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The INDEPENDENT, March 1, 2007
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Assoc. Editor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
8th graders and alcohol
During a recent ride-along with the Vernonia Police
Department on a Friday night, thankfully, the only item
of note was minors drinking. That’s bad enough. The
latest statistics on kids and alcohol are disturbing.
According to a draft report on Alcohol Data Trends
found on the Department of Human Services (DHS)
website at www.oregon.gov using 2005-06 data:
Eighth grade students in Oregon were more likely to
report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days than the na-
tional average for 8th graders (31.9 percent vs. 17 per-
cent). Girls reported higher rates of current alcohol use
than boys (33.9 percent vs 29.9 percent). Another re-
port said 58 percent feel alcohol is easy to get and
29.1 percent don’t think drinking poses any great risk
of harm.
How many 8th graders know that drinking large
amounts of alcohol can lead to coma or even death?
Other recent studies indicate that people who begin
drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to de-
velop alcoholism than those who begin at age 21.
Know the signs: How to tell if you or a friend has a
drinking problem? If one or more of these warning
signs is present, he or she may have a problem;
• Getting drunk on a regular basis
• Lying about how much alcohol he or she is using
• Believing that alcohol is necessary to have fun
• Having frequent hangovers
• Feeling run-down, depressed or even suicidal
• Having “blackouts” – forgetting what he or she did
during drinking
• Having problems at school or getting in trouble with
the law
There is a test online at www.alcoholscreening.org
that goes into more detail.
Apparently, prescription drug abuse by young peo-
ple is also on the rise because there is a perception
that, since the drugs are ‘legal,’ they are safe. Well, al-
cohol is a legal drug whose abuse can cause a lifetime
of problems – if it doesn’t first cut life short. In 1998,
35.8 percent of traffic deaths of 15- to 20-year-olds
were alcohol related.
What can parents do to help their children make
healthy choices? Be a good role model. Talk to your
kids, tell them not to use alcohol or drugs. Don’t let
them drink in your home, on the mistaken idea that if
they drink there they won’t drink elsewhere. See
www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/gethelp for more.
Ike Says…
By Dale Webb, member
Nehalem Valley Chapter, Izaak Walton League
This topic has been in
our local paper twice now,
but I thought I would add
to it just a little to give a
sportsperson’s perspec-
tive. The
Gun
Free
School Zone Act has hit
with a thud in our little
community. The current
Act has been in force
since 1996; the original Act was created in 1990
but was voided by the U.S. Supreme Court in
1995. So how could it be that a law restricting
the movement of firearms on public streets could
be in effect for 10 years with few people aware
of it and very few abiding by it? Evidently it is not
being enforced; we can only hope it stays that
way.
Why do I say that? First, the act does nothing
to provide security to the schools. Second, none
of us wants to see a normally law abiding citizen
being locked up in prison for violating this Act.
Stop and think about that second statement and
look around to the people you know are hunters
or gun enthusiasts. Nearly 50% of them should
have been locked up in prison by now. Do you
think that is right? Hopefully this Act will once
again be appealed to the U.S. Supreme court
and again be thrown out. The Act depends on
the Commerce laws for enforcement and the
supreme court very distinctly decreed that carry-
ing a gun into a school zone has little to do with
commerce. Evidently our congressmen and
senators couldn’t read the U.S. Supreme Court
decision. Stop and think about it; if interstate
commerce laws can regulate guns, then the gov-
ernment can regulate anything you buy, includ-
ing how you use the item you have bought and
where you can travel with that item. The highest
court in the land said “no,” but until a new case
gets in front of the court, we will have to conform
with the Act if we wish not to lose our jobs, sav-
ings and freedom.
I recently conducted a poll on a popular hunt-
ing forum here in Oregon. The results were in-
teresting. Only 48% of the respondents were
aware of the Act. So, where do these people
pack their firearms while crossing a school
zone? Four percent said in the gun rack, 31%
said laying on a seat, 43% in a soft gun case,
20% in a hard gun case and one percent in a
trunk. No one said in a locked container and no
one said in a locking gun rack.
Under the present Gun Free School Zone Act,
the only legal way to carry a firearm through a
school zone is in a locked container (which can
include a trunk or locked canopy), a locking gun
rack (I could not find one in Cabelas), or if the
person with the gun has a Concealed Handgun
License or similar recognized license. There are
a couple of other exemptions involving getting
permission from the school district. For people
without a CHL, your weapon must be unloaded.
People with a CHL can carry right into the
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