August - SAFE Grant Coalition

August 2014 Volume XX, Issue XVI
HEROIN PREVENTION PANELS
Contact List:
Kathy Marty
Projects
Director
(608)723-1614
Tonia Wagner
Coordinator
(608)348-2322
Peggy Schmitt
Coordinator
(608)537-2921
Carol Thole
Southern Alliance for
Tobacco Prevention
(SATP)
Assistant
Coordinator
(608)778-7398
On May 29th, at Riverdale Middle School, S.A.F.E Grant County Coalition brought
together a panel of community leaders to address the alarming rise of heroin in Grant
County. Kathy Marty, Projects Director, facilitated the panel. The panel members
included Doctor Kevin Whitney and Sheriff Nate Dreckman who discussed the
importance of saying “no” to drugs, what heroin looks like, the signs of using, and
how it affects your body, family, and friends. There were two recovering users: Mike
Fernette (recovering over 20 years & AODA Counselor) and Jamie Bricco
(recovering over 1 1/2 years). They talked about how their use began and their perilous journey that led them to today. Last but not least, Deanna Clarke, a mother
whose son is a recovering user of heroin shared how heroin and other drugs can not
only destroy an individual, but can also hurt his/her family. She discussed how her
experience led to financial struggles, multiple crises, and trust issues within their
family. Their were many powerful stories and a lot of information given to the students to make them think twice about
their decisions and actions towards
drugs.
We also appreciate Lisa Wanless’ help
in setting up the panel & Muscoda’s Police Chief, Bill Schramm, for coming and
showing his support on the panel.
Jamie
Bricco
tells
her
story.
Left to right: Sheriff Nate Dreckman, Deanna Clarke (mother of
recovering user), Mike Fernette (AODA Counselor with Unified
Community Services), Jamie Bricco (recovering user), Dr.
Whitney, and Kathy Marty.
Inside this issue:
Heroin Prevention Panels……………………………….. Page 1
Part I of Youth Leadership Conference….……... Page 2
Heroin Warning Signs…….……………………………….. Page 3
Plunge 2014……………………..….………………………….. Page 4
Rural Safety Days/ State Theatres PSAs……….. Page 5
Summer Interns…………………………..…………………...Page 6
Continued on pg. 2….
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Intern Receives High Honor…………………………….Page 7
Upcoming events………………………….………………….Page 8
Additional Heroin Prevention Panels
Beyond Riverdale, there were similar Heroin Prevention Panels
held before school adjourned for the summer (some with different
panelists) at Boscobel, Cuba City, Lancaster, Platteville, Potosi,
and Southwestern. All of these panels were held to try to make
students aware of the dangers of heroin as we know that they
could die every time they use it. We appreciate the assistance of
the Grant County Board of Supervisors who met with school
administrators in their districts to talk them about the importance of
these panels. In addition, a Heroin Prevention Panel will be
featured, along with Suicide Prevention Training, on Friday, September 12, from 8:15 am to 12:15
pm for Grant County workers. Registration is required for the latter county training by emailing Dawn
Mergen at dmergen@co.grant.wi.gov. For questions please call Kathy Marty at 608-723-6416.
Youth Leaders Fly High through Storm
On June 30th, 62 middle and high school
students and 8 chaperones attended Part I of
the Youth Leadership Conference at the Don Q
Inn located in Dodgeville, WI. These students
traveled from 2 different counties and 11
different school districts. This conference
allowed these student leaders to network with
other youth that plan on making a difference in
their own schools and communities.
The night prior to the conference an EF-2 tornado ripped through Bethel Horizons, the original
conference location. There was extensive damage to Bethel Horizons making it impossible to hold
the conference there that week. Thanks to some quick thinking and the generosity of the Don Q Inn,
the conference was relocated there for the day. This is the first time in the 12-year history of the
conference that it had to be broken up into two parts.
A nationally renowned speaker, Chris Bowers, taught the kids about taking healthy emotional risks
and becoming leaders in their communities. Through interactive and fun activities, he helped the
kids to see past what others think of them and to always make the smart choice. At the end of the
day, students began to put together action plans on how to prevent substance abuse and other
risky behaviors back at their school and communities.
S.A.F.E. would like to give a special thanks to Don Q Inn, the chaperones, students, and their
parents for making this impactful experience possible, despite the damaging weather. Stay tuned
for an article on Part II of the Youth Leadership Conference in our next newsletter.
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What do individuals look like when using Heroin?
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“Pinpoint” sized pupils (only found with narcotics use)
Facial and body itching
Long sleeve shirts to hide track marks
Sleepy appearance, droopy eyelids
Frequent constipation; buying ex-lax
Hiding bruises or “insect bites”? These are likely injection sites
Mushy, soft gums that resemble banana texture
Cool, sweaty skin
Shallow breathing
What kinds of drug paraphernalia should I keep an eye out for?
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Are your spoons missing?
Are you finding burnt pieces of foil? Soda cans? Bottle caps?
Needles (with dried blood)
Cigarette filters, cotton balls, Q-tips
Empty small balloons (used to store or sell heroin)
Carrying around used pill bottles
Very small squares of gum wrappers, cellophane, or tinfoil are common ways it is wrapped and sold–
usually 1/10 gram
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New friendships suddenly replacing old ones?
Ditching work or school and/or missing curfews?
Small possessions get lost or go missing, including money?
More secretive than usual?
Lost interest in old hobbies and activities?
Losing weight, poor appetite, or looking ill?
Averting their eyes a lot from looking directly at someone

In a coma
With convulsions
Unconscious with very slowed breathing
How do they behave?
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Chances are they have overdosed….
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2014 Plunge into the Dangers of Drunk/Drugged Driving
On April 10, approximately (90)
8th, 9th and 10th grade students
and school officials from twelve
Grant County schools took the
6th annual “Plunge” into the
awareness of the dangers of
drunk and drugged driving. Attendees witnessed a mock
underage drunk/drugged driving accident and then traveled
by bus to follow the victims and their families to the Grant Regional Health Center ER, the Martin Schwartz
Funeral Home, and to the Grant County Courthouse for a mock sentencing by Judge Day for the drugged
driver. New to the program this year, students toured the Grant County Jail after the courtroom sentencing.
The reality event wrapped up with a presentation from former UW Badger and professional football player,
Jim Leonhard. Mr. Leonhard focused on decision-making skills, the power of safe and healthy choices, and
the importance of following your dreams. Eighty six percent of the youth in attendance stated “The Plunge”
will help them say “no” to riding with a driver under the influence of alcohol, ninety six percent stated the
Plunge will help them say “no” to drugged driving and eighty two percent stated the program will help them
say “no” to underage drinking. The event took place in Lancaster and was financially sponsored by the
S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition and the Lancaster Police Department Association. In addition, over 150
hours of time were donated by numerous community volunteers and agencies on April 10 alone (not to mention the numerous hours donated leading up to the event)! Multiple community businesses and agencies
donated items to help make the “Plunge” a success. The Coalition would like to extend a huge thank you to
everyone involved with this educational event!
Marijuana nearly doubles risk of collisions — Article from CNN
A study in the British Medical Journal found that using marijuana while driving, nearly doubles the risk of
vehicle collisions. Alcohol hinders a person’s driving differently than marijuana. Alcohol can impair drivers’
speed and reaction times whereas marijuana affects spatial location. The dangerous difference between alcohol and marijuana is that people recognized when they are feeling impaired from alcohol, but they can not
seem to be aware of impairment when experimenting with marijuana. “Researchers conducted a review of
nine studies on the subjects of marijuana and driving accidents, which incorporated 50,000 participants”. This
statistic tells us that people are using drugs while driving which leads to danger on the roads. To try and stop
this crime, there is roadside testing for marijuana usage in Australia, western Europe, and the United States.
Americans to Zombies
There has been a rise in misusing prescription drugs in older Americans. Doctors are prescribing medication
to “make their life better” when the patients are in pain, when in fact it is causing addiction. The patients are
not misusing the drug, they simply are getting addicted to the medication.
When the patients go to the doctor because of pain or anxiety, doctors prescribe narcotics. These patients
build up a tolerance or suffer from more pain and ask for more medication. The doctors will continue to prescribe or strengthen their prescription. These patients don’t even realize that they are getting addicted to prescription drugs. These patients are then “feeling like a zombie”.
From this article, we can conclude that doctors should not prescribe medication like it’s candy. Part of the
challenge for doctors is determining which patients truly need prescription drugs, how long they should stay
on them, and the correct dosage.
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Rural Safety Day 2014
In June, the S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition educated 287, 2 nd to 9th grade students, about the
dangers of tobacco products including the new e-cigarettes. These presentations at the Lancaster
Youth and Ag Building focused on tobacco advertisements that try to draw these youth into using
these hazardous drugs.
The students were led through informative activities by Kathy Marty, Peggy Schmitt, Megan
Brogley, and Ross Johnson according to the students’ grade level. The 2nd to 4th grade students
heard a live story acted out to show the detrimental effects of secondhand smoke and role plays to
help the students say “no” to using drugs. The 5 th and 6th grade students received printed tobacco
advertisements so they could come up with counter advertisements telling the truth about the effects
of tobacco. Finally, the 7th to 9th grade students looked at e-cigarette advertisements and then
discussed the risks of this new product. Overall, these students learned how to be critical of tobacco
advertisements because they now know some facts to keep them “above the influence”.
Rural Safety Days was a wonderful way to inspire the youth of Grant County to live safer and
healthier lives because they are the future of our county!
State Theaters Help to Educate Grant
County
The S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition wishes to wholeheartedly thank State Theaters’ support as they played
public service announcements to educate the public about
substance abuse for the last several months. These PSAs,
are playing at Millennium Cinema (Platteville, WI), Avalon
Cinema (Platteville, WI), Blaine Theatre (Boscobel, WI),
and Grantland Theatre (Lancaster, WI). If you happen to
attend a movie and see these PSAs, please thank the
management for their support in educating the community
to make it a safer place to live!
Ross Johnson, our summer intern, enjoying a movie
over the weekend spotted this PSA for S.A.F.E. at
the Millennium Cinema.
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Meet S.A.F.E Grant County Coalition’s Summer Interns
My name is Megan Brogley and I was one of the summer interns here at the
S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition. I recently completed my junior year at UWPlatteville, majoring in Psychology with an emphasis in Human Services and I
am also working towards my Social Work Certificate. I am from Cuba City, WI.
My future goals are to graduate from UW-Platteville and find a job that I enjoy
within my field. I plan to go back and get my masters after getting some work
experience. I would like to work in a mental hospital or get into counseling.
In my free time I love to be with my friends and family, go camping, play volleyball, and enjoy the summer weather! I love to be outdoors and on the go. I am a
very social person and like being with people.
I would like to thank Kathy Marty and the S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition for
giving me the opportunity to obtain such a hands-on, learning experience. I enjoyed the events that we implemented this summer, like YLC & Rural Safety
Days!
Hello, my name is Ross Johnson and I was born and raised in Appleton,
Wisconsin. This summer I had the honor of being the AHEC intern for the
S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition based out of the Grant County Health
Department. In the fall, I will be a senior Biology major at UW-Platteville.
After college, I am planning on becoming a primary care physician in a rural
setting.
I have really enjoyed helping educate youth about dangers of substance
abuse at events like Rural Safety Days and the Youth Leadership Conference. It was also interesting to find the drug trends in the county by compiling the comprehensive Grant County Community Assessment. This internship has been very rewarding to work directly with youth and members of
the community to make Grant County a safer place to live. In the fall, I plan
on continuing to support the coalition through assisting at events like
Suicide Prevention Trainings and Oh SNAP at UW-Platteville.
I would like to give a special thanks to S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition, the
Grant County Health Department, and Wisconsin AHEC for providing me
with this meaningful summer experience. This experience has given me an
insight to drug abuse and how I will be able to help treat the disease of
addiction as a future doctor.
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S.A.F.E. Intern Receives High Honor
Ross Johnson was part of the AHEC (Area Health Education Center) summer internship program,
CHIP (Community Health Internship Program), during the summer of 2014. AHEC had 59 CHIP interns this summer placed statewide and 29 CHIP interns placed specifically in the Milwaukee area
(covering Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties). He had the privilege of getting
placed at the S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition based out of the Grant County Health Department.
Courtney Saxler, the Community Health Program Coordinator for Wisconsin AHEC, offered Ross
the opportunity to present his summer experiences to the AHEC Board of Directors. Ross was
honored to be one of four AHEC interns to present about his hands-on experiences at the coalition.
This presentation took place on August 1, 2014 in Madison at the University of Wisconsin School of
Medicine and Public Health.
Ross would like to give special thanks for support from Courtney Saxler (AHEC Coordinator), Laura
Pettersen (Executive Director for Scenic Rivers-AHEC) and all those members at Wisconsin AHEC
that made this impactful experience possible. If you are interested in hearing Ross’ presentation,
use the link below.
Left to right: Courtney Saxler (the Community Health Program Coordinator for Wisconsin AHEC),
Ross Johnson (S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition AHEC Intern), Laura Pettersen (Executive Director
Scenic Rivers AHEC).
Link to Ross’s presentation:
http://prezi.com/yn0h6wpcsoxr/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share
Funding for this training was made possible (in part) by grant number SP011336-10 from ONDCP and SAMHSA. The views ex-pressed in written training materials or
publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Office of National Drug Control Policy or the Department of Health and
Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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Upcoming Events
Upcoming
Events
Next
Coalition
Meeting–
August
27th, Lancaster,
County Health
Next two
Coalition
Meetings–
1) Wednesday,
August Grant
27th, Lancaster,
Grant
County Health Conference
Department, Conference
Department,
Room 253 Room 253– 5 pm.
2)
Wednesday,
September
24th, and
Platteville
Police
Department
Conference
Room
Suicide
Prevention
Training
Heroin
Prevention
Panel—
Septem—
pm. Grant County Administration Building, 2nd Floor, County Board
ber5 12th,
!
eb
Room
register, Training
email dmergen@co.grant.wi.gov.)
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Suicide(To
Prevention
& Heroin Prevention Panel— Friday,WSept.
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th
12th, Grant County Admin Bldg., 2nd Floor, County Board Room nin
un
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o
Oh SNAP— September 19th, 4-10pm, UWtc eb!
Lancaster (To register, email dmergen@co.grant.wi.gov.)
’re
a
hne W
Platteville, UW-Platteville students please
Oh
SNAP—
September 19th, 4-10pm,
register
on Pioneerlink.
UW-Platteville (UW-Platteville students:
Please register on Pioneerlink.)
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See inside to check out the latest news from the S.A.F.E
Grant County Coalition!
Change of Service Requested
Lancaster, WI 53813-1672
111 S. Jefferson St — Floor 2
(608) 723-6416
Grant County Health Department
S.A.F.E. Grant County Coalition
Permit #2
Lancaster, WI 53813
PAID
U.S. Postage
Non-Profit Organization
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