PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 4, 2015
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Safety begins at home
The happiest time of
the year can quickly turn
dark if our home is struck
by fi re.
During the holidays
there is more cooking
over the weeks of the sea-
son. Holiday decorations
often include candles.
We may use stand-alone room heat-
ers during the cold nights. Christ-
mas trees may call for extra electrical
cords. All of these can be the cause of
a fi re. And a fi re will certainly wreck
anyone’s holiday.
Our local fi re services can respond
to an emergency in a matter of min-
utes, but it is best for homeowners to
assure there is no emergency in the
fi rst place.
Every home, especially the kitch-
en, should have at least one fi re
extinguisher—these are relatively
inexpensive and work well when
used properly. Of course a fi re extin-
guisher should not be an alternative
to calling the local fi re district.
Avoiding fi res in the home is not
just a holiday season goal. It
should be in the DNA of
the whole house and the
people who live in it.
Assure that those cook-
ing in the kitchen pay at-
tention to items on and in
the stove. There are many
stories of kitchen fi res that
started with an unattended pot on
top of the stove.
Outside the kitchen, candles add
magic to holiday decorations, but us-
ing electric or battery-powered can-
dles is the safer bet. When setting up
the tree be sure that all the electrical
wires are not frayed and are in good
working order. The same holds true
for those who use a room heater. Al-
ways err on the side of caution: if it
looks dicey, get rid of it and invest in
new electrical cords.
A little forethought and a little
caution will go to a long way to
make a safe and happy holiday sea-
son. But remember, in an emergency
call 9-1-1.
—LAZ
editorial
A new president will deal with ISIL
Reported of late is that 50
fi ghters join ISIL every day,
including an unknown num-
ber of Americans. It’s sur-
mised that the fi ghter ranks
of ISIL total 30,000. Anyone
can do the math to deter-
mine how many will be add-
ed to the ISIL ranks in a year’s time
the 50-per-day rate continues, but it’s
rather doubtful that the number will
ever exceed anything like the num-
ber of personnel in the military forc-
es of the United States.
Nevertheless, it’s been reported
many a time that ISIL is mainly do-
ing the horrible things it has done so
the U.S. will be provoked into a land
war with them throughout Iraq and
Syria. It strikes one like me that the
lopsided numbers and U.S. weapons
of war alone would probably doom
the ISIL fi ghting force. So, why do
those maniacs seek land war battles
with a U.S. force alone—a force that,
with its allies, was able to destroy
the indomitable Nazi war machine
that formerly had a death-grip on
virtually all of Western Europe and
some of the U.S.S.R., too?
Well, those ISIL madmen may
believe they have Allah on their side
and he will take care of those Ameri-
cans and their coalition friends. Sure,
possibly, but our troops have always
implored the help of the Lord. So,
that factor may be discounted as fa-
voring them over us. Then, too, are
they not the same God?
However, the Iraqi army that we
spent literally billions of dollars train-
ing and arming threw their weapons
down and fl ed the scene when con-
fronted by ISIL fi ghters. They were
Shiite fi ghters under Iraq’s former
knothead president who, under U.S.
control and with our emphatic de-
mand, had disbanded Saddam Hus-
sein’s army of Sunnis who in huge
numbers joined the ISIL movement
while those who didn’t (also trained
by Americans) said “No!” when
asked to defend their nation from
ISIL.
The ISIL forces have taken over
a number of Iraqi and Syrian cities
and have provided a measure of civil
order and city services to the peo-
ple still living there. Yet, they are
harsh custodians and make demands
on the inhabitants that are certain
over time to give way from the ini-
tial acceptance to more and more
disillusionments. This could mean
that in time the people will rise up
and throw out their oppressors. This
consequence may occur sooner than
later if there is a war between ISIL
and a coalition of nations that are,
like France and the U.K.,
ready by ISIL atrocities
and acts of murder, most
recently in the French
homeland.
A new president of
the U.S. may be much
more inclined to use
ground troops than President Obama
has been, mainly because Obama
promised to get us out of foreign
wars. However, the warring accom-
plished by Bush 43, Cheney and their
always-ready-to-go-to-war-fi rst cab-
inet members and GOP hawks re-
sulted in the release of many an
Iraqi who had been under Saddam’s
control as well as his large Sunni army
that was disbanded by U.S. demands,
that went from where they were in a
totalitarian society, such as Iraq was,
to make an attempt to establish a new
caliphate and force every Arab there
and nearby into being governed by
it. Now they also want to settle old
scores with the U.S. from our taking
over their country by arms and drive
us by war with ISIL troops to leave
the Middle East forever to which
they are bid a ‘Well, Good Luck!’
We could set up an invasion force
in our sometimes-ally and NATO
member, Turkey. If permitted to do
so, the invasion force could be built
up until it resembled in men and
machines a quantity of each equal to
that which was put together to cross
the channel and invade Nazi-held
Europe on June 6, 1944. Neverthe-
less, the U.S. will no doubt sustain
casualties as our expeditionary force
moves through Iraq and Syria with
intent to destroy ISIL. So, whose
kids will be sacrifi ced for a Bush-
Cheney mistake? Not their kids, it’s
certain, as their children have never
donned a uniform. Hillary’s Chelsea?
Trump’s offspring? Are you kidding?
That brief summary pretty well sums
it up as whose kids will go this time
to be shot up and killed or maimed
for life.
I would not want to go myself
and would be surprised if any of my
friends would want to go or offer up
their children. So, do we wait for
ISIL to collapse (which would take
years to happen) or do we take ac-
tion now? It’s a dilemma that will
be predictably faced by deteriorating
conditions in the person of our next
commander-in-chief and a dilem-
ma I’m sure no one who’s sane wants
to own, which does not include, in
my humble opinion, everyone run-
ning now to be president of the
United States.
gene h.
mcintyre
(Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap-
pears weekly in the Keizertimes.)
Keizertimes
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Heroin: an issue that needs light
By CRAIG MURPHY
As we enter into the holiday sea-
son, we have been running a Chas-
ing Dark series of stories here in the
Keizertimes about drugs.
Pretty crappy timing, no?
Actually, no.
Brandon Crist was just 22 years
old when he overdosed on heroin
in late September. His death was a
key factor in doing this series. We
had been discussing doing some
story about drugs, using an ex-
cellent piece from August in Se-
attle Weekly by Casey Jaywork titled
“The Spike: What Lies Behind the
New Heroin Epidemic?” as a start-
ing point. That story can be found
here:
http://www.seattleweekly.
com/home/960150-129/the-spike-
what-lies-behind-the
We were told there might be
someone locally willing to talk
about what it’s like to be a heroin
addict. But that didn’t go anywhere
until Brandon’s tragic death. We
were told people in the heroin com-
munity were shaken up by Brandon’s
death and would now be willing to
talk. That led to the fi rst story in the
series, about heroin addict Spencer
and how his family is dealing with
his addiction.
Counting this week’s story about
resources and suggestions, the series
has now spanned 10 stories. More
could be on the horizon. A new tab
will be added to our website with
full versions of all the stories, plus
any additional stories in the series
will be added there in the future.
I want to extend a huge thank
you to those willing to share their
stories, insights and suggestions. I
can’t even begin to imagine how
tough it must have been for parents
to talk about losing their children
to drug addictions, both because of
the pain involved and because of the
stigma that goes with drugs, which
I’ll address in
a moment.
So
what
was the in-
tent of the se-
ries? Simple:
to shed light
on the grow-
ing
prob-
lem – yes, it is fair to call this an
epidemic – of heroin addiction. Put
simply, this crap is killing our youth
at an alarming rate. We need to have
open, frank discussions about what
the drugs does, signs to look for that
your child may be addicted and to
let families know they are not alone.
Jeff and Hollie Crist never imag-
ined their son would die of a heroin
overdose. Even after Brandon be-
came addicted, it seemed like his life
was back on track. He was going to
be a drug counselor, using his sto-
ry to share with teens and to warn
them what not to do. But then he
slipped off track.
Elizabeth Smith didn’t even rec-
ognize her daughter along River
Road after a near-fatal heroin over-
dose. She never imagined having to
fi nd where to send Samantha to get
clean. But she fought like hell, learn-
ing some awful, dark truths along
the way. Now Sam is helping oth-
ers and Elizabeth was adamant their
story be shared.
Sue was frustrated about what
happened with Peggy and saw her
daughter never hitting rock bottom.
Going back to the stigma: the
stereotype out there is drug addicts
are from questionable families, of-
ten low income. Sometimes that is
the case. But in the three examples
mentioned above, it’s just the oppo-
site.
That’s the scary thing – or one of
the scariest things – about heroin: it’s
an addiction that can latch onto any-
one, regardless of factors like family
checkered
fl ag
life and economic status.
Let me be blunt for a moment: If
you think your child couldn’t pos-
sibly become an addict because such
behavior is somehow beneath you
or your family, your head is buried
in the sand.
And if you think it’s only an iso-
lated problem with some people in
town, you’re sadly mistaken. This is
a problem that extends well beyond
the seven square miles of Keizer. It’s
everywhere.
Elizabeth and Sam would love to
have a community meeting to talk
about heroin. I would love to see
that happen and I hope the meeting
draws a standing room-only crowd.
But that should only be one step
along the way. We need the topic to
stay in the light. We need the story
to be shared with friends and fam-
ily outside of Keizer. We need media
organizations in other areas to help
by doing stories.
Why? So that other parents don’t
have to answer that knock on the
door, which only confi rms the sick-
ening feeling deep in the pit of the
mom’s stomach.
Why? So that youth like Brandon
and Peggy didn’t die in vain, and so
families that have gone through this
hell didn’t do it in vain.
Why? So that this growing epi-
demic can be stopped.
To say this isn’t the “right” time
to talk about this issue because of
the holidays is to say there never is
a right time. We can’t just push it
off and say let’s talk about it tomor-
row, because there will always be an
excuse to push if off. This is a topic
that needs to be addressed.
Right now.
After all, for people like Brandon
Crist, there are no more tomorrows.
(Craig Murphy is news editor of
the Keizertimes).
Water will be Oregon’s #1 issue soon
It is that wonderful time of year
when we stop and give thanks for
all that we are blessed with as indi-
viduals, families, a state and a nation.
I am so thankful for my family, my
friends and the wonderful people of
Keizer, St. Paul and Newberg who
make up House District 25. I am
honored to serve you.
This past month the Oregon
Legislature held one of it’s quarterly
“Legislative Days” where we have
committee hearings on topics that
may or may not see the light of day
in the short 2016 session. There is a
lot of talk, both in the Capitol and
in news media about possible bal-
lot measures next year or the chance
that the Legislature might address
the issues behind these ballot mea-
sures. There is the talk of raising the
minimum wage, a corporate sales
tax and a “cap and trade” on carbon
fuel. As a conservative, I am opposed
to all of these issues and though I’d
love to go into detail on the how and
why, I don’t have the room here but
to say: we need to fi nd ways to help
every day citizens have better lives
without the government intruding.
I believe we can address all of these
issues in creative yet intelligent ways.
I will talk about these issues as we
draw nearer to the 2016 session.
One topic that came up in my
Rural Communities Committee
that is not getting any media atten-
tion is water. Without getting into
the debate over “man-made climate
change” it’s very apparent we are in a
season of less rain and more impor-
tantly, less snow in the mountains.
I was made very aware of that fact
from the
capitol
By BILL POST
in our committee and the need for
action by the Legislature to ensure
all Oregonians have a good, steady
supply of water, especially in our ru-
ral and agricultural areas, of which
much of our district is made up of.
I strongly believe that water, or lack
of water, will be the most important
issue that we in Oregon will face
in the next 20 years, more impor-
tant than any of the issues I’ve listed
above.
I love hearing from you and al-
ways reply whether by e-mail, mail
or phone. Please know that I am
here to serve you and that I do want
to hear from you.
(Bill Post represents House
District 25. He can be reached at
503-986-1425 or via email at rep.
billpost@state.or.us.)
Have an opinion?
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