Have you ever gone to a play and wondered what would have happened if one of the actors had done something different at a crucial point? You can find out at METH - The Play, which will be presented at Nechako Valley Secondary on Feb. 6. Lisa Streigler of Vanderhoof Alcohol and Drugs Services, which is bringing the performance here, says it's a chance for the audience to get involved. "You will see the play once, with no conclusion. Then they present it again, but this time they get the audience involved." [continues 341 words]
They picked up where they left off the week before. Some 35 people gathered at W.L. McLeod Elementary on Thursday to start preparing a drug strategy for Vanderhoof and the region, based on ideas coming out of a May 2 forum. Vanderhoof Drugs and Alcohol Task Force member Lisa Striegler told the group the idea was to identify priorities for action, noting, "This is a good place to start." The group split into four smaller sections, based on prevention, treatment, policing, and treatment and funding. [continues 122 words]
A local problem needs local solutions. That, says Lisa Striegler of Vanderhoof Alcohol and Drug Services (VADS), is the thinking behind a May 2 forum targeting crack cocaine and crystal meth use in Vanderhoof. "We're not having people come in from the outside. It will be people in the community who work with the people affected." Among the groups who will be giving short presentations on how their services are affected by drug use are VADS, the RCMP, the Omineca Safe Home Society and Prince George Detox, where some people from here are sent. [continues 512 words]
Cst. Christine Anderson Doesn't Mince Words When It Comes To Crystal Meth. "Once you try it, you're hooked. "It's a mean drug." What's even worse, from the Vanderhoof RCMP member's point of view, is how easy it is to get the drug. "You just have to go on the Internet to get the recipe. Everything you need, you can find at the hardware store." Crystal meth and crack cocaine are two drugs which are rearing their heads in Vanderhoof, but so far at different levels. [continues 536 words]
It's a problem which has afflicted many communities recently, and Vanderhoof is no exception. On April 27, the Vanderhoof Drug and Alcohol Task Force will host a public forum on crystal meth and crack cocaine at Nechako Valley Secondary. "We're inviting the community to come together," task force member Lisa Striegler says. "Our role is to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse in the community." The basic format for the forum would see some basic education on the drugs with different service providers in the community describing how it has affected their clients. Then, people who have experiences with the drugs would share their experiences, followed by an open mike session. [continues 97 words]
It's a point Staff. Sgt Dave Beach has made before, and last Wednesday he made it again. "There's nothing we can do if we don't know a crime has been committed," the officer in charge of the Vanderhoof RCMP detachment told district council at its regular meeting. Beach was at the meeting to bring councillors up-to-date on crime stats from 2005, answering any questions they had on the numbers. Mayor Len Fox related an incident from a few years ago, when fishing gear was stolen from his boat. [continues 321 words]
A movie performer stood in the halls of Lakes District secondary on Wednesday, unrecognized. Vancouver's Randy Miller, one of those appearing in Through a Blue Lens, which many of the students at the school had seen Oct. 25, was approached by a couple of students. "Is the guy from Through a Blue Lens in there?" one asked, gesturing to the gymnasium. "Not right now," said Miller with a bit of a smile. "They're showing a video clip, then he'll be back in there." [continues 426 words]
Angela Lawrence Knows What She Is Getting Into. "We have to recognize experimentation is a normal part of adolescent life," says the Kamloops-Thompson School District's new co-ordinator for drug prevention and intervention, especially in the past 30 years. "It doesn't mean every one of these people is going to be using drugs problematically." The hiring of a co-ordinator was one of the recommendations from a committee headed by superintendent Terry Sullivan earlier this year in response to the growing number of drug- and alcohol-related suspensions in the district. [continues 179 words]
The trumpet is sounding in Kamloops and it may be a death knell. More than a dozen teenagers have been in the Royal Inland Hospital emergency ward in the past two weeks. All of them were suffering the effects of taking the latest drug craze in the city. It goes by many names - moonflower, angel's trumpet, devil's weed or Jimsonweed. For Richard Bailey, Joshua Dyson and Eric Lamarche, it's an experience they won't be repeating. "We tried it for the first time (Sunday) night," Bailey says. "We all ended up in the hospital." [continues 210 words]
New Life Mission doesn't take people for treatment who don't want to be there. Executive director Tim Larose says the addictions treatment program will not allow inmates to serve part of their sentences there. "Someone may go into court for sentencing and say they're in the treatment program. The judge can put them on probation, given them a suspended sentence as long as they continue the program. "If the judge gives them a sentence in jail, say six months, and they ask if three months of it can be considered for the treatment program, that's not where we are at. They can't serve jail time here." [continues 243 words]
