NOVEMBER 6, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Halloween power outage
Photos courtesy Rick Melhorn
A tree fell near the intersection of Trail Avenue and
Harmony Drive around 6:30 p.m. last Saturday, Halloween
night, causing a power outage just as trick-or-treating was
in full swing. Melanie Moir with Portland General Electric
said the downed tree caused the outage for a feeder
in Keizer, knocking out power for approximately 2,200
customers. Moir said power was restored by 10 p.m. Rick
Melhorn said the tree took down lines and a power pole
and blocked the entire street.
We’ll transform your kitchen
or bath into what you’ve
always dreamed of
503.393.2875
remodelkeizer.com
CCB#155626
HEROIN,
continued from Page A1
West Coast. But with major
interstates everywhere, no
state can say they are not on a
major pipeline.”
CRU members spend
plenty of time building rela-
tionships and trust with peo-
ple doing and dealing drugs.
“More people are admit-
ting to us they are on heroin,”
Trump said. “None have been
arrested and there are no stats.
It shows us heroin is the dom-
inant thing.”
Young acknowledged the
“delicate balance” between
getting information and en-
forcing laws.
“Drugs are something
that need to be enforced, but
there is also a treatment issue,”
Young said. “We have to have
people trust us enough to tell
us they are an addict and to say
it is pervasive. We have to be
open to talk to people and let
them know they’re not being
arrested just for telling us they
are on drugs.”
Trump said the balance in-
cludes working closely with
the Marion County District
Attorney’s offi ce.
“Our job is to enforce the
law, but we see the people and
we are sympathetic,” Trump
said. “As much as possible,
we involve the DA. We try
to get the users treatment, to
get them out of the cycle of
drug use. The system is over-
burdened. There’s not enough
room to lock up all of the
drug users. If there is the de-
mand for drugs, there will be
the supply. If we take someone
down (for delivery of drugs),
someone else will pop up.”
That line of thinking
echoes what KPD Detective
Chris Nelson, who was on a
Drug Enforcement Agency
task force for seven years, told
the Keizertimes last week.
“When I was fi rst in law
enforcement, I thought the
solution was enforcement,”
Nelson said. “Over the years
on the task force, I quickly
realized we’re taking out one
(drug) traffi cking organization
and another new one takes its
place. I learned quickly that
if you have the demand for
drugs, it will fi nd its way into
our community.
“If we want to reduce
crime, we need to reduce
the demand for illicit drugs,”
he added. “Enforcement and
incarceration alone will not
solve the problem. Continuing
drug court programs, expand-
ing treatment facilities and ed-
ucation by everyone in society
certainly seems like the logical
approach.”
Young said there is indeed
drug court for those who are
arrested, with options and re-
sources also explained such as
treatment and rehab facilities.
But he points to a caveat.
“If you’re an adult, are you
ready to stop? You can tell me
‘I’m a drug user,’ but if you
don’t say ‘I’m done with this,’
you are not ready for treat-
ment,” Young said. “Until
they’re ready, they’re not go-
ing to go.”
Trump said that’s where
the legal system can come in
sometimes, in effect trying to
scare people into recognizing
the need for a change.
“They won’t change on
their own,” Trump said. “It’s
atypical that someone says,
‘I’m ready to change.’ They’ll
fi nally admit to using, but will
deny they have a problem. It
has happened all too often.”
In that case, Young said op-
tions become limited.
CONCEAL CARRY
PERMIT CLASS TH
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16
1PM -or- 6PM at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Rd NE
“When they tell you fl at
out they’re not ready to quit,
there’s not a lot you can do
about it except go through the
criminal charges,” Young said.
“It’s like anything, you can’t
force someone to want some-
thing. As long as you have
people who are content using
drugs, you can’t force them to
want to do rehab. They can
be clean for a while, but until
they want (to change), it won’t
work.”
Young said sometimes those
who’ve been to court multiple
times on drug charges simply
don’t want to go through the
process again.
“Sometimes it’s a fear
thing,” Young said. “If we can
help them with that motiva-
tion, that’s something we’re
willing to do to get people out
of the cycle.”
Trump said the need to get
away from reality is a common
factor.
“A lot of times we chat
with people and ask what got
them addicted,” he said. “They
will say they want to escape.”
Young said stressors like
bad relationships and traumat-
ic events often play a key role.
“Until we fi gure what
causes people to distance
themselves from reality, we
will never solve the drug prob-
lem,” Young said. “As long as
people are into altering their
reality, there will be drug use.
Something happened like they
broke up with their girlfriend
or they had a kid. Things got
so stressful, they had to use the
drugs again.”
Once the user is on heroin,
it’s tough to get off.
“Heroin is a physically ad-
dicting drug,” Young said.
“They need it every single
day. Their body will be sick
if they don’t have heroin. It’s
agonizing. They describe it as
the feeling that they almost
died and now they have to get
more of it.”
Trump said the physical
withdrawals from heroin can
be devastating and are like a
severe case of the fl u.
As such, Young said the user
has to fi nd ways to support the
habit, using whatever means.
“It causes the issue of the
body needing it every day, so
they need to support that,”
Young said. “Usually they’re
not keeping a job, so they have
to fi nd a way to acquire mon-
ey. Often at home that means
stealing from family members,
whether taking a bill out of
mom’s purse or pawning a
DVD player. Then you notice
more and more things missing
around the house. Then par-
ents start to distrust their kids
and you have a volatile family
situation.”
Once that cycle starts, it’s
hard to reverse.
“It leads to a breakdown
of family at that point, which
perpetuates more drug use,”
Trump said. “It’s a downward
spiral effect.”
Young said youth in par-
ticular get trapped by heroin.
“People are telling us this
17 to 25 age group is riddled
with heroin users,” Young said.
“From what we’ve been see-
ing, that is the main group do-
ing this.”
Lt. Andrew Copeland with
the KPD said heroin overdose
deaths are piling up.
“Heroin kills people, at an
alarming rate,” Copeland said.
“Especially the young people,
who have the potential and
their whole life in front of
them.”
So what can families do,
both those with current ad-
dicts and ones wanting to
know what signs to watch out
for in the future?
“The biggest thing is be
involved,” Young said. “Us-
ers are distancing themselves
with the drug. When you see
them spending time alone,
bring them into the family
unit again, especially with ju-
veniles. They are using that as
a replacement for something
lacking, which is often family.
You have to make sure you’re
all together mentally.
“If there are parents out
there with middle school
or high school kids, if those
children have social media
accounts and they’re not ac-
tively monitoring them, the
parents are lacking,” he added.
“That’s where they are meet-
ing their friends and being to-
tally honest. You need to make
sure your kids know they can
tell you anything, even if it
is ‘I’m doing drugs.’ Parents
sometimes don’t want to see
it, don’t want to think it’s pos-
sible. So they inadvertently set
up walls about what is appro-
priate or not. It’s very crucial
for kids to know they can talk
about anything.”
Oregon - Utah (Valid 35 States)
OR /Utah:
Valid in WA
$80 or Oregon
only $45
3 WAYS TO SIGN UP!
CALL: 360 -921-2071
WEB: www.FirearmTrainingNW.com
EMAIL: FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com
Serendipity
This beautiful textured Ansonylon carpet is suitable for all areas of the
home for the budget minded consumer.
• Superior customer service
• Knowledgeable sales staff
• Expert installation
SALE PRICE
sq. yd.
26
$
95
Reg. Price $32.95 sq. yd.
Installedw/premium pad
Bring us this
ad for an
ADDITIONAL
5% DISCOUNT
on any purchase
(excluding closeouts)
All carpet fibers are not created equal. Different technologies
and processescreate very different results.
985 Broadway NE, Salem
503-363-6033
Store Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm• Sat 9am-4pm| Locally Owned
OR-0000369064
We have a full line
ll l of HunterDouglas window fashions and offer Builder Prices to everyone.
Superior customer service • Expert installation • Knowledgeable sales staff • CCB#44061