rehabilitation Drug Services, located in downtown Middlesboro, could be cleared on Friday when the business' application to dispense the drug is reviewed by a state panel. The business successfully submitted their application by the Monday deadline. The review is slated for Friday in Frankfort. According to Dr. Ronald Dubin, founder of M.A.D (Middlesboro Against Drugs), his organization has been told they will not be allowed to take part in the meeting. [continues 217 words]
New Law Puts Common Products 'Behind The Counter' Beginning today, purchasing ingredients to make methamphetamine will be more difficult. Senate Bill 63, like all the bills passed in the last session of the General Assembly, takes effect today, as is dictated by law. SB63 was designed to make it more difficult to purchase what lawmakers deem "meth precursors." Products that contain pseudoephedrine -- one of the main ingredients in methamphetamine production, now only can be sold by licensed pharmacies and are to be stocked behind the counter. [continues 437 words]
Clark County Deputy Sheriff Joseph Gurley slipped on a yellow shirt with a red collar and a DHL logo emblazoned on the chest, a pair of gray short pants and received a crash course in how to deliver a package to somebody's door. If one didn't know better, he could have passed for a DHL employee. That was the whole idea. Gurley's undercover ruse was part of a snare that Capt. Arlen Horton of the sheriff's department hoped would result in half a dozen arrests for trafficking drugs that were bought from on online pharmacy. [continues 1065 words]
Measure Intended To Fight Meth Labs The next time Carol League has an allergy attack, she'll have to show an ID and sign a log at her pharmacy if she wants to buy some relief. But League said she's happy to be inconvenienced if it means Kentucky's new restrictions on cold and allergy pills will make it harder for people to use them to make methamphetamine. "Anything to help Kentucky deal with its drug problems," said League, 57, who assists her husband, George, the pastor of Living Waters Christian Church in Shelby County. [continues 1029 words]
PINEVILLE - The Bell County Drug Court had its first graduation ceremony on Wednesday. The program's first graduate, Julia Hensley, has been in the program for over a year with a perfectly clean record. Hensley had no positive drug tests and no sanctions or reprimands throughout the program. "She's been a real role model for drug court. She has met every requirement," said program specialist Kristy Nelson. Of those who joined the program at the same time as Hensley, three others still have more requirements to meet before graduation and two were terminated from the program due to non-cooperation. [continues 394 words]
MIDDLESBORO - The abuse of prescription medication - OxyContin in particular - continues to be a major problem in Middlesboro and the surrounding area. The owners of Rehabilitation Drug Services Barbara Smith and Pam Wenger say they have already been contacted by over 100 people who hoping to start receiving methadone at the clinic to treat their addiction. One such recovering addict is Amanda Turner of Middlesboro. She attended an open house at Rehabilitation Drug Services Thursday that was planned to contrast the M.A.D. rally. [continues 929 words]
The 35-year-old woman with reddish blonde hair falling just below her shoulders sat on her sofa in her Lexington home, smiling as she recounted a recent trip to Dale Hollow Lake on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. For two days, she and her family hiked, camped and swam. She flipped pancakes in the air and watched rainbow trout swim in the lake. "I'm so happy," she exclaimed with a smile that widened as she spoke. Just remembering details of a weekend getaway is something Wendy Gividen Berryman may never again take for granted. Berryman recalls little of an excursion to Natural Bridge State Park in 2002 when she was hooked on painkillers and anxiety medication - a period when taking 10 pills a day was not unusual. She cannot recollect hiking the trail to the bridge or posing atop the stone archway for photographs. The trip is a blur in her consciousness, just as is much of the past three years of her life. [continues 2070 words]
They have stood before cameras and walked the hallways of the General Assembly trying to get-legislation passed that would expunge the criminal records of most non--violent offenders, but members of Bluegrass People Advocating-Recovery have another agenda they are just as passionate about. They want us all to understand that recovering addicts are not-pariahs. Many members of Bluegrass PAR are recovering addicts of-illegal drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, but they don't resemble the stereotypical crackheads in the least. They are law-abiding and tax-paying neighbors and friends who, because of their pasts, can't always find viable employment. [continues 484 words]
Similar Legislation Worked In 1 state FRANKFORT - Kentucky law enforcement officials hope new legislation requiring people to show picture IDs and sign their names when buying medication containing pseudoephedrine will become a useful instrument in their arsenal against methamphetamine. "Without controlling pseudoephedrine, it's going to be really hard to get our arms around the meth problem," said David James, head of the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation - an arm of the attorney general's office. "Now that we have some controls on the pseudoephedrine, it will help law enforcement across the state better protect the citizens." [continues 354 words]
The Supreme Court's decision to allow the federal government to regulate small quantities of homegrown marijuana under the recommendation of a doctor is outrageous. Marijuana is by far a more effective remedy to alleviate pain in those with chronic illness than any over-the-counter or prescription pill. With all the drugs being pulled off the market lately, marijuana also looks to be the safest. Every month, Americans can pick up a newspaper and read about the latest wonder drug that has been pulled from the shelves because those who take it have been dying. With all these drugs being pulled off the shelves, our director of national drug control policy seems to think we have the highest standards in the world for determining the safety of medication. [continues 116 words]
MIDDLESBORO - An estimated 300 people attended a rally Thursday evening to protest a downtown clinic that plans to treat drug addicts with methadone. The rally, organized by M.A.D. (Middlesboro Against Drugs), was held at the city parking lot just a few blocks from the site of Rehabilitation Drug Services. "We are here to let everyone know that we do not want a methadone clinic in our town," said Dr. Ronald Dubin, an orthopedic surgeon who established M.A.D. to oppose the clinic. [continues 735 words]
MIDDLESBORO - An overflow crowd packed the council chambers at city hall Thursday morning to voice their concerns to representatives of the state agency responsible for licensing Methadone clinics. State Narcotic Authority administrator Mac Bell and Heath Dolan from the Division of Substance Abuse took notes as numerous community members spoke about their displeasure of having such clinic in their town. Bell said a three-person panel would make a decision whether to give Rehabilitation Drug Services a license to dispense Methadone by June 24. [continues 1281 words]
The Daviess County Detention Center is offering another tool to help inmates in jail because of an addiction find a way to keep from coming back. This week, more than 80 members of the jail's general population began participating in Recovery Dynamics, a weekly substance abuse counseling program based on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. "It's a way for them to see that there's hope out there," said Donna Nolan, coordinator of the jail's GOALS substance abuse treatment program. "It's making them slow down and think about what they do." [continues 443 words]
'Going Up In Smoke' Perhaps we are missing the point in the discussion over medicinal marijuana. I do not smoke marijuana, and I am not a "pot-head." I am a high school teacher who works with young people every day, and I completely oppose our nation's failing war on marijuana. This so-called "war" being waged by pompous politicians who want to look tough on crime is a well-documented disaster that is draining our hard-earned tax money and making a mockery of the individual liberties on which our country was founded. [continues 236 words]
Let me see if I've got this straight. The Supreme Court ruled that sick people can be prosecuted for using medical marijuana even in states where voters approved its use. The federal government claims marijuana has no medical value, but supplies it to seven people for medical reasons, and has for more than 20 years. Most of these privileged seven live in states that have not approved medical marijuana. The DEA said that it isn't in the business of locking up sick people and doesn't really plan to enforce the law. The FDA continually blocks marijuana research efforts. Five hundred of the nation's top economists, including Noble Prize winner Milton Friedman, recommend total marijuana legalization, taxation and regulation. [continues 193 words]
Perhaps we are missing the point in the discussion over medicinal marijuana. I do not smoke marijuana, and I am not a "pot-head." I am a high school teacher who works with young people every day, and I completely oppose our nation's failing war on marijuana. This so-called "war" being waged by pompous politicians who want to look tough on crime is a well-documented disaster that is draining our hard-earned tax money and making a mockery of the individual liberties on which our country was founded. [continues 236 words]
SEBREE - Police Chief Bobby Sauls promised to protect the community when methamphetamine began moving into rural Western Kentucky. The 65-year-old, gray-haired policeman and one other officer in the department worked to seize clandestine meth labs and comfort citizens. The mayor lauded them for their efforts guarding the town's 1,700 residents from meth's reach. So when he was indicted on two meth-related charges this spring, the news shocked the quiet town 30 miles south of Evansville, Ind. [continues 432 words]
Opponents Fear It Will Draw Hundreds Of Drug Addicts It doesn't matter that clients of a proposed new methadone clinic in Middlesboro will be coming there for help. Residents of the tiny southeastern Kentucky town say the facility, in a strip mall on Cumberland Avenue, simpy isn't welcome. They fear it will draw hundreds of people addicted to Oxycontin, heroin and other opium-based drugs to an area that is just steps from an elementary school. "Most people here are against the clinic for varying reasons -- mostly they are afraid of drugs," said city council member Evelyn Farmer. [continues 571 words]
California's medical-marijuana law would seem a classic case of states' rights. It was approved by the voters at large in a ballot initiative and as a law by the state legislature. The commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution would seem not to apply because the product was grown entirely in the state, was never bought and sold and never crossed state lines. And the marijuana was made available to qualified patients by state-regulated doctor's prescription. Nine other states, from Maine to Hawaii, have similar laws, so this is hardly an ill-considered proposition. [continues 224 words]
What makes NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard") disputes so hard to mediate is that typically there are sincere, well-meaning people on both sides. That was certainly the case when Transitions Inc. recently proposed putting a long-term residential drug treatment facility for about 100 men in the Latonia neighborhood of Covington. Transitions included the county-owned property on its application to state officials who are trying to figure out where to place 10 such facilities as part of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's Recovery Kentucky initiative. [continues 371 words]
It is abundantly easy to become discouraged by this community's substance abuse problem, regardless of the perspective one holds. For people in the vise-like grip of addiction, discouragement is a constant companion. For law enforcement and the courts, is has to be discouraging as those institutions deal with a seemingly never-ending stream of crime and punishment tied to substance abuse. Just as frustrated are elected officials and the community at large as the enormous costs of the problem to society are constantly and painfully revealed. [continues 395 words]
Inside Kentucky
