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Show Vernal Express a Public Forum Letters to the Editor What is your opinion? The Vernal Express welcomes letters from its readers concerning any subject pertinent to the Uintah Basin. There are no restrictions on contents, if not libelous, vindictive vin-dictive and in good taste. The letters need to be a reasonable length, two typewritten double spaced pages. Letters must be submitted exclusively to the Vernal Express and bear the writer's writ-er's full name, signature, phone number and address. Letters for the sole purpose of expressing express-ing thanks to individuals or groups will not be printed in the forum. Letters may be mailed to P.O. Box 1000, Vernal, Utah 84078, faxed at 789-8690 or through email at editorvernal.com. The name or names of the persons submitting letters must appear on all published letters. All letters let-ters are subject to condensation. Letters express the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily necessar-ily the opinion of the Vernal Express Editor. OUIGK, PUICKl WHERE'S THE CHRISTMAS UfrHTS ? MY NEIGHBOR "JUST.1 PUT AKOTHSR STRING" OP THEM .AROUND HIS U HOUSE sirs I K 1 I - t I II II I I J ... SV V M Mi My Road to Recovery I realized I was in some serious seri-ous trouble the day that my apartment got raided in April of 2004. 1 had heard of drug court through friends and people in jail. So I asked my lawyer to help me apply. I went into the program thinking what a lot of others did at first. Do it and be done. It was a cop-out to stay out of jail or prison. Only after getting involved and participating did I really start to see the purpose of the program. Learning how to deal with life's issues, "WHAT?" Learning how to pay bills, keep a job and be a productive member mem-ber of society. After that, a lot of things just seemed to fall into place. Learning thinking errors, like little white lies we tell ourselves to justify doing the things we know we shouldn't do, and catching myself and others using them was also a big part. By doing that, I was able to help stop myself from blaming others for my actions and also from justifying things that I knew were wrong. I also learned healthy coping skills to deal with stress, pressure, pres-sure, and just everyday life. Listening to others talk about their struggles, I realized that I wasn't so different. By listening listen-ing to others in my same situation, situ-ation, I was able to learn from them, how they handled differ-' : enfctftkigs and also accept feedback feed-back from them so that I could ; find healthy, positive ways to deal with my own problems and apply those things to my life. Now, I can't ever imagine the thought of how terrible and miserable it would be to go back out and use drugs again, to lose everything that I have over again. I know that drug court has helped me with a lot of life's trials. Without this program, the help that I have received from the counselors, and my own willingness to change, it would never have been possible. Working the program will give you your life back and show you a happy, healthy, positive pos-itive way to live. Thank you Pam, Brad, Wendy and Keith from Northeastern Counseling. Judge Anderson, Mark Thomas and the drug court trackers, Rocky, Mike, Jason, Derek, Ben, Troy and Kevin Orr. You all helped make it possible for me. Robert W. Garrett Trash collection changes during holidays Curb-side trash collection in Vernal City during the holidays holi-days will be delayed one day because Christmas and New Years are on Mondays. Those who usually leave their garbage out on Monday should do so on Tuesday. Friday pickup will be on Saturday during the week of Christmas and New Years. Those who set out cat litter or ashes from a wood stove or fireplace should double bag them in plastic. After the holdiays the pick up schedule will resume its normal Monday through Friday schedule. Voice of the People Question: What do you think of the closure of the fossil fos-sil quarry at Dinosaur National Monument? 1 iw' " Christy McAlexander "The closure hurts the kids, especially when our out-of-town family comes to visit. It ruins a good outing." Sandy McCoy (no picture available) "Not really, we rarely visit the quarry." i ''!) Tis the Season By Bill O'Reilly Well, the Supreme Court punted. The justices were supposed to decide weeks ago whether or not to hear a blatant bla-tant example of anti-Christian bias in New York City. But still no decision. The case concerns a policy by the New York City public schools to allow displays of the Star and Crescent flag for Ramadan and the Menorah for Hanukkah, but to ban the Nativity scene at Christmas time. The decision makes no legal sense, as the federal courts have previously ruled that so-callled "religious" displays dis-plays can appear on public property, as long as there is no preference given to one religion reli-gion over another. As one of the lead players in defending the traditions of Christmas in the public arena, I must say that I am tired of it all. It's just so dumb. There is no need to deny students a Nativity display. Don't they get enough bad stuff? How about some nice stuff? I mean, how threatening and offensive can a baby, two loving parents, and three wise men really be? All the polls say that most Americans believe as I do: That the traditional signs of Christmas are a good thing. So leave them alone, okay? The Supreme Court, of course could have made things alot easier by taking the case, discussing it for ten minutes, then ruling that New York City school officials are crazy. Would that be so hard to do? But no, the Supreme Court justices are now on their Christmas break, and have left the country adrift once again. The anti-Christmas forces are still clinging to the bogus separation of church and state argument that does not appear anywhere in the Constitution. ftF Jody Woodward "My Dad poured the cement for the quarry in 1960. I don't like the closure, it should have been kept up. It was a treasure for the people." Mike Lane "I don't like it. I have people that come from out-of-town that can't visit the quarry. They need to do something about this closure fast." Bill O'Reilly If Thomas Jefferson were alive today, he would mock these secular fools and then retire to his Virginia estate for Christmas dinner. The good news is that despite the cowardice of many public officials and the anti-Christian anti-Christian bias of many in the media, the forces of Christmas cheer are winning in America. Most retail stores are saying "Merry Christmas" again, and the ACLU can't stop them. Again, all of this is so stupid it hurts. With so much strife and evil in the world, why can't we have a celebration that honors a baby who grew up to espouse "love your neighbor neigh-bor as yourself?" So what if it has spiritual overtones? Why can't we introduce children to Judeo-Christian philosophy in a joyful way? Everything about Christmas is positive except commercialism. And even that can be beneficial if resources are redirected to the poor. Here's the bottom line: If you're offended by Christmas, you have a problem. See somebody or tough it out. But enough with the petty nonsense. When Christmas images have to be decided by the Supreme Court, you know things are out of control. So give Jesus a break, enjoy the season no matter how you celebrate it, and be thankful you live in a country where the philosophy of peace on earth, good will toward all people peo-ple is honored with a federal holiday. C 1 Robotripping is on the rise Unfortunately, robotripping is not that disco favorite dance of yesteryear. It is a slang name for the high one gets after consuming con-suming large amounts of dextromethorphan, dex-tromethorphan, a common suppressant sup-pressant found in cough syrup, and most parents are not aware of the problem. The California Poison Control recently reported report-ed that the reports of cough syrup overdose are 15 times higher now than in 2000. The findings are similar nationwide. nation-wide. Keith Beard, the site supervisor supervi-sor at Northeastern Counseling Center and a licensed clinical social worker, says the problem is not new, only recycling back to present times. He explains, "This is not 8 new problem just a rediscovered one. Abuse goes in cycles as abusers search for drugs without higher consequences." conse-quences." The abuse of cough syrup does not come without high consequences, as teenagers mistakenly think, since symptoms symp-toms include: impaired judgement, judge-ment, blurred vision, dizziness, paranoia, excessive sweating, slurred speech, seizures, fever, nausea, vomiting, and disas-sociation. disas-sociation. Teenagers, ages 13-19, 13-19, believe the drug to be safer than marijuana or alcohol. Beard counters that this just isn't the case. "Like huffing, it is easier to get than illegal drugs and experimental." The experiment begins with the user consuming 240-1500 milli AN grams when the suggested dose is only 10-20 milligrams. For a common cough medicine that suggests only 1 capsule every twelve hours, 240-1500 milligrams milli-grams is the equivalent of 12-18 capsules. Teenagers learn the correct amount to take, for the high, by using the internet. Web sites have been created for the intention of teaching your teenager how to abuse the cough syrup. One can even easily and legally purchase the pure form of dextromethorphan. dextrometho-rphan. This drug is a gateway drug and usually is not used regularly by those addicted to more mainstream drugs, according to Beard. So, the government gov-ernment has yet to regulate or control the purchase of dextromethorphan. dextro-methorphan. The concern with cough syrup overdose is that by the time a parent learns of it the teenager has probably moved on to more addictive drugs, says Beard. Since it is an experimental exper-imental drug, a teenager's first use may be very hidden and guarded, a parent will only discover the use when the teenager teen-ager has dropped their guard, explained Beard. Despite this disappointing news, Beard reassures that there are things parents can watch for such as a change in friends, activities, or grades. He comments, "These changes are a good indication that the use has changed from recreational rec-reational use." Beard stated 'WO BROTHERS FROM OGDEN E9TAH INITIATED MT.RUSHMOftE eUTZUN AND SOLOH 60AGJ.UM, D FOUR HUNDRED OTHERS WORKED ON I T FROM 1127 TO 1J9I ' l Oy that the best way for parents to learn anything about the child's life, drug related or not, is to develop a good relationship. relation-ship. One that the child is comfortable com-fortable with and able to speak with honesty. The internet site, www.the-antidrug.com, www.the-antidrug.com, gives the advice that parents should be mindful mind-ful of the season (flu season is usually in the fall and winter months), check your home for abnormal amounts of cough syrup, and monitor your child's internet use. Slang terms to watch for on internet histories and cookies are dxm, ccc, trple c. red devils, dex, dm.fdrex, $tlfs,' tussin, velvet kM vitamin vita-min d. Beard recommends that if a parent believes their child has developed a problem, the parent par-ent can have their child evaluated. evalu-ated. There are also programs available such as outpatient counseling and early intervention. interven-tion. If a parent would like to reduce the chances of it ever happening there is a prevention preven-tion specialist that goes to schools in both Duchesne and Uintah counties. Also, if a parent par-ent would like help in developing develop-ing a healthy relationship with the child there is a Positive Action Class for the entire family fam-ily available at the counseling center. T.G. SCARECROW f. |