Assaults on personal freedom and the right to be free of governmental intrusion into our lives and our bodies, however cloaked in good intentions, remain assaults. This week, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence was in Owensboro promoting drug education for children, which we applaud. Whatever can be done in an appropriate fashion to educate young people about the dangers of drug abuse and prevent them from becoming victims is worth exploring. We support Pence when he says, "We've got to find a way to keep our kids from going down that road." [continues 336 words]
When the Messenger-Inquirer published a series of articles in May describing the multiple facets of this community's efforts to fight drug and substance abuse, it became quickly evident that gaps in those services existed. That isn't surprising, considering the enormity of the problem. It was discouraging, however, to learn that treatment programs for adolescents was one of the areas missing in action. To keep today's teenagers with addiction problems from becoming the next generation of hard-core adult drug abusers is a mission that must not be ignored and cannot be hindered by a lack of resources and prevention and treatment options. The stakes are simply too high for the young people involved and the community as a whole. [continues 387 words]
Nine Teenagers In Program The efforts of local youth advocates, substance abuse counselors and judges to bring a juvenile drug court to Daviess County are finally paying off, with nine teenagers now participating in the county's fledgling program. The drug court, which got off the ground in May and now has a full-time program manager, might grow to serve as many as 25 juveniles by the end of its first year. But for now, organizers said they are just happy that the long-awaited project is starting to serve area juveniles with addiction problems. [continues 381 words]
It is the lot, duty really, of elected officials to worry about money. It is called being fiscally responsible. But it is also their responsibility to weigh the risks and be willing to say yes to worthy projects. A $4.38 million Recovery Kentucky substance abuse treatment center is one such worthy project for the Owensboro-Daviess County community. The facility will require Daviess Fiscal Court to allocate $200,000 from its "wellness fund" account to match a Community Development Block Grant of $831,000. The Kentucky Housing Corp. will contribute $1.13 million to the project. [continues 291 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]
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]
Federal Emphasis On Pot Dismays Law Enforcers EVANSVILLE -- The crippling reach of methamphetamine abuse has become the leading drug problem affecting local law enforcement agencies, according to a survey of 500 sheriff's departments in 45 states. About 90 percent of the sheriffs interviewed for a National Association of Counties survey released Tuesday reported increases in meth-related arrests in their counties during the last three years, and more than half of those interviewed said they considered meth the most serious problem their department faces. [continues 547 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]
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]
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]
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]
Treatment for Adolescents Hampered Local providers have little trouble identifying the gaps in services for substance abuse prevention, treatment and recovery. There's a need for more recovery, long-term residential treatment and detoxification facilities. Women need additional help as they try to get out of the two-fisted grip of domestic violence and addiction. Programs are needed that specifically address methamphetamine's deadly grip. And there's always a need for more funding. But tackling these are just the short-term solutions, providers say. If this region is ever to get its arms around its substance abuse problem, more prevention and treatment programs must be available for adolescents to keep them from becoming the next generation of drug abusers. [continues 838 words]
Addicts Can Turn to Several Local Agencies By 1993, Brenda Oldham was at a point where "everything in my life hurt." She was in an abusive relationship that forced her to deal with her abusive childhood. She had turned to crack cocaine for solace 11 years earlier after learning two relatives had been abused. When she later tried to get away from crack, the social drinker since 18 went from "cute" umbrella drinks, to shots of gin, to drinking from the bottle. [continues 1797 words]
Struggle For Answers Continue Numerous agencies in Daviess County can detail a wide range of efforts to address substance abuse at the prevention, treatment and recovery stages. Local law enforcement has made combating drugs -- particularly methamphetamine -- a top priority. And city and county governments have provided funding for programs they hoped would reduce a problem whose impact is felt throughout the community. Despite these efforts, most involved in the fight against substance abuse admit the problem is not getting much better. And that lack of progress has led to frustration. [continues 1224 words]
I'm writing in regard to a May 15 Readers Write letter -- "Kipling no place for treatment center." There are people -- addicts -- who need and desire help. They need to be supported to be successful. They surely don't need the negativity that they seem to get so often. There are so many families that have been affected by alcohol and drugs. Mine has; however, we are getting through it because of the desire to make it. If the letter writer's family has not been affected by addiction -- good luck -- and I hope it never is, but hers is one of the few that hasn't. [continues 55 words]
Senators Expected To Release New Bill WASHINGTON -- On a bitterly cold February morning, a half dozen lobbyists filed into U.S. Sen. Jim Talent's conference room for a tense, 90-minute meeting with one of the Missouri lawmaker's top aides. The lobbyists represented an array of powerful business interests, from deep-pocketed drug companies to retail giants such as Wal-Mart and Target to the nation's convenience store industry. They were there to talk about a bill Talent, a Missouri Republican, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, had introduced three weeks earlier proposing sharp new curbs on the sale of popular cold medicines containing a key ingredient used to make methamphetamine. [continues 1774 words]
'RECOVERY KENTUCKY' CALLS FOR PROGRAMS A 100-bed regional substance abuse recovery center for males may be built on a four-acre lot at the north end of Kipling Drive adjacent to J.R. Miller Boulevard near the Owensboro Country Club, a local agency said Wednesday. The $3.3 million facility would be part of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's "Recovery Kentucky" initiative to build 10 such facilities across the state using a peer mentoring system for the homeless and recovering alcoholics and addicts. But that all depends on Lighthouse Recovery Program being chosen to act as administrator for the facility, J.D. Meyer, the agency's board chairman, said during a presentation at the Catholic Pastoral Center on Locust Street. The initiative calls for two facilities in each congressional district, and two districts already have one each. Elizabethtown and Bowling Green, both in the 2nd District, have also expressed interest in having a recovery center, Meyer said. [continues 483 words]
A western Kentucky police chief credited by his mayor with helping combat methamphetamine in their town was indicted this week on two meth-related charges. Authorities said the indictment reflects the illegal drug's pervasiveness. Bobby Sauls, police chief of Sebree, a town of about 1,700 in Webster County, faces five to 10 years in prison on each felony charge if convicted. Sauls was indicted Wednesday and is to make an initial appearance May 6 in Webster County Circuit Court. [continues 420 words]
FRANKFORT -- Kentucky officials say a new system that allows doctors, pharmacists and police to access prescription records over the Internet is a faster, more efficient way to stop drug abuse and improve health care. But some civil libertarians and health experts are concerned about the privacy of the system and question whether it will end up discouraging doctors from writing some necessary prescriptions. For more than five years, Kentucky has tracked prescriptions for so-called schedule drugs, from the extremely powerful, addictive and often abused narcotics like OxyContin to simple cough medicines with codeine. [continues 415 words]
The growing availability of methamphetamine, as a result of the clandestine manufacturing of the drug, has become a serious challenge to local law enforcement. These "labs" are makeshift operations that use a simplistic methodology and produce high-quality meth but are extremely unstable and volatile. As the quantity of the drug increases, so does the potential for its abuse. Meth increases crime (particularly violent crime, as unpredictable aggressive behavior is symptomatic with its use), and its addictive qualities turn seemingly normal lives into nightmares. [continues 674 words]
It is clear by now that methamphetamine damages everyone it touches -- and when something this bad reaches epidemic proportions, which meth has in Kentucky, it touches all of us in one way or another. That is why we applaud the Senate and House for passing a bill designed to make it more difficult for people to manufacture methamphetamine and make it easier to arrest and convict meth makers. Methamphetamine is a destroyer. Those addicted to the caustic substance are in for the worst kind of physical punishment, and experts tell us that meth's downward spiral is a quick, devastating one. Users usually stop at nothing to buy more, including stealing. Where methamphetamine lurks, crime follows, and that's just one of the ways the entire community suffers when methamphetamine use becomes so prevalent. [continues 317 words]
Legislation Limits Sales Of Drug Ingredient FRANKFORT -- The House of Representatives passed its version of an anti-methamphetamine bill Wednesday afternoon that has been championed by Gov. Ernie Fletcher and other members of his administration. Although one legislator expressed reservations about the bill, he let the bill move forward without major changes. The House unanimously passed Senate Bill 63, which would limit access to ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in tablet form. The bill restricts sales of tablet pseudoephedrine -- a common cold remedy that is a primary methamphetamine ingredient -- only to over-the-counter sales at pharmacies. The bill also limits the amount of tablet pseudoephedrine a person can purchase to 9 grams a month. [continues 552 words]
Panel Votes to Limit Sale of Ingredients FRANKFORT -- A bill that would restrict access to certain methamphetamine ingredients and increase penalties for people who make the drug around children passed the House judiciary committee Wednesday. But committee members expressed reservations about parts of the bill, and at least one member suggested the bill raises civil liberties issues. Senate Bill 63, which has already been approved by the full Senate, would require that ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in tablet form, which are common meth ingredients, be sold from behind the counter by pharmacies. The bill would also require a person purchasing the drugs to provide his name, address and date of birth, which would be kept in a log by the pharmacy. The log would be open to police inspection at any time. [continues 532 words]
Recently, I met a man from western Kentucky named Charlie. Charlie's life revolved around a powerful vice that is gripping many Kentucky families and the communities in which they live. Methamphetamine use and manufacturing is sweeping the commonwealth. It is easy to purchase, highly addictive and cheap to manufacture. From 1998 to 2004, the number of meth labs discovered in Kentucky increased by 3,000 percent, from 19 to 579. In the past two years, nearly 150 children have been in the presence of labs. Labs have been found in 89 of our 120 counties. [continues 404 words]
FRANKFORT -- Surrounded by hundreds of police, firefighters and representatives from substance abuse treatment groups, Gov. Ernie Fletcher and a U.S congressman made their case Monday for passage of two bills that would, they say, curb methamphetamine production in Kentucky. Leslie Gibson, who is from the Manchester area, participates in an anti-methamphetamine rally Monday at the Civic Center in Frankfort. Photo by AP Fletcher and 5th District U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers spoke at a rally on behalf of Senate Bill 63, which would require people purchasing products containing pseudoephedrine -- such as Sudafed -- to buy the products from behind the counter at pharmacies. The bill also creates stronger penalties for people who make methamphetamine near children. [continues 571 words]
Owensboro residents have signed posters this week in favor of Gov. Ernie Fletcher's anti-methamphetamine legislation. Those signatures will be taken Monday to a 1 p.m. Frankfort rally to fight meth. The petitions of sorts will be delivered to legislators who represent Daviess County. Senate Bill 63 unanimously passed the state Senate Friday morning. Now, it goes to the House of Representatives. The bill requires anyone buying an over-the-counter medicine containing pseudoephedrine -- used in making meth -- to show identification. The legislation places limits on the quantity of the drug that can be purchased at one time and seeks to strengthen a law used to prosecute meth makers. [continues 292 words]
WHITESBURG -- Attorney General Greg Stumbo has proposed a bill that would crack down on the delivery of prescription drugs into Kentucky via the Internet. If the bill passes, Kentucky would join Florida and Nevada as the only three states so far to have addressed the issue. Stumbo's proposal, based on existing laws in those two states, would require Internet pharmacies to register with the state to do business. Any packages of drugs would include a registration number, which delivery services could check to make sure the seller is legally registered. [continues 539 words]
FRANKFORT - A bill introduced in the state Senate would attempt to curb the production of methamphetamine by restricting how certain meth ingredients are sold and by establishing harsher penalties for people who expose children to meth labs. The bill was introduced Tuesday by Sen. Robert Stivers II, a Manchester Republican. At a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Ernie Fletcher and Lt. Gov. Steve Pence praised the bill and said the legislation has bipartisan support. The bill "will help us fight methamphetamine manufacturing and will also help us protect children," Fletcher said. [continues 564 words]
Chemical Additive Tints Anhydrous Pink Local law enforcement is hoping a new additive for anhydrous ammonia, a common farm fertilizer used in methamphetamine production, will put a dent in its theft throughout the region. Next month, the local Royster-Clark supply store on U.S. 431 in Utica will begin adding GloTell to the anhydrous ammonia it sells to area farmers. The additive, patented by Royster-Clark, causes most objects that come in contact with the fertilizer or its vapors to be stained bright pink. [continues 448 words]
A fine line exists between the erosion of personal freedoms and sacrificing convenience for the sake of better security. It's an issue that Kentuckians -- and specifically state legislators -- are facing when it comes to stopping the spread of methamphetamine throughout our communities. There's nothing illegal about the ingredients used to make the drug and, in fact, most are items that many of us frequently have lying around the house. But when mixed together, they form an insidious concoction that is tearing apart families, draining law enforcement resources and turning towns upside down. [continues 373 words]
State Locks Up Supplies Of Pseudoephedrine TULSA, Okla. -- After years of locking up methamphetamine makers only to see illegal drug labs multiply on urban stovetops and country roads, Oklahoma got tough. It locked up the meth makers' cold medicine. The state banned over-the-counter sales of Sudafed and other decongestants used to produce meth and ordered that the medicines be placed behind pharmacy counters. Ten months later, meth lab seizures in Oklahoma are down more than 80 percent. State officials believe many clandestine cooks have closed their kitchens because of the crackdown on pseudoephedrine. [continues 676 words]
A proposed Senate bill that would allow certain over-the-counter cold medicines known to be used in methamphetamine production to be sold only by a pharmacist sounds familiar to state Rep. Brent Yonts. That's because the pre-filed bill from Sen. Tom Jensen, a London Republican, is similar to one the Greenville Democrat filed during the 2004 General Assembly, he said. But Yonts' bill failed in part because of lobbying by retail merchants and the state Justice Cabinet, both of which said steps could be taken without a law, Yonts said. [continues 376 words]
BOWLING GREEN -- Studies have found that Kentucky's publicly funded system of drug and alcohol treatment is effective in helping methamphetamine abusers put down the powerfully addictive drug. But advocates say the state should dedicate more money for the programs. The University of Kentucky's Center on Drug and Alcohol Research studies of the past two years found that treatment helps significant numbers of addicts stop abusing all drugs, find full-time jobs and stay out of trouble. The studies also show that the treatment programs save the state money by cutting prosecution costs. [continues 531 words]
The Kentucky Housing Corporation recently announced an initiative throughout the state that may provide substantial substance abuse treatment for the Owensboro/Daviess County region. Representatives from the KHC presented this plan to a group of Owensboro treatment providers in late November. It calls for construction of 12 homeless shelters throughout the state and is one of the first major steps to implementing Gov. Ernie Fletcher's plans to address issues of substance abuse in the commonwealth. However, these are not your run-of-the-mill shelters designed to feed and house the homeless. The programs offered in the shelters seek to address one of the major causes of the individual's homelessness -- drug and alcohol abuse. This program utilizes the recovery dynamics theory to overcome an individual's addiction. This theory centers on a peer-to-peer recovery system, which utilizes a system of mentoring and monitoring substance abusers. Individuals participating in the program actually mentor other individuals who are just beginning the recovery process. The participants typically utilize Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous as a component of their recovery. [continues 672 words]
Treatment Centers Would Focus On Homeless Officials from Owensboro area substance abuse groups expressed support this week for a plan to build several substance abuse treatment centers across the state for the homeless and for people in danger of becoming homeless from substance abuse. The Louisville Courier-Journal reported last week the state is planning to create up to 12 substance abuse treatment facilities across Kentucky. A spokesman for the Kentucky Housing Corp. said Friday that Gov. Ernie Fletcher would release more details about the plan sometime after the first of the year. [continues 507 words]
$250,000 Is Allocated to 2nd Congressional District Area counties will receive $250,000 in federal money during the coming year for methamphetamine eradication programs, Rep. Ron Lewis's office announced this weekend. Kentucky's 2nd Congressional district will receive federal money to fight methamphetamine for the fourth year in a row, according to Lt. Jeff Jones with the Daviess County Sheriff's Department. The funding was part of the current fiscal year's omnibus spending bill, which received congressional approval this weekend. [continues 140 words]
Breathe easier, America. We are now safe from crime and terror. Gee, seems like only last month we were all in a dither about terrorists planning to disrupt our election. What? You didn't know we were safe from crime and terror? Well, I've got to admit that the story was buried on page 4 in the Nov. 10 edition of the Messenger-Inquirer. But there, in good old black-and-white, The Associated Press reported that in his resignation letter, Attorney General John Ashcroft told President Bush, "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." [continues 372 words]
When it comes to education or Medicaid or any number of government spending measures, the first response to soaring costs is that there must be waste to cut somewhere. The one area, however, that seems immune to such scrutiny is the incarceration of state prisoners. Perhaps it's that politicians fear being labeled soft on crime or that, in many areas, opening a new jail or prison is a source of economic development, but whatever the case, Kentuckians seem willing to write the prison system a blank check. [continues 447 words]
LOUISVILLE -- Kentucky's prison population has exploded by 600 percent since 1970 and will keep growing because of "irrational" penalties enacted by lawmakers, a new study says. The study by University of Kentucky law professor Robert Lawson, who wrote Kentucky's penal code, says the burden on taxpayers has increased exponentially in that time. The state's budget for housing state prisoners has risen from $7 million to more than $300 million over that same period and is threatening to bankrupt the system, Lawson wrote in the 72-page report. [continues 298 words]
Drug Ingredients More Easily Gathers Outside Kentucky In Georgia, a person can walk into a drug store, buy five packages of cold medicine and walk out the door without the clerk or area police raising an eyebrow. In Kentucky, the same scenario could lead to the arrest of the clerk and the customer on felony drug charges. The difference? Many cold medicines contain pseudoephedrine, which can be used to produce methamphetamine. Last year, only 17 methamphetamine labs were seized in Georgia while nearly 300 were seized in Kentucky, according to Drug Enforcement Administration statistics. [continues 766 words]
Four years ago, Daviess District Court Judge Joe Castlen recalls, he thought half the kids who appeared in juvenile court had substance abuse problems. Now, he told reporter Jim Mayse the other day, "almost every one of them has a substance abuse problem." Castlen's comments reiterate what police, prosecutors and substance-abuse professionals know -- the drug problems that are plaguing the court system extend increasingly into the youngest offenders. That makes especially welcome the news this week that Daviess County will get $15,000 from the state Department of Juvenile Justice to start a pilot juvenile drug court program. [continues 271 words]
Fifteen Graduate From Program Tim Reid has a tattoo of a teardrop below his right eye to remind him of his brother's unsuccessful struggle against cancer. Reid took a big step in his own struggle with addiction with his graduation Thursday from Daviess County Drug Court, but he said no tears should be shed about his battle. "I got a disease I can cure. There ain't no sense in crying over it," Reid told those gathered at the Judicial Center for the ceremony. "You've got to fight it and be strong." [continues 376 words]
After several years of effort on the part of judges, youth advocates and substance abuse counselors, Daviess County seems poised to finally get something other parts of the state have had for years -- a juvenile drug court. Earlier this month, the state Department for Juvenile Justice gave the county a $15,000 grant to start a pilot juvenile drug court program. "I'm hoping to get this thing up and running by January," said Daviess District Judge Joe Castlen. "Substance abuse has increased. It has taken a quantum leap," Castlen said. "I remember 20 years ago it was laughable: We never thought drug abuse would come here." [continues 367 words]
Being tough on crime -- particularly drug-related offenses -- is a winning political strategy and clearly one that Democratic Attorney General Greg Stumbo is trying to use to his advantage. Stumbo announced Thursday that he would create a new department within his administration -- the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation -- whose primary focus would be targeting illegal drug trade. But while Kentucky clearly has a drug problem it must address, Stumbo's KBI has the potential to do more harm than good. What Stumbo doesn't seem to realize is that his idea for addressing the problem is just more of the same, while Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Lt. Gov. Steve Pence and others are trying to move forward with new ideas that have real potential. [continues 367 words]
FRANKFORT -- Attorney General Greg Stumbo announced Thursday he was reorganizing his administration to create a new department called the Kentucky Bureau of Investigation. The KBI will, among other things, target distribution networks in the state's illegal drug trade, Stumbo said. It will consist of units that focus on drug investigations, public corruption and special investigations and Medicaid and welfare fraud. "Quite frankly, this office, in years past, didn't focus as much on drug investigation as they did some other things, and I'm not being critical .. ," Stumbo said. "But we're trying to turn our ship in a little bit different direction." [continues 372 words]
Treatment Getting More Attention Funding for the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force and other regional drug task forces has been cut for the coming year as the state shifts more attention to drug treatment and education. The Pennyrile task force, which covers a 10-county area in western Kentucky, including Muhlenberg and McLean counties, has lost more than $70,000 in funding from the federal Edward Byrne grant administered by the state each year for law enforcement purposes, according to task force director Cheyenne Albro. [continues 440 words]
FRANKFORT -- Kentucky's substance abuse problems are at "epidemic" proportions, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Thursday while announcing a new Office of Drug Control Policy, responsible for coordinating the state's drug-fighting efforts. Fletcher named Sylvia Lovely, the executive director of the Kentucky League of Cities, as the temporary head of the new anti-drug office. Among its responsibilities, the new office will be charged with implementing recommendations from the "Statewide Drug Control Assessment Summit 2004." Kentucky's new tactics against illegal drug use would combine efforts in education and prevention, drug treatment and law enforcement, Fletcher said. [continues 363 words]
The Daviess County Detention Center's GOALS -- Goebel Offenders' Addiction Life Solutions -- substance abuse program, should not only improve the lives of 17 inmates, but it will help their families and the community as well. Jailer David Osborne stated that of the 640 inmates in jail, 70 to 75 percent are serving time for a substance abuse-related offense. Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel aptly pointed out that substance abuse cases are not solely criminal matters. Such cases also consume the civil docket, as people who utilize all their funds to feed their habit fail to pay their rent, their house payments and their bills. A simple scan of the Messenger-Inquirer's weekly court records reveals a vast number of criminal sentences and pleas relating to drug or alcohol use. [continues 695 words]
For many, drug and alcohol abuse contributed to crimes Jimbo Johnson has been an inmate at the Daviess County Detention Center three times. His third stay began 20 months ago and may not end for another seven years. "Each time I've been in here, I swear to myself, my family, that I wouldn't be back," Johnson told a crowd of about 75 gathered on the grounds of the detention center Thursday afternoon. But each time, he has been back, largely because of his addiction to drugs and alcohol, Johnson said. [continues 554 words]
