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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2015)
PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, NOVEMBER 13, 2015 presented by DRIVE A LITTLE – SAVE A BUNCH! 3893 COMMERCIAL ST SE • SALEM MORE INFO AT NORTHERNLIGHTSTHEATREPUB.COM UFC 193 Rousey vs. Holm Saturday, November 28, at 11:00 am MOVIE: P AN [ PG ] Sensory Sensitive Show ONLY $3 Special showing for kids and adults with Autism or other sensory sensitivities. UPCOMING EVENTS SATURDAY, NOV 14TH —–———— 21 & OVER —————— Live Fights at 5 pm – Tickets $12 9 fi ghts in all on the HUGE screen! Reserved Seats Available Now Online MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Every week on the Big Screen! CLOSED CAPTION MOVIE Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 6 pm. “Maze Ruuner” THANKSGIVING BREAK MATINEES - All Week UFC 194 - Aldo vs. McGregor - Sat, Dec. 12 Today in History The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a V-shaped black granite wall designed by Maya Lin and inscribed with names of the 57,939 Americans who died in the confl ict, is dedicated in Washington, D.C. — November 13, 1982 Food 4 Thought “No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now.” - Richard M. Nixon The Month Ahead Friday, November 13 Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful opens tonight at Pentacle Theatre. The show runs through Dec. 5. Visit pentacletheatre.org for show times and tickets. Saturday, November 14 Willamette Valley Genealogical Society meets at 1 p.m. in the Life Source Community Room at Candalaria Terrace (2649 Commercial Street SE, Salem). Mary Rains will speak about using the Internet to research in Canada. Monday, November 16 Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Tuesday, November 17 Harm reduction offers hope in increments By ERIC A. HOWALD Of the Keizertimes Chris Gray is in the busi- ness of starting conversations with injection drug users. “Once someone engages you and says, ‘I want to use a clean needle,’ that’s the be- ginning of some sort of con- templation,” said Gray, harm reduction outreach specialist for the Benton County Health Department. The Benton County harm reduction program is one of the nearest harm reduction and needle exchange programs to Keizer. Marion County of- fers no such service and calls and e-mails for comment on the current status of the local conversation went unreturned. However, such programs are proven in their effective- ness when it comes to not only weaning drug abusers off their habits, but containing outbreaks of potentially lethal diseases such as Hepatitis C and HIV. Earlier this year, Aus- tin, Indiana, was the epicenter of one such outbreak – nearly 150 cases of HIV were diag- nosed in a short span of time after widespread needle-shar- ing was uncovered. Benton County’s program offers a 24/7 needle drop box, a decentralized network of secondary needle exchange nodes, rapid HIV and Hep C testing, access to Hepatitis A and B vaccinations and can even hook up users with de- toxifi cation centers and pro- vide transport. All of it is free of cost to those in need and the supplies only set the coun- ty general fund back about $38,000 per year. “There’s additional out- reach prevention time, but that’s what it is for materi- als and supplies,” said Char- lie Fautin, deputy director of Benton County Health De- partment. In return, more than 50,000 needles are kept off the street and out of landfi lls each year. Getting started When Benton County be- gan looking at the possibility of offering a harm reduction program in 2002, offi cials started by talking with anyone who might have a stake in the Keizer Points of Interest Committee meeting, 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Volunteer Coordinating Committee meeting, 6 p.m. at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Oregon Symphony Association in Salem presents Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 with pianist Franceso Piemontesi. Also on the program: Concerto for Orchestra, Brahms’ Symphony No. 3. orsymphonysalem.org. Greater Gubser Neighborhood Association meeting, 7 p.m. at Gubser Elementary School. Saturday, November 21 Whiteaker Middle School’s annual Stuff the Bus food drive. Deliver perishable food to school bus in the Keizer Safeway parking lot, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. issues surrounding injection drug use. They started by surveying as many active injection drug users as they could fi nd, about 150. “About 53 percent of the users surveyed said they fre- quently, often or always shared needles,” said Fautin. “But we also surveyed them as to what services they would use to help them get off drugs.” Fautin said offi cials spent the better part of a year in community conversations with local leaders about the science behind harm reduc- tion programs and attempted to allay fears about what such programs represent. Harm re- duction programs often spark two polarizing views. They are either cast as “enabling abus- ers” or “saving lives,” and Fau- tin said Benton County met with both types of individuals. “The compelling argu- ments were preventing infec- tion and preventing health care costs, but the enable- ment argument comes up all the time. There are those who believe that zero-tolerance is the only approach, but there is consistent research that shows harm reduction programs de- ter the transmission of blood- borne diseases,” Fautin said. Washington state was an early adopter of syringe ex- change to curb transmission of HIV and hepatitis among sudoku Thursday, November 19 Friday, November 20 c hasing Dark Enter digits from 1-9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. drug injectors. Now, its rate of cumulative AIDS cases attrib- utable to injecting drug use is the fi fth lowest in the nation. One study found every $1 invested in syringe exchange saves $3 to $7 in HIV treat- ment costs. Fautin said some of the harm reduction program’s big- gest supporters are now law enforcement and solid waste disposal suppliers. “We get quite a bit of sup- port from law enforcement because they don’t want to pat someone down and fi nd nee- dles. We’ve also gotten support from the solid waste disposal folks because they don’t want their employees in danger while carting away a trash can fi lled with sharps,” Fautin said. When budgets are tight, the program usually ends up in the crosshairs, but the science- founded arguments have kept Benton County’s harm reduc- tion program going. Establishing harm reduc- tion programs at the local level is also easier now than it was in 2002. The North American Syringe Exchange Network offers start-up kits for new needle exchanges, $1,200 gets the organization credit with the Buyers’ Club and is equal to about 14,000 syringes or a combination of syringes and other supplies. There is cur- rently a ban on using federal funds to establish and operate harm reduction/needle ex- change programs. How it works While Benton County of- fers the drop box for round- the-clock disposal, county of- fi cials rely on a decentralized network of distribution part- ners to get most of the used needles off the streets. “One of the basic prin- ciples is reducing harm to the self and others,” said Gray. “The way we operate now is we make contact with leaders in local communities and they can be someone in a homeless camp or a trailer park or just someone in their own home. Most of them have Hep C or HIV and they have a vested interest in reducing harm to others.” Those individuals are se- lected to operate secondary exchange sites and given sup- plies of needles to exchange for used ones and sharps con- tainers to collect used needles being turned in. Gray and the county operate the second- ary exchanges on the honor system. Sometimes secondary exchangers don’t even need to give their full name. “We’ve been very lucky to have low turnover in Chris’s position and that’s given us a lot of street credibility to make the right contacts with people in a position to help us,” Fau- tin said. Gray also offers rapid HIV and Hep C testing that he per- forms out in the community away from the spaces – county health clinics – where some might fear “an ambush” by government employees. A solution in stages While harm reduction pro- grams are by no means an end- all solution to injection drug abuse, Gray said keeping the focus on incremental improve- ment shows their effectiveness. “Seeing someone go through the stages of harm re- duction is the most powerful thing. They’ll move from us- ing and sharing needles to not sharing to using less to decid- ing to go into rehab to asking if I can get them a bed in a de- tox center,” Gray said. Fautin said buying into such programs requires doing the legwork of starting com- munity conversations, but also fundamentally shifting percep- tions of drug abusers. “People tend to think of addicts and users as totally ir- responsible. It increases im- pulses and reduces inhibition, but there are people dealing with HIV or Hep C and they want to protect their friends and acquaintences who are at risk,” he said. Fautin has been surprised in Please see NEEDLE, Page A12 KEIZERTIMES.COM Web Poll Results Do you feel your views are represented in Washington, DC? 92% – No 8% – Yes Vote in a new poll every Thursday! GO TO KEIZERTIMES.COM Saturday, November 21 – Sunday, November 22 Old Fashion Christmas, Jackman-Long Building at Oregon State Fairgrounds. A nostalgic celebration of the holidays. Arts, crafts, antiques, food, live entertainment. Admission is $4. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sunday. www.centraloregonshows.com. Sunday, November 22 The Creation, considered Joseph Haydn’s greatest work, will be presented by Festival Chorale Oregon, 4 p.m. at the Historic Elsinore Theatre. Tickets are $20, $15 for seniors, $5 for students. festivalchorale.org. Tuesday, November 24 Keizer Public Arts Commission meeting, 6 p.m. in council chambers at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Road NE. Thursday, November 26 Turkey Dash 5K Fun Run/Walk presented by the Keizer Chamber of Commerce. Registration opens at 7 a.m., race starts at 8 a.m. www.keizerchamber.com. Friday, November 27 – Sunday, December 13 The 1940s Radio Hour at the Historic Grand Theatre, downtown Salem. Presented by Enlightened Theatrics. Performances 7:30 p.m. Wed-Sat. and 2:30 p.m. matinees on Sundays. Tickets range from $15-$20. enlightenedtheatrics.org. 503-585-3427. Friday, December 4 The Trail Band performs traditional music at their annual Salem Holiday performance, 7:30 p.m. at the Elsinore Theatre. Tickets range from $25.50 - $40. www. elsinoretheatre.com Saturday, December 12 Sons of Norway’s ‘Famous’ Scandinavian Bake & Craft Sale. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Salem Masonic Temple, 1625 Brush College Road NW. Come early for lefse. 503-910-3302. Saturday, December 12-Sunday, December 13 Whiteaker Middle School Concert Choir and the Willamette Master Chorus perform Vivaldi’s Gloria. Performances at 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. on Sunday. Visit willamettemasterchorus.org for tickets. CONCEAL CARRY PERMIT CLASS TH MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16 1PM -or- 6PM at Keizer Civic Center, 930 Chemawa Rd NE 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