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Wednesday, February 3, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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Drugs kill —
a mother’s grief
By Norine Rae
Guest Columnist
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. Let-
ters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions not necessarily shared by the Editor.
The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be
no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is noon Monday.
To the Editor:
Is there a plan for the mud pit between
Bi-Mart and Ray’s? It would be really easy to
put a road there where everybody drives.
Bruce Berryhill
s
s
s
To the Editor:
It’s nothing short of a miracle that a tiny
kitten survived being abandoned in a box in
freezing temperatures (“Sisters resident res-
cues abandoned kitten,” The Nugget, January
26, page 1).
The kitten’s siblings weren’t as lucky, a
grim reminder of the dangers faced by cats
outdoors. During the cold winter months, cats
often suffer from frostbite and exposure, and
are maimed or killed by fan blades when they
crawl up into engines seeking warmth. Year-
round, they also face dangers posed by infec-
tious diseases, parasites, dogs, wildlife, and
the scariest predator of all, humans. Cats are
often poisoned, shot, or set on fire by cruel
people.
Kittens are especially vulnerable; 75 per-
cent of kittens born outside are dead before
they reach six months old.
Please, never let your cat outside unat-
tended. If you suspect a cat is lost or home-
less, bring her to a reputable open-admission
shelter. If your local shelter does not accept
stray cats, urge it to reverse this cruel and mis-
guided policy. Shelters’ refusal to take in cats
— an alarming “no kill” trend — leads to the
abandonment of animals like this kitten and
her dead siblings.
Cats are domesticated animals — they can-
not survive on their own and need our help.
Teresa Chagrin
Animal Care & Control Specialist
People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA)
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
thursday
Friday
saturday
sunday
Monday
Rain/snow
Mostly cloudy
Mostly cloudy
Partly sunny
Mostly sunny
Sunny
40/27
41/24
45/30
43/23
45/24
44/na
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Editor’s note: Ian Doyel
Davies was a 2006 gradu-
ate of Sisters High School.
On June 23, 2015, I
lost my beautiful son, Ian
Doyel Davies, to a her-
oin overdose. Some of
you may not be aware of
how serious of a problem
drug abuse has become in
our nation. The National
Drug Threat Assessment
(NDTA) released new sta-
tistics, which should not
be ignored. Yet, many
Americans continue to
go about their daily lives
not realizing the enor-
mous impact drugs have
and how they are affect-
ing our society on every
level.
Families and commu-
nities are hurting because
of this epidemic. Even if
you don’t have a loved one
who is struggling with an
addiction to drugs or alco-
hol, I am certain you know
someone who is. According
the NDTA, in 2014 drug
overdoses contributed to
(46,471) American deaths.
That is more than those
who have died from fire-
arms (33,636) or car acci-
dents (35,369). And I am
certain that drugs and alco-
hol were an influence in
many of the lives lost due to
firearms and car accidents
as well.
Heroin is epidemic!
According to TheVerge.
com, the CDC reported
heroin is five times cheaper
than prescription opiates.
The most prevalent users
are Caucasians between
20-29 years of age; my son
was 27. But heroin does
not discriminate; it kills at
every age, ethnic group,
social and economic group.
And it isn’t just heroin, pre-
scription opiates kill and are
often the culprit that leads
people to heroin.
My son broke his leg,
and was given an opiate
derivative which lead to his
addiction. Honestly, I don’t
know all the details, as with
many who struggle with
addictions there are secrets.
Often we are unaware of
how serious of a problem
they have — even though
we know there is a prob-
lem — because the user
doesn’t want us to know
due to the shame that usu-
ally gets ahold of the addict.
So much is hidden. They
want us to be proud of them
and see only the successes
in their lives. This seems to
be a common thread in the
stories I hear.
With young people
dying, literally every day,
and so many being exposed
to these devastating drugs,
what can we do?
Believe me; when it
reaches your doorstep
it is truly heartbreak-
ing! How can we make a
difference?
First, I believe it comes
with awareness. We need to
wake up. With so many of
our youth dying from drug
addiction we cannot, should
not, continue to ignore this
issue. I’m not even sure
how I can make a differ-
ence. Perhaps it starts with
me writing this article, and
warning young people. My
heart is grieved that I lost
my wonderful son, and I
long to warn young people
and their families to not
stay silent.
For those of you who
have children who are
struggling, my prayers go
out to you. Love your kids
well and try to get them the
help that they so desperately
need. Let’s not allow shame
to stop us from speaking up
and getting help for those
we love.
Affordable professional
medical help, greater edu-
cation, and stricter laws
for drug dealers are neces-
sary to win this battle. We
are truly fighting a monster
that is devouring our youth
and wreaking chaos in our
society.
If you have a family
member who struggles
with prescription drugs,
alcohol, street drugs, or
need I say heroin, please
take it seriously. It may
be too late for my son,
Ian, but I know he would
want me to warn you. He
would want you and your
family to enjoy life, free
from addiction to drugs or
alcohol.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.