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Show Page 12 - January 25. 1989 i Uintah (Basin Those who know tell Education Standard it like it is Say Nope to Dope message a convincing one for students prepared to reject substance abuse By Karla Cox Some time in life, moat of ua are asked to take part in something we don't feel is right or good for ua. For many youth, that is a frequent, even daily occurrence. But the Duchesne High Students School took that for a Drug-Fre- e problem by the throat, with a daylong event that presented the issue in a meaningful way for students in grades The aeries of seminars that comprised the major portion of the 2. 1 using drugs and alcohol, because, he aaya, I liked being high. There are periods of my life I don't even remember. It wasn't until I got sick and tired of being sick and tired, and of living so low, that I finally took hold and checked myself into a rehab center. Ive been clean from drugs and sober away from alcohol for eighteen months, and I live from day to day knowing that if I ever touch the stuff again, I can never go bade." Travis believes that, just like alcoholism, many are born with a propensity to be addicted to drugs, if they ever try them; I believe I knew I wasnt dead, because Hell doesnt have carpet." day were planned by the Drug-Fre- e Youth Advisory Council, under the direction of school counselor John Foster. The information presented will go a long way towards giving youth the courage and understanding to say no to drug experimentation, as well as alcohol abuse. Speakers included an undercover cop, two Vernal residents who are past users, and four youth from DaySpring Rehabilitation Center, along with spokespersons from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), Wasatch Canyon Hospital, and the Duchesne County Sheriffs Department Featured among the seminar speakers was a Uintah High student named Travis Carroll. Travis began experimenting with drugs at 13 years old, because I was in life without a roadmap, and I thought drugs would help me cope. Not only did they fail to offer a coping mechanism, but they brought him to attempted suicide. Even then he continued the Department of Public Safety, narc to cop--a the luer crowd. He addressed youth on a more general level, explaining the part that peer pressure plays in substance abuse, and detailing characteristics or various drugs. Alcohol is the most abused drug in society today, and the most addicting, Taylor told students. Advertisers, paid by the companies with so much money, create the illuaion that the use of alcohol is essential for the good life. The commercials never show the broken bones, the ruined lives, the horror stories that go with abuse. They never show the tragic is an undercover was bom with that disease, and at 13 I unleashed that beast in me. Some can take it or leave I couldn't But you can never know, and the only way to stop it from happening is to never start But he learned his lessons the hard way, and wants to help others from learning the way he did, by almost dying; and by almost destroying anything that matters to him now. Travis began stealing to support his habits, and always planned in his mind, if lever get caught IT1 just kill myself. When he got caught he did indeed try to kill himself, with a shotgun under his chin. When he pulled the trigger, he would have blown his head ofT if the safety had not been on, he declares; he took off the safety, repositioned the gun, and pulled the trigger, blowing off his chin and parts of his it face. 1 knew I wasn't dead, he says of that night as ha Ml to the floor, because Hell doesn't have carpet. I could see blood ell over, and though I waa conacioua through the whole experience, I really thought I would die. Even the helicopter attendant that flew him to LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City waa reluctant to fly him, he had a perfect record of no deaths en route, and he was afraid Travis would not make it, and his record would end. Months of operations, hospital care, and yes, pain pills, did little to change Travis attitude. 1 would convince the nurses I was in terrible pain, so they would give me more He remained addicted to morphine after he waa released from the hospital, and returned to alcohol use as well, often pouring alcohol into the tube that entered directly into his stomach. But he reached the point where he just didn't want to live that way anymore, and began to turn his life around by admitting he needed help. Through the grace of God I made it, and Im grateftil for that, Travis Bays ofhis second chance at life. "Sometimes I have a hard time dealing with what I did, and I still have a lot of misdirected hostilities. But now I know what to do with those feelings; it is possible for me to be happy today, if I choose to be. Describing the contrasts between his life when he was stoned and his life now, Travis remarks, I flunked everything my sophomore year except art, because I didn't care. Since my junior year when I got clean. Ive had a 8.5 or better. The emotional turnaround is harder to describe. My mind was out to kill me. The drugs did that, and Fm sure the drugs have a lot to do with the way my mind is today, the screwed up part I have the same desires and feelings. I will never forget the fear. Some people may see me as a square, and I dont want that, but I know that the only way to stop is not to start I dont think you can get scared straight You have to have self-esteem, to be okay with yourself. You have to love yourself enough not to do Travis concludes by declaring, There are three results of the diseases alcoholism and addiction if not treated: jails, a straight , be-cau- ae six-ye- ar LSD. My parents were fooled big-timhe says, when they asked him to stop and he merely cut his e, hair and took out his earring. He finally entered the rehab program under his parents ultimatum, but he realizes now that he ruined his chance at any sports, among other It side that accompanies the million alcoholics in America. is possible for me to be happy today, if I choose to be. But unless I'm dean and sober, I'm no good to anyone." pain-killer- s. things, by using drugs. Rick started with cigarettes-- in fourth grade. He moved on to alcohol in fifth grade, and spiraled over 150 times. StaceLSDends to tnirn out the brain, Rick never expects to be where he could have been without drug abuse. At 15 years old, he will battle the urge, as well as the consequences, for the rest ofhis life. Ryan, at 16, looks especially young and innocent But his alcohol, drugs on his own. Kat started drinking because, The people at the parties always seemed so happy, always had ' something to talk about, always knew what was happening. I wanted to be a part of that, and I knew that I could talk and laugh marijuana, mushrooms, and cocaine habits were anything but innocent Though still somewhat defiant after two months in the program, he knows that his family will never trust him, and he will never make it anywhere in life, until he can turn away from the best, tell the best stories, because I would be high. She also usedmarijuana, and spent most of her waking hours drunk or high, falling exhausted into bed at night only to repeat the cycle the next day. She never interacted with her family, and says with remorse, I used to play with my nephews and really have fun with them. But when I waa using, I just yelled at them and hated to be around anybody but my party friends. Now, the only people who write to me or visit me-only real friends are my sober friends. DaySpring provides an rehabilitation, but moat of the patients are outpatient, living with the family of another youth further into the program. Merv Taylor, a lieutenant for my se Marijuana, a drug many are seeking to legalize because of itfs supposed acceptance and mild effects, slows down all body iw ponaes, phyaical through emotional. It also hinders the bodys ability to heal itself. The potency of one marijuana joint is equal to 112 cigarettes. Effects of the drug remain in the ays tern indefinitely. Cocaine has been around for a very long time, but has only in recent years attracted attention because its use has become so epidemic. In fact, Taylor declares, cocaine was once an ingredient in coca is the plant cocaine is processed from. One gram of cocaine sells on the street for Dealers buy it by the pound, and most often extend one pound to six, by adding sugar, vitamin C, boric acid, and other more toxic substances. The dealer on the street doesnt care what you get--all he cares about is money. Coca-Col- a; $120-$17- 0. w ( Travis Carrolls philosophy on drugs: Our lives are like a string; and drugs are a match placed at the end of that string. It just keeps burning Ifwe stop drug use, the flame, we still have some string life left. But we can never get back the part we lost, the part that was burned up. And if we ever start using drugs again, that flame starts where it left offi you don't start all over again. And if you don't stop it, pretty soon youll be gone. 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EQUIP. - Ditchers; Farmhand 880 tub grinder, JD 835 Plow; IH grain drill; Blades; Ford plow; NH 518 Spreader; JD 71 Com Planter, Feed Wagon; it jeckordeeth. to stay deanlftom druga by four 5 youth and two mothera who represented DaySpring Rehabilitation Center, a branch ofWasatch Canyon Hospital. The mothers detailed the deterioration and hostility their youth went through, aa well as the pain of trying to go back amidst Their user mixed response: friends call them narcs, but the kida shun them too. Its awfrilly hard to walk down a hall at school with no frienda. Please, if you know anyone in this situation, v.. help them out Be their friend. Mike, 16; Kat, 16; Rick, 15; and Ryan, 16, tall a painfiilly similar story. All have been in the DaySpring program for 3 months, and couldn't admit that they had a problem until their '' families forced them into a loving but firm confrontation. They all ( started with alcohol, and moved on to harder drugs. Mika started with alcohol at a party, and kept on because he felt he had found a way to be accepted, he explains. Ha got his kicks with everything from Robitussin and to the hallucinogenic non-us- THE TRUTH FROM THOSE WHO KNOW-K- en Sheldon, straight for one year, and Travis Carroll, straight for a year and a half, are now in a position to tell others many reasons why drugs can min your life. Carroll, who wears a bandage in place of a bottom lip, nearly died before he realized that he deserved more than the kind of life addiction offers. er 2-- , pain-kille- rs " LEARNING ABOUT ABUSE These Duchesne students listen intently as young people near their j age talk about the sorrow of getting hooked on drugs and alcohol. Part of Drug-Fre- e Day at Duchesne High, the youth and two mothers, along with DaySpring Specialist Debbie Rosenham, helped youth understand why you're better off staying clean. 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