Hood County News from Granbury, Texas • Page 4

Forum Forum 4A Hood County News www.hcnews.com Saturday, August 24, 2013 MEMBER: National Newspaper Association Texas Press Association West Texas Press Association Texas Press Association JOE HELLER Brainna VenableHope MillerPeter SchwarckChristian Grant What would you do if you could be principal for one day? would get lockers back into the school. And I would allow more time between would put a sports program in the sixth grade. And hire a maid service for the would lower the prices at the snack bar and offer more choices for thing is free food in the cafeteria. And I would add in an extra three weeks of YOUR TURN produce deadly cocktails he week of July 22 the executive director of the Hood County United Way and I were at a substance abuse conference in Austin. It was sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAM- HSA) and the Community of Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA).

The focus was youth substance abuse, its causes, effects and prevention. It was well attended and hugely informative but at times disturbing. Too many teenagers get caught up in the partying scene, either through peer pressure or the temporary pleasure that comes from the chemical effects on brain receptors. Many times the outcome is tragic. We heard too many sad stories.

For many years youth prevention efforts have concentrated on the gateway drugs: alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. Today it seems that prescription drugs have taken a place at the table. Prescription drugs as a group now exceeds marijuana as illicit drug by persons age 12 or older. Many of these drugs have powerful central nervous system effects, and abuse comes from excessive doses and dangerous combinations. Take the as an example.

It is a mixture of the narcotic hydrocodo- ne (Vicodin), anti-anxiety alprazolam (Xanax) and muscle relaxer carisoprodol (Soma). No physician has ever prescribed this mixture, but it is popular among abusers. It is also deadly. A product of the Houston area unscrupulous commercial outfits often disguised as pain clinics specialize in writing prescriptions. It started showing up in morgues just a few years ago.

What is the impact of these pill mills? In 2010, 734 million hydrocodone tabs were prescribed in Houston, enough for 30 doses for every man, woman and child. In a previous editorial I mentioned that accidental poisoning now outnumbers traffic accidents as the number one killer of adults. Abuse of prescription medications also now kills more people than cocaine and heroin combined. Apparently there is a perception among abusers that because they are medicines they must be safe. In their analysis of safety the FDA does not consider gross overdoses or dangerous combinations.

PROBLEMS IN GRANBURY TOO What does Houston have to do with Granbury? Being a big city they have better data. Our analysis of school drug surveys shows that Granbury is statistically no different than the rest of Texas. The same problems are happening here. What can we do? Help keep prescription drugs out of the hands of others, in particular our youth. Bring unused meds to the drop box at the Office (pills only please).

Lock yours up at home. Remember that visitors, including grandchildren, can readily access your medicines. Realtors should be aware of this too because open house events can lead to theft of prescriptions from your medicine cabinet. The Hood County Substance Council (HCSAC) is dedicated to the prevention of substance abuse, is a recipient of a Drug Free Communities federal grant and is affiliated with the United Way of Hood County. BUZZ KILL David Moore, Hood County Substance Abuse Council Chairman Appraisal district motive not political In response to the gentleman or lady whose comments appeared in the Aug.

14 edition of Sound Off, and who questioned my motive for coming forward to report irregularities in the Hood County Appraisal District, let me assure you that the catalyst for my doing so had nothing to do with any political aspirations. My motive for coming forward regarding unlawful activity associated with the Hood County Appraisal District (at considerable personal risk I might add) was driven solely by my oath as a peace officer to report these alleged violations of law to the appropriate authorities and my concern for the citizens of Hood County. As for running for public office, anyone who knows me knows that my disdain for public office, and the activities associated with it, is rivaled by no one. My experience has also been that in Hood County, men and women are created equal. Unfortunately some are more equal than Joseph R.

Polino Granbury condition my dream My name is John Fitzgerald and as a young man from Fort Worth I always loved to come to Granbury every weekend. And so did all our friends and family. Now 57 years of age, and back here. But it is sad because our lake is gone. on a canal with no water at all.

I even had to sell my ski boat because I use it. How sad was that? I had looked forward to retiring here for years. I still love the people, but not at all what I dreamed of all my life. Why the law correct this huge injustice? To all of us, not just a few. Please respond to me as to how I can help.

Save Lake Granbury. John Fitzgerald Granbury In case of emergency, put out my sea bag There is an old saying: because paranoid mean someone out to get Paranoid means you have delusions of persecution and grandeur. Paranoid does not mean you are saddled with a physical condition of two which allows you to park in the handicap spot at Walmart. The U.S. has participated in nine wars or conflicts just since January 1945.

It seems like the more the world population increases the more world violence increases. Based on history, hard to believe the great American Society will enjoy peace for any great length of time. Most people in the world hope for the best. Since a realist, I tend to hope for the best and try to prepare a little bit for the worst. Years ago I started gathering items I thought might be useful just in case we were invaded by either cigar-smoking Cubans, North Koreans, Iranians, Yemenities, or obnoxious French waiters.

Since the Chinese are making billions off us selling us junk we need they probably a threat. I got to admit, Muslim radicals flying planes into New York buildings is not the kind of invasion I expected. Anyway, my old sea bag left over from 1966 became the keeper of my emergency response material. My contains items I might need if the stuff hits the fan. So far it holds a large Buck hunting knife I gave my dad for his birthday back in the 1960s.

(At the time my dad graciously accepted the knife, put a razor edge on it, and then put it away and never used it. He did that because life teaches us that stainless steel blades are pretty to look at but hold an edge worth squat. After my dad passed away my sister gave the Buck back to me.) My bag also holds a good Ka-Bar knife, flashlight, box of 12-gauge buckshot ammo, fire starter, walkie-talkie set, and steel peace pipe tomahawk with curly maple handle that I built myself. That last item is in honor of my half- breed Confederate ancestor. If the emergency lasts for two days, a few additional logistical items may be needed such as: clothes, first aid kit, book on wild edible plants, tent, canteen, frying pan, cot, entrenching tool, bedroll, fishing tackle, hatchet, axe, matches, poncho, machete, binoculars, recurved bow, arrows, candle, gas mask, canned smoked oysters, can opener, red wine (for medicinal purposes), money (in case I need to buy more medicine), and last but not least, toilet paper.

I know naturalists prefer to use leaves; that is, until they grab a handful of poison oak. The final number of logistical items needed will be determined by the expected length of the conflict and the degree of paranoia in my brain. Grady Smith Granbury GISD students saddled with outdated facilities It was my privilege to serve as a member of the Bond Committee for the proposed GISD Bond issue. I say this not necessarily to defend the decision to place an $85 million project on the ballot but to let the reader know that too, was a bit skeptical about how GISD was going to fix the facilities problem. Dr.

Largent and his staff have developed the solution we have sought for so long. I believe the voters will soon see that the price tag for this solution is an incredible bargain. I was amazed at the work Huckabee and Associates has done for other schools in Texas. They do this while retaining those things that work well for the district without disrupting student life and advancement. Those were two major hurdles we clear in the past.

In answer to concerns about what is considered to fix at the high school, we all need to see what the Bond Committee saw during our time together. Just about all of the facilities inside the main building are woefully outdated. But what about such things as Fine Arts, athletics, Career Tech and the like? Do we need to upgrade those as well? I can tell you firsthand that they are as important as anything else in Secondary Education. Colleges and universities do not just look at scores they want to see a well-rounded candidate. A high score on the Math portion of the SAT gets the door unlocked, but it is what else the student does in those four critical years of high school that push the door wide open.

We owe our students better than what provided in the past. Our children have achieved remarkable things at a state, national and even international level with inadequate facilities. We have a chance to do the right thing show them we care. Bruce Lockwood Pecan Plantation America needs to get over slavery issue I had the unhappy experience of watching an extremely inflammatory film version of racial past produced by a rights conglomerate. Certainly our country has had some pretty ugly history.

The unfair treatment of black Americans joins the earlier treatment of Native Americans, the treatment of Irish and Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the treatment of Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor and Jewish people through two world wars. There are many heroic examples in our history where people survived such great life trials and went on to excel greatly. Many black Americans are among those we call great Americans. The issue? Yes, that was different, but not unique in the history of the world. America needs to get over it.

We have a lot on our shoulders, and there is no room for from another era. is loaded with such serving no positive purpose. So, on to the movie, a horrible example of what Hollywood and those who make their living off of racial unrest can do to hurt our nation. John Williams deCordova LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Tuff break Had school worker not persevered, she have saved lives hen the going gets tough, apparently Tuff gets going. You may have seen on the news this week reports about the grace-under-fire actions of Georgia school employee Antoinette Tuff, whose ability to calm a mentally ill gunman may well have prevented another elementary school massacre like the one at Sandy Hook back in December.

For 13 very long minutes, Tuff talked to a 911 dispatcher while also managing to sooth 20-year- old Michael Brandon Hill, who walked into the office of the school just outside Atlanta and shot at the ground with an AK- 47-type weapon. SIGNAL ACTIVATED Unbeknownst to Hill, Tuff activated a signal that alerted teachers to lock their classroom doors and follow training procedures for keeping students safe. Police officers who rushed to the scene were instructed by Tuff to stand down as she relayed to the dispatcher orders from the gunman. Through it all, the employee at Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy remained cool and calm, comforting the gunman and telling him that it would be all right.

He hurt anybody and, it turned out, he want to hurt anybody. He told Tuff that he should have gone to the hospital because he was mentally unstable and not on his medication. She told him that she has a child with multiple disabilities, and a husband who left her after 33 years. She told him that her last name had been Hill, too. mother was a she told him.

soothing voice and non-judging manner likely prevented a tragedy at the little school in Decatur. Outside the walls of the school building, armed officers surrounded the school as throngs of panicked parents stood crying and praying that their children would be spared. Finally, thanks to Antoinette Tuff, it was over. Tuff managed to convince the gunman to surrender his weapon, empty his pockets and lay down on the floor so that the police could come get him. Officers fueled by adrenalin can be heard on the 911 recording rushing into the room and ordering Hill not to move.

It is at that point in the recording that Tuff finally lets down her guard and shows her fear. me tell you something, she said in a shaky voice to the female dispatcher. never been so scared in all the days of my life. Oh, Tuff, not surprisingly, is being hailed as a hero. She should be.

The fact that Tuff was there that day likely changed the course of history for many children and their families. As it turns out, she could just as easily have not been there. Tuff had originally been scheduled to be off, but a shift change meant that it was she the gunman encountered that day. And there was another thing that could have prevented her from being in just the right place at just the right time. tried to commit suicide last year when my husband left she shared with the gunman during the tense moments when lives hung in the balance.

look at me LOOK AT IT THIS WAY Kathy Cruz Staff Writer.