Guests and New Member
Becky Dyer, School Resource Officer for Sheriff Randy Henderson
guest of Program Manager, Eric Steinle
FINES
Sheriff Jim Kicklighter and Deputy Steve Conard got things started by fining Representative Mark Treaster for being interviewed about the gambling issue in Kansas and not mentioning AMBUCS.
There followed a level of conversation that should not be reprinted (call it Technical Difficulties). Well leave it with Sheriff Jim and Bob Bush both paying fines.
Scott Saylor paid to remind members about next Fridays Installation Banquet and to request the location of the sign up sheet he has been passing around for the last several weeks. It was finally decided that someone responsible knew where the list was hiding. As the new sheet passed around, members were asked to sign up if they hadnt already done so or sign up again and Scott would merge the two lists together.
Confused? Hope Scott ends up with a good count.
TUIT
Scott Potucek has carried the tuit this week, and his boss (Sheriff Jim) offered that he had not seen Scott all week, including this morning. Thus, there was no report this morning. At this point, Jim turned the meeting over to todays program manager Eric Steinle.
At that very moment, there was a scurrying noise that sounded like rats leaving a sinking ship. Stan Macgirvin, Cliff Miller, Larry Sloan, and Nathan Meyer all bolted for the door. Annoyed at anyone leaving without paying an early withdrawal tax, Jim tried to run them down, but the fugitives were much too quick. However, names were taken and fines will be levied.
PROGRAM
Program manager Eric Steinle introduced Becky Dyer who is a School Resource Officer for Sheriff Randy Henderson. She spoke about law enforcements new program to counter the latest drug problem, the abuse of prescription and (O)ver (T)he (C)ounter drugs, specifically cough medicine.
While the abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs has been declining, the abuse of legal drugs is skyrocketing. In a recent survey, teens were asked if they knew someone who was abusing prescription or OTC drugs. One in three responded yes to prescription drugs; one in four responded yes to OTC, specifically cough medicine. The most prevalent age group is early teens (13-16). Prescription drugs can be readily obtained from the familys medicine cabinet, and OTC drugs can be purchased almost anywhere. Studies indicate that young people believe them to be less harmful then hard drugs, and legal.
Becky became involved with this problem locally and networked nationally with the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which represents all of the major manufacturers of OTC drugs. Through this involvement, she interviewed and was approved to be one of five moms to lead the CHPAs educational program called Five Moms. This program is targeted at parents, and serves to educate them to the dangers of the abuse of cough medicine.
The active ingredient that attracts the teens is dextromethorphan, which is found in over 100 OTC medicines. Five Moms want parents to know that dex is not dangerous unless it is abused by ingesting large quantities, such as the entire bottle in a short period of time. The kids report that they can obtain a cool high, but as in other experimentation, it takes more to obtain the high over time. While dex is not in itself physically addicting, the activity of abuse appears to be.
Five Moms encourages parents to be proactive in tackling this problem. Check your medicine cabinets regularly and throw out medication no longer being used. Be aware of your kids Internet activity, where websites encouraging the abuse of cough medicine and offer explicit instructions how and with what to combine it with other drugs to improve the high. Beware of your childrens use of terms such as Dex, DXM, Robo, Skittles, Syrup, Triple-C, and Tussin. Robo-ing, Robo-tripping, and Skittling are used to identify the activity.
If you would like more information, log on to www.FiveMoms.com, www.drugfree.org, or www.chpa-info.org.
Club Announcements
President Ward Davis brought up the following board recommended actions offered for first reading last week:
1: An Amtryke for Amy Drysdale of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Amy is the daughter of one of Doug Fosss supplier contacts and has Downs Syndrome and is autistic. Motion passed by the membership
2: One $500 scholarship each for two young ladies sponsored by our chapter for a National Therapist scholarship. Rachel Barnett is a former Hutch resident and is at Kansas State studying Speech pathology. Katie Holtzman is from Thayer, KS and is at the KU Medical Center studying Physical Therapy. Both ladies have excellent qualifications and have a serious chance of being named National winners. Motion passed by the membership
Next Meeting, Friday, May 25 PROGRAM T.B.A.
Winners
50-50
Curtis Mitchell claimed $23
from the 50/50 pot
N.L. Drg
Doug Foss remembered to
bring his newsletter
and won a BIG $5 bill.