McKenzie County ND

I’ve received three new resources for our box of resources available at the McKenzie County Library. Check out these:

Impacting Community Vitality: Software for Demonstrating
Economic Impacts of Customers CD
The “How To”: Grants Manual
See Poverty…Be The Difference! Discover Missing Pieces for Helping People Move Out of Poverty Book

Thanks to the Center for Community Vitality with the NDSU Extension Service for purchasing all these wonderful resource materials for us!

Horizons has added a wonderful collection of materials to the McKenzie County Library. The book titles below will address community leadership, poverty reduction, entrepreneurship and self improvement. You will find them to be inspiring, enlightening and some will also be quite humorous! A couple curriculums, DVD’s, lessons for groups, and children’s books are included. Please request the McKenzie County Horizons library to check out these books titles and other materials:

The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus
Making Vision Stick
The Traveler’s Gift
Leadership Gold: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Learning by John C. Maxwell
The Quilt Makers Gift
The Quilt Makers Journey
8 Challenges Facing Community Leaders
Who Moved My Cheese?
Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs To Know
Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs To Know
Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make The Lead…and Other Don’t
Smart Communities: How Citizens and Local Leaders Can Use Strategic Thinking To Build a Brighter Future
The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
Rural Communities Legacy + Change: Third Edition
Your Field Guide To Community Building
The Magic of Thinking Big
Blink
The Tipping Point
The Power of Positive Thinking
Leading Without Power: Finding Hope In Serving Community
Everyday Creativity: Leader’s Guide, Workbook and DVD
6 Myths About The Future of Small Towns
Better Schools Through Public Engagement
Better Local Leadership: How To Start a Program For Your Town or County
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People–DVD
Establishing A Shared-Use Commerical Kitchen
Who, Me Lead a Group?
Vision To Action: Take Change Too Curriculum
The Entrepreneurial Community: A Strategic Leadership Appraoch To Community Survival resources material
The Leader In You: How To Win Friends, Influence People and Succeed In a Changing World
Do Something In Your Community
Energizing Entrepreneurs: Charting a Course for Rural Communities
Turning To One Another: Simple Conversations To Restore Home To The Future
A Framework For Understanding Poverty
Bridges Out of Poverty
Oh, The Places You’ll Go! (children’s book)
Getting Ahead In a Just-Gettin’–By Wolrd: Building Your Resources for a Better Life
Stone Soup (children’s book)

Striving to improve living conditions for families and individuals who struggle with poverty. Searching for proven or emerging approaches to reduce the numbers of people who struggle on a daily basis–long term.

These were underlying themes for the business and political leaders and nonprofit organizations and government service providers, including many Horizons program volunteers and staff who attended the Grassroots and Groundwork conference in Minneapolis May 28 to 30.

For me the experience was eye-opening and inspiring, to say the least.

One of the most interesting things I learned more about was social capital. Social capital, the relational foundation of a community, consists of trust, connections (networks), and involvement (action).

Strength of communities rests on the relationships we have with one another. Research has shown that communities with a strong foundation of trust between and among different individuals and groups are healthier and thrive economically and educationally.

These types of networks are an important part of social capital in communities:

Bonding Networks — close ties that help people to get by. These connections are usually with family, friends and neighbors.

Bridging Networks — weaker ties that can help people to get ahead and gain opportunities. These connections are usually with people who are different from themselves, who have different types of networks.

Linking Networks — Links to organizations and systems that can help people gain resources and bring about broader change. These connections are usually with organizations that have resources, both within and outside of the community.

Take a look at the social capital in your community. It will help you learn a lot about yourselves today and into the future!

I found some interesting sites for Methamphetamines. This site is a quiz. It would be good to do that.

http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/MethResources/meth_quiz.html

Would you swallow a spoonful of drain cleaner? Does the thought of injecting brake fluid into your arm appeal to you? Care to top off your dessert with a bit of rat poison?

http://www.mappsd.org/Meth%20Ingredients.htm

Here are some common ingredients used in making meth

Alcohol -
Gasoline additives/Rubbing Alcohol
Ether (starting fluid)
Benzene
Paint thinner
Freon
Acetone
Chloroform
Camp stove fuel
Anhydrous ammonia
White gasoline
Pheynl-2-Propane
Phenylacetone
Phenylpropanolamine
Rock, table or Epsom salt
Red Phosphorous
Toluene (found in brake cleaner)
Red Devil Lye
Drain cleaner
Muraitic acid
Battery acid
Lithium from batteries
Sodium metal
Ephedrine
Cold tablets
Diet aids
Iodine
Bronchodialators
Energy boosters
Iodine crystals

Lab equipment - including tubing, unmarked Mason jars with tubes attached, stained coffee filters, 2-liter pop bottles, blenders, camera batteries, wooden matches, propane cylinders and hot plates - are tip offs to the production of Meth.

Individually, each product is legal and useful. But when mixed together and processed, the results are deadly - to the producer, user and innocent bystanders.

South Dakota has good sites which give the cost of meth use problems, clean up and so on:

http://www.mappsd.org/Community%20Costs.htm

http://www.mappsd.org/NACo%20LE.htm

Meth Basics:

Meth is a highly addictive stimulant
Prolonged use permanently destroys brain tissue
Smoking or manufacturing Meth releases toxic contamination
Meth ‘cooks’ can get almost everything they need to manufacture a batch in local stores – legally.
Producing one pound of Meth generates five to six pounds of toxic waste.
Property owners are responsible for the cost of Meth lab waste clean up.
A majority of lab incidents involve children
Many child abuse and neglect cases are the result of Meth use or manufacturing.

http://www.mappsd.org/Fast%20Facts.htm

Another likely way to hurt yourself is through huffing. These are some of the facts and the website:

http://www.drgreene.com/21_180.html

Fast Facts About Huffing

“Huffing,” or inhaling volatile substances, is becoming increasingly popular among children, especially among 12- to 14-year-olds (Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 1998;152(8):781–786).

Huffing can kill the very first time children experiment with it.

Alarmingly, about 20% of eighth-graders report having done it (International Journal of Addiction, 1993;28:1613–1621).

Besides sudden cardiac arrest (the most common cause of death from inhalants), huffing can kill quickly in a number of other ways. Motor vehicle accidents, falls, and other traumatic injuries are common and horrible. Others die from suffocation, burns, suicide (from the depression that can follow the high), and from choking–on their own vomit.

About 22% of those who die from huffing do so the first time they try it (Human Toxicology, 1989;8:261–269).

When huffing doesn’t kill quickly, it damages the body each time–especially the brain. Huffing can cause memory loss, impaired concentration, hearing loss, loss of coordination, and permanent brain damage. Chronic use can cause permanent heart, lung, liver, and kidney damage as well.

Solvents (found in glues, paints, and polishes), fuels (such as butane), nitrites (found in deodorizers), and almost any kind of aerosol spray can be responsible.

Most huffing takes place with friends (although kids who sniff correction fluid in class when their teachers turn away are not uncommon). Be observant of your child and his or her friends.

Inhalants gradually leave the body for 2 weeks following huffing–mostly through exhaling. The characteristic odor is the biggest clue. Be on the lookout for breath or clothing that smells like chemicals. Look for clothing stains. Watch for spots or sores around the mouth.

Nausea, lack of appetite, weight loss, nervousness, restlessness, and outbursts of anger can all be signs of inhalant abuse. A drunk, dazed, or glassy-eyed appearance might mean your child is abusing inhalants right now.

If you suspect or discover that you child is huffing, get professional help. Treating inhalant abuse is very difficult and requires expert intervention. Withdrawal symptoms may last for weeks. The relapse rate without a long-term (2-year) program is very high.

Preventing huffing is far better than trying to treat an inhalant addiction. Talking with your child about it is more powerful than anything else (NIDA Research Monograph, 1988;85:8–29).

Start talking with your child about it now. Although huffing peaks between the ages of 12 and 15 years, it often starts “innocently” in children only 6 to 8 years old (Pediatrics, 1996;97:3).

Literally thousands of easily available substances can be inhaled, so you can’t keep your child away from them. You can, however, educate and inspire.

Alan Greene MD FAAP January 27, 1999

These are some facts I found on Heroin at this site:

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs3/3843/index.htm

What is heroin?
Heroin is a highly addictive and rapidly acting opiate (a drug that is derived from opium). Specifically, heroin is produced from morphine, which is a principal component of opium. Opium is a naturally occurring substance that is extracted from the seedpod of the opium poppy.

What does it look like?

The appearance of heroin can vary dramatically. In the eastern United States, heroin generally is sold as a powder that is white (or off-white) in color.

(Generally, the purer the heroin the whiter the color, because variations in color result from the presence of impurities.)

In the western United States, most of the heroin available is a solid substance that is black in color. This type of heroin, known as black tar, may be sticky (like tar) or hard to the touch. Powdered heroin that is a dirty brown color also is sold in the western United States.

Who uses heroin?
Individuals of all ages use heroin–data reported in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse indicate that an estimated 3,091,000 U.S. residents aged 12 and older have used heroin at least once in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that many teenagers and young adults have used heroin at least once–76,000 individuals aged 12 to 17 and 474,000 individuals aged 18 to 25.

Heroin use among high school students is a particular problem. Nearly 2 percent of high school seniors in the United States used the drug at least once in their lifetime, and nearly half of those injected the drug, according to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future Survey.

How is heroin abused?
Heroin is injected, snorted, or smoked. Many new, younger users begin by snorting or smoking heroin because they wish to avoid the social stigma attached to injection drug use. These users often mistakenly believe that snorting or smoking heroin will not lead to addiction. Users who snort or smoke heroin at times graduate to injection because as their bodies become conditioned to the drug, the effects it produces are less intense. They then turn to injection–a more efficient means of administering the drug–to try to attain the more intense effects they experienced when they began using the drug.

What are the risks?
Both new and experienced users risk overdosing on heroin because it is impossible for them to know the purity of the heroin they are using. (Heroin sold on the street often is mixed with other substances such as sugar, starch, or quinine. An added risk results when heroin is mixed with poisons such as strychnine.)

Heroin overdoses–which can result whether the drug is snorted, smoked, or injected–can cause slow and shallow breathing, convulsions, coma, and even death.

All heroin users–not just those who inject the drug–risk becoming addicted. Individuals who abuse heroin over time develop a tolerance for the drug, meaning that they must use increasingly larger doses to achieve the same intensity or effect they experienced when they first began using the drug. Heroin ceases to produce feelings of pleasure in users who develop tolerance; instead, these users must continue taking the drug simply to feel normal. Addicted individuals who stop using the drug may experience withdrawal symptoms, which include heroin craving, restlessness, muscle and bone pain, and vomiting.

Heroin users who inject the drug expose themselves to additional risks, including contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C, and other blood-borne viruses.

Chronic users who inject heroin also risk scarred or collapsed veins, infection of the heart lining and valves, abscesses, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and liver and kidney disease.

What is it called?

Street Terms for Heroin

Big H
Boy
Capital H
China white
Chiva
Dead on arrival
Diesel
Dope
Eighth
Good H

H
Hell dust
Horse
Junk
Mexican horse
Mud
Poppy
Smack
Thunder
Train
White junk

For more information on illicit drugs check out the web site at: www.usdoj.gov/ndic.

I thought that looking at some drug information might be useful. I selected some questions from the entire presentation found at

http://www.nida.nih.gov/MarijBroch/Marijteenstxt.html

to present on this page.

Q: Why do young people use marijuana?

A: There are many reasons why some children and young teens start smoking marijuana. Many young people smoke marijuana because they see their brothers, sisters, friends, or even older family members using it. Some use marijuana because of peer pressure.

Others may think it’s cool to use marijuana because they hear songs about it and see it on TV and in movies. Some teens may feel they need marijuana and other drugs to help them escape from problems at home, at school, or with friends.

No matter how many shirts and caps you see printed with the marijuana leaf, or how many groups sing about it, remember this: You don’t have to use marijuana just because you think everybody else is doing it. Most teenagers do not use marijuana!

Q: What are the short-term effects of marijuana use?

A: The short-term effects of marijuana include:
problems with memory and learning (11);
distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch) (6);
trouble with thinking and problemsolving (5);
loss of motor coordination; and
increased heart rate.
These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with the marijuana; and users do not always know what drugs are given to them.

Q: How can you tell if someone has been using marijuana?

A: If someone is high on marijuana, he or she might
seem dizzy and have trouble walking;
seem silly and giggly for no reason;
have very red, bloodshot eyes; and
have a hard time remembering things that just happened.
When the early effects fade, over a few hours, the user can become very sleepy.

Q: How does marijuana affect driving?

A: Marijuana has serious harmful effects on the skills required to drive safely: alertness, concentration, coordination, and reaction time. Marijuana use can make it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and sounds on the road.
Marijuana may play a role in car accidents. In one study conducted in Memphis, TN, researchers found that, of 150 reckless drivers who were tested for drugs at the arrest scene, 33 percent tested positive for marijuana, and 12 percent tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine (1). Data have also shown that while smoking marijuana, people show the same lack of coordination on standard “drunk driver” tests as do people who have had too much to drink (8).

Q: Can people become addicted to marijuana?

A: Yes. Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction in some people. That is, they cannot control their urges to seek out and use marijuana, even though it negatively affects their family relationships, school performance, and recreational activities (9). According to one study, marijuana use by teenagers who have prior antisocial problems can quickly lead to addiction (3). In addition, some frequent, heavy marijuana users develop “tolerance” to its effects. This means they need larger and larger amounts of marijuana to get the same desired effects as they used to get from smaller amounts.

This is the entire reference list for the entire article.

References

1. Brookoff, D.; Cook, C. S.; Williams, C.; and Mann, C. S. Testing reckless drivers for cocaine and marijuana. New England Journal of Medicine, 331:518-522, 1994.
2. Cornelius, M. D.; Taylor, P. M.; Geva, D.; and Day, N. L. Prenatal tobacco and marijuana use among adolescents: effects on offspring gestational age, growth, and morphology. Pediatrics, 95: 738-743. 1995.
3. Crowley, T. J.; Macdonald, M. J.; Whitmore. E. A.; and Mikulich, S. K. Cannabis Dependence, Withdrawal, and Reinforcing Effects Among Adolescents With Conduct Symptoms and Substance Use Disorders. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 1998.
4. Fletcher, J. M.; Page, J. B.; Francis, D. I.; Copeland, K.; Naus, M. J.; Davis. C. M.; Morris, R.; Krauskopf, D.; and Satz, P. Cognitive correlates of long-term cannabis use in Costa Rican men. Arch. of General Psychiatry, 53: 1051-1057, 1996.
5. Harder. S. and Reitbrock, S. Concentration-effect relationship of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and prediction of psychotropic effects after smoking marijuana. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 35(4): 155-159, 1997.
6. Jones, R.T. et al. Clinical relevance of cannabis tolerance and dependence. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 21 (Suppl 1): 143-152,1981.
7. Kandel, D.B. Stages in adolescent involvement with drugs. Science, 190:912-914, 1975.
8. Liguori, A.; Gatto, C. P.; and Robinson, J. H. Effects of marijuana on equilibrium. psychomotor performance, and simulated driving. Behavioral Pharmacology, 9:599-609, 1998.
9. National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc.. State Resources and Services Related to Alcohol and Other Drug Problems for Fiscal Year 1995: An Analysis of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Profile Data, July 1997.
10. National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Survey Results on Drug Use from The Monitoring The Future Study, 1975-1997, Volume I/Secondary School Students. NIH Publication No. 98-4345. Printed 1998.
11. Pope, H. G. and Yurgelun-Todd, D. The Residual Cognitive Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use in College Students. Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol 275, No. 7, February 21, 1996.
12. Rodriguez de Fonseca, F.; Carrera, M. R. A.; Navarro, M.; Koob, G. F.; and Weiss, F. Activation of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor in the Limbic System During Cannabinoid Withdrawal. Science, Vol. 276, June 27, 1997.
13. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Sciences. Preliminary Results From the 1996 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. DHHS No. (SMA) 97-3149. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, July 1997.
14. University of Michigan. News and Information Services. Drug use among American teens shows signs of leveling after a long rise. December 18, 1997.
15. Wu, T. C.; Tashkin, D. P.; Djahed, B.; and Rose, J.E. Pulmonary hazards of smoking marijuana as compared with tobacco. New England Journal of Medicine, 318: 347-351, 1988.

There is courage in community citizenship, and then there is courage in military service. Both deserve honor, especially those who have given their lives in service.

Faith and family usually team up to formally remember ‘the fallen.’

Over 101 flags will wave from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Alexander’s Park to honor the dead who have served our country. Their names are listed in the Memorial Day Service folder and their surviving family members care for their flag throughout the day, and especially following the 11 a.m. service Monday, May 26 in the Alexander City Hall. After the service, folks follow leadership out to the park for the laying of the wreath, the bugle tone of Taps and a volley of gun fire salute.

The Memorial Day program is then followed by a community potluck, supported and organized by the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary, named in memory of World War I veteran Forrest E. Williams. The new memorial wreath to be ceremonially laid in the park, comes as gift from the Tim Dwyer Trust.

Caring to remember these veterans is important work and everyone is welcome to attend program and potluck. It is likewise important to provide care for the service members and families still living.

Therefore, the 10 members meeting as the Forrest E. Williams American Legion unit #94 planned a Yellow Ribbon and Bake Sale to be held Saturday, June 7 in Alexander’s Park during the Lion’s Club Burger’s in the Park event. Yellow Ribbon will be available for a donation, in addition to the usual baked goods. The community is welcome to also donate baked goods to the effort. Proceeds will support an emergency fund for soldiers and their families.
Poppies are available by donation at the local cafe.
New officers for the auxiliary unit will be installed at 5 p.m., June 18 in the Alexander Senior Citizen Center during the regular meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Dale A. Swenson, Auxiliary president

Courage.   Most of us think first of veterans who go to war and  people who run into burning buildings.   Maybe we think of missionaries who tackle hard problems in third world countries.   Or of giving a speech!   I thought of courage the other night when I facilitated the McKenzie Co. Horizens meeting to reduce underage alcohol consumption.   It takes courage to go public on the issue when the neighbors can tell stories on you when you were young!    It takes courage when you have a kid that is possibly bigger than you are and you have to say no!   It takes courage to disagree with your friends when they remember party fun and think you are just a spoiler.  (Do they know how “partying has changed in the last years?)   It takes courage especially if you think your kid will challenge you about your habits.   It takes courage to risk donating precious time and getting hooked into another round of meetings.   It takes courage to try to think up something you think your teens will actually enjoy instead of being bored-scarier yet- you might have to do it together!    So…if any of the above are making you grin or squirm,  you know what I mean by courage.    When you think about the poverty-making bad decisions that young people can make when they are using alcohol, a little courage is a good thing.    

We see 5000 “yes” messages everyday and that has a lot to do with why parents today have more difficulty telling their children “no” compared to previous generations, according to Michael Mann of the National Institute on Media and the Family in Minneapolis. Dr. Mann was in Williston on May 6 for the Region 1 Partners in Prevention Conference.

Whether it’s through print, radio, TV, movies or video games, the media is after us making us feel like we need more.

Our kids spend an average of 44.5 hours of their time per week in front of a screen (television, computer, handheld game, etc) compared to 28 hours per week 15 years ago.

Today 25% of our babies under the age of two years have a television in their room and 27% of school aged kids have internet in their bedroom. Our children spend twice this amount of time on the internet and go to more place we don’t want them to go than places we would like them to go.

“Children are bored in the classroom because teachers cannot entertain them like electronic media,” according to Dr. Mann.

Children and youth are growing up in a culture of impatience, a need for instant gratification and unrealistic expectations.

Self-discipline is the single most predictor for success of our children. We need to learn to say “no” to ourselves.

Teachers today spend 75 to 80% of their time and energy managing behavior.

Parents need to step up to the plate!

There are 500,000 predators on the internet at anytime.
The video game industry is bigger than Hollywood. Games with rock stars, Man Hunt, shooting, killing robots are common. Kids learn through observation and imitiation.

Video Game Addiction symptoms:
* Choosing games over most other activities
* Repeatedly breaking family rules about when and how much game playing is allowed
* Throwing temper tantrums when limits are imposed
* Falling asleep in school
* Not keeping up with assignments

Ten Steps to “Say Yes to No.”
1. Read the book–available for sale at:www.mediawise.org and learn to say no.
2. Support, don’t rescue.
3. Encourage, don’t coddle.
4. Get kids what they need not everything they want.
5. Back up teachers and schools.
6. Become a MediaWise Parent by visiting www.mediawise.org
7. Set clear and high expectations.
8. Expect kids to do chores.
9. Set and enforce clear limits and consequences.
10. Expect kids to volunteer and help others.

The Partners in Prevention Conference was sponsored by the Region 1 Prevention Program and Watford City Community Coalition.