Police officers emphasize the importance of education and claiming responsibility for one’s actions. The Crawfordsville Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office educate local elementary school students through Drug Abuse Resistance Education and other drug courses. They hope to curb drug problems by teaching children about the effects of drugs like heroin, but they need help from families.

Journal Review Online Editor’s note: This is the first part of a multi-part series on heroin. The Journal Review is publishing this series as part of National Red Ribbon Week.

Montgomery County has a problem.

Heroin has been a foundation of crime. It has broken households, dismantled lives and led to untimely deaths.

“Heroin is a huge problem because people get addicted to it so quickly,” Crawfordsville Detective Lieutenant Bob Rivers said. “Addicts get so sick without it and get desperate for a fix.”

Police believe many thefts and robberies stem from heroin addictions. Rivers and Crawfordsville Detective Lieutenant David Long have even covered daytime thefts and break-ins that resulted from an addict’s desperation. Some of those cases emerged after an addict stole and lied to family members.

“Addiction starts with a bad choice,” Long said. “That choice grows into larger problems that are hard to beat, but the initial bad choice was there. You have to own up to that. You cannot recover until you admit you have an addiction.”

Heroin is a narcotic drug that acts as morphine when it enters the body. It is an extract from opium poppy plants that has become a problematic recreational drug over several decades.

“Heroin works very quickly and is very potent,” said Pharmaceutical Dr. Tricia Williams of Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health — Crawfordsville. “It establishes a physical and mental craving by changing someone’s brain chemistry slightly. The mental craving for the euphoric feeling drives the addiction.”

Montgomery County Jail Commander Lonnie Jones has spoken with several offenders who were addicted to heroin. Jones said those discussions indicate heroin is easily accessible and inexpensive.

“After they detox, they understand heroin is bad for them and that it can kill them,” Jones said. “The addiction is so strong, they can’t stop. I’ve been told it’s a stronger addiction than methamphetamine.”

Heroin addicts have confessed to police officers that the first high is always the strongest. The constant pursuit of that high then leads to a severe addiction and dependency.

Local law enforcement officers said there are several reasons why people turn to heroin. The root cause, they believe, is gateway drugs and prescription medications.

“A lot of kids and adults don’t realize how big of an issue prescription drugs are,” Long said. “They can get addicted to prescription drugs, which are more expensive and harder to get. Heroin, on the other hand, is cheaper and attainable. It becomes a more affordable alternative.”

Throughout his 27-year law enforcement career, Jones has seen drug abusers switch from marijuana to heroin. He also has seen several generations of families battle addictions to heroin.

“It’s discouraging to see some of these folks coming back and battling the same issues,” Jones said. “When they exit, you hope they decide to leave the substance alone and live a clean life.”

However, the nature of heroin often causes former users to relapse. Heroin withdraws cause physical and mental pains so severe, users crave the drug just to feel normal. Relapses often cause overdoses and deaths.

“Someone can be off heroin for a while and be alright, but something triggers them to use it again,” Rivers said. “Their tolerance lowers during the recovery process and they eventually overdose.”

Chief Deputy Ryan Needham of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said drug arrests fluctuate between methamphetamine and heroin. The dealers of those drugs extend from Crawfordsville to Indianapolis. However, Needham has noticed a decline in drug-related deaths.

Rivers and Long have found heroin users to be honest about their addictions. They usually speak with offenders once they are stable.

“These are average people who made a few bad decisions that cost them a lot,” Long said. “Not only are they desperate, they are also depressed and remorseful. They are usually honest because they are past the hurting stage and are reflecting on what they have done.”

Police officers emphasize the importance of education and claiming responsibility for one’s actions. The Crawfordsville Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office educate local elementary school students through Drug Abuse Resistance Education and other drug courses. They hope to curb drug problems by teaching children about the effects of drugs like heroin, but they need help from families.

“Adults often forget kids are smarter and more capable of learning than they think,” Long said. “Through these programs, we need to make sure we don’t coddle kids. We need to teach them about real world situations and what they are going to encounter.”

Rivers has even been to scenes where young children have tested positive for heroin. He fears how much the drug can impact a family and a child’s future.

“It’s hard when families are affected,” Rivers said. “We have had several cases where child protective service agencies were involved. It’s sad.”

From Journal Review Online

Two years ago, sisters Aralyn and Jaidah Battice were walking with their family in downtown Seymour and literally ran right into the D.A.R.E. Soap Box Derby.

They had never heard of the event before and decided to hang around and watch.

“It looked like fun,” said Aralyn, 10, a student at Margaret R. Brown Elementary School.

Before long, the girls were putting on helmets and racing down West Second Street in front of the American Legion, driving homemade cars powered by gravity.

On Sunday afternoon, the Battices once again showed up to race in the 10th annual running of the derby.

“I love speed,” Aralyn said. “You go real fast, and it’s exciting.”

And it didn’t matter whether she won or lost, she added.

“It’s just fun,” she said.

Although there weren’t a lot of entries or spectators lining the sides of the street this year, those who did attend said they had a blast and can’t wait for next year’s race.

Organized and sponsored by the Seymour Police Department, the derby was started in 2007 as a fundraiser for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

But over the years, declining numbers have made the race more about family fun and positive community interaction with police than raising money. Several officers and high school D.A.R.E. role models showed up on their day off to watch and cheer on the younger kids.

Several cars have even been made and donated to D.A.R.E., giving anyone the opportunity to get involved, even if they are unable to make their own car.

D.A.R.E. officer Gilbert Carpenter served as Sunday’s announcer, while fellow D.A.R.E. instructor Tim Toborg took to the wheel of his stuffed animal-covered car to race his boss, Chief Bill Abbott.

“This is a grudge match between crazy and sane,” Carpenter said, referencing the matchup.

Looking laid-back and relaxed in his car, Abbott edged out Toborg for the win.

Abbott also got to race against his grandson, 8-year-old Blayke Chase. Together, they made Chase’s patriotic car, which is painted to look like the American flag.

“I love racing in the derby,” Blayke said. “It’s always fun.”

Blayke’s mother, Heather Chase, served as race judge determining who won each heat.

“He just loves everything about this,” Chase said of her son. “He gets so exited when it’s time for the derby.”

Carpenter said they will continue to have the event as long as there are kids who want to race and adults who want to help.

“It’s a beautiful day, and everyone is having a good time, and that’s what it’s all about,” Carpenter said.

Shawn Rockey said getting to build a soap box car three years ago with his sons, Sam, 10 and Charlie, 8, both students at Emerson Elementary School, was a great bonding experience.

It’s also a way for them to support the D.A.R.E. program, he said.

The Seymour D.A.R.E. program was initiated in 1999 by J.B. Hamblin, who was police chief at the time. Officer Billy Smith, now retired, served as the first D.A.R.E. instructor.

Toborg and Carpenter visit about 20 classrooms at all public and parochial schools in the city during the year.

Each year, more than 400 fifth-graders participate in D.A.R.E.

The basics of the course are designed to teach not only drug awareness, but give children the skills they will need to make better decisions when faced with a choice involving drugs, alcohol, tobacco or bullying.

D.A.R.E. is operated solely through donations from local businesses, organizations and individuals.

Although he’s an engineer at Cummins, Rockey said he likes for his sons to help him design and build the car so they learn the process and can take pride in their work.

“We modify it each year to make it better,” Rockey said. “The first year, we used lawn mower wheels, and that didn’t work very well. The second year, we tried bicycle wheels, and this year, we tried the wheels off a jogging stroller, and we’re doing better.”

The car is made completely of recycled materials, including wood and sheet metal that was going to be thrown away, Rockey said.

“We painted it and added blue racing stripes this morning,” he said. “I do the welding but let them watch how it’s done.”

Sam Rockey said he enjoys spending time with his dad.

“I think our car looks really good, but it was hard to steer today for some reason,” Sam said. “We’ll just have to work on it again for next year.”

Shawn Mahoney and his family also are regulars at the soap box derby. His son, William, 11, took over as driver of their No. 30 car because his sister, Liberty, 15, outgrew it.

Also attending with the Mahoneys were Sophia Miller, 7, and her brother, Ansel Miller, 9, from Speedway. The Ansels are William and Liberty’s cousins.

“They came down one time to watch a couple of years ago, and they wanted to come back again this year to race,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney said he would like to see more people get involved with the event.

“It’s a great way to spend time together as a family,” he said. “We really appreciate the officers and the D.A.R.E. program. They make the kids feel special, and they are real assets to this community.”

From The Tribune

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the D.A.R.E. SOAP Box Derby 

D.A.R.E. Officer David Schaetzel awards essay winner Grace Dyke.

What D.A.R.E. Means to Me

By Grace Dyke

Some people don’t take D.A.R.E. seriously. But I think D.A.R.E. is very important. It stands for define, assess, respond, and evaluate. D.A.R.E. can help people get out of bad habits like smoking or taking drugs. Or even to warn kids to never make bad drug or alcohol choices when we get older. D.A.R.E. has taught me a lot of things.

For more details see the Thursday, Dec. 22, print edition or e-edition of the Kankakee Valley Post-News.

From Kankakee Valley Post News

The growing problem of heroin abuse came up early during graduation ceremonies this week for nearly 400 Bartholomew County sixth-graders completing their 10-week Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

D.A.R.E graduation keynote speaker “Retro” Bill Russ talked about the increase in heroin addiction, as did Larry Perkinson, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. employee and student assistance coordinator, during their opening remarks during the ceremony at Columbus East High School.

But sixth grade is too early to spend a lot of time talking about heroin, local D.A.R.E. educators said.

The weekly messages provided during 45-minute sessions with Columbus sixth-graders — half of them reached during the first semester and the others during the second semester — focus more generally on making healthy choices and being a good citizen, said Jessica Pendleton, a Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department deputy and local D.A.R.E. instructor.

Pendleton said she feels that’s best for students at this age level, and other local D.A.R.E. instructors said they agree.

“Our primary goal is to let them know the effects of any substance abuse on their health and livelihood,” D.A.R.E. instructor and Columbus Police Department patrolman Eric Kapczynski said.

“People don’t start using heroin in sixth grade,” said Steve Long, another Columbus patrolman and D.A.R.E. instructor. “For these kids, we need to start off with the gateway drugs like marijuana and alcohol.”

Some parents, however, have asked whether D.A.R.E. should modify its program to emphasize how heroin dismantles lives, destroys families and too often kills.

But all three local D.A.R.E. instructors agreed with research that states teaching children about specific drugs with which they have no orientation or real-life awareness may negatively stimulate their interest or curiosity about the substance.

“Most heroin users are adults who became addicted after going off prescribed pain pills,” Long said. “Nobody starts off by saying ‘I’m going to try heroin.’”

While the mother of a D.A.R.E. graduate said she’s not against a stronger emphasis on heroin, Judy Clouse said both she and her daughter, Julie, trust the judgment of the instructors.

“Any education on substance abuse they get at a young age, our children will hopefully be better for it later,” Clouse said.

Instructors can issue warnings not to touch discarded hypodermic needles or answer a child’s specific question about any drug, including heroin, Kapczynski said.

But when addressing a group of 11- and 12-year-olds, the message needs to be focused on all destructive behaviors — especially the ones they relate to, both Pendleton and Kapczynski said.

That includes topics such as bullying, negative peer pressure and dealing with differing views from family members, said Russ, who has been described by talk show host Larry King as the “Mr. Rogers of the 21st Century.”

For example, while Parkside sixth-grader Abigail Gomez said she intends to lead a drug-free life, she knows that a rebellious attitude is often expressed by some students when they enter secondary schools.

When Russ was introduced, the achievement that got the loudest cheer was that he voiced Zeus, the Guitar Lord on the youth-oriented “SpongeBob SquarePants” television cartoon show.

Although Perkinson said Russ comes off like a cross between singer Elvis Presley and comedian Jim Carrey, the professional entertainer understands how sixth-graders think and what grown-ups may have forgotten.

“There is the period of life between kindergarten and fifth grade that adults remember as sweeter and innocent,” Russ said backstage after his performance. “But they have issues, such as bullying and feeling discouraged, that they take seriously. Then, as you get into sixth grade and hormonal changes begin, peer pressure becomes that much more accelerated.”

That makes the pre-teen years the ideal time to boost self esteem, make a child feel loved and secure, and provide information to make the children safe through the D.A.R.E. program, Russ said.

For parents or grandparents who still feel heroin needs special emphasis at that age, Russ recommends clipping out newspaper articles regarding local incidents involving the narcotic.

“Show them tangible printed newspapers they can pick up and hold, instead of the internet,” Russ said. “That seems to have the best impact.”

After collecting a number of stories, sit down with the child, have them read the articles aloud, explain why they concern you, and ask them for their response, Russ said.

Whenever a parent learns their child has been around someone using dangerous substances, it’s also helpful to discuss specific details of the encounter with the child and analyze together what might have gone better or worse, Russ said.

From The Republic

Seymour Middle School sixth-graders compete in Tug-O-War recently at Gaiser Park in Seymour as part of the D.A.R.E. Year End Party.

When the celebration for last year’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education graduates kept getting canceled, Seymour D.A.R.E. Officer Tim Toborg reached out to the new principal at Seymour Middle School Sixth Grade Center for a possible solution.

“The D.A.R.E. graduates hadn’t had their celebration yet, so Officer Toborg came to me and asked about a picnic for the kids,” Principal Karla Bohle said. “I told him we were thinking about having a Class of 2024 picnic because that’s what their graduating class is, and so we combined the two events.”

Last year’s fifth-graders from the D.A.R.E. program never had their year-end celebration due to several cancellations.

“These are good kids, and we’re so glad to finally give them their party, and they’ve been so patient,” Toborg said.

“In years past, we’ve always done a lock-in at the bowling alley from midnight to 6 a.m., but the bowling alley is closed, so we had to rethink what we were going to do,” Toborg said. “The original plan was to rent the middle school gymnasium right around Christmas or a little after and have our party.”

But around that time, D.A.R.E. Officer Gilbert Carpenter’s house burned down, and he was off work with an injured arm, so the party was delayed, Toborg said.

“By the time we got it rescheduled, it was too late in the school year, so we decided on a summer swim party at Shields Park,” Toborg said. “So we pumped all the kids up for this pool party, and the Fraternal Order of Police was going to grill the food.”

The pool party was rained out and rescheduled for the following week, and it rained again.

It was decided to wait until the new school year so there would be better participation, Toborg said.

“Then we got with Mrs. Bohle, the new principal at the Sixth Grade Center, and found out they were going to have a Class of 2024 party,” Toborg said. “We said we’d like to be a part of it.”

The students walked over to nearby Gaiser Park and had lunch, and there were fun activities to get them outside and show them all of the alternatives they have instead of drug use, Toborg said.

“We were reminding them to make wise choices and to use their decision-making skills because they won’t get that again until eighth grade,” Toborg said. “We have a fifth-grade DARE program and then one in eighth grade, too.”

Toborg, Carpenter and the department’s third D.A.R.E. officer, Craig Owens, participated in the picnic, while members of Fraternal Order of Police Donald M. Winn Lodge 108 supplied the hamburgers and hot dogs.

“It’s great for these kids because this is their make-up celebration, so I feel good that we got something made up to them,” Carpenter said. “It wasn’t a lock-in, but it was time spent, and they got to have fun. Now, we can get some closure on this and can focus on the regular fifth grade.”

Bohle, who was assistant principal at Seymour-Jackson Elementary School for three years before moving to the Sixth Grade Center, said she and her staff have been working hard on making the center a positive, uplifting, family-type environment for students and staff.

“This is the first time the sixth-graders have all been together,” she said.

Before, they were Seymour-Jackson Wildcats, Cortland Eagles, Margaret R. Brown Bears, Emerson Indians and Seymour-Redding Hornets.

Here, they were joining as one, Bohle said.

“The Class of 2024 picnic is to unite them all as Owls, and we want them to realize that they are one class,” said Samantha Browning, counselor at the Sixth Grade Center. “They have their separate teams they’re on, so this is the first time the kids have all been together for an extended amount of time.”

The Sixth Grade Center’s motto is “Where Owls Learn to Fly,” so the decision was made to also have a balloon release, symbolizing the students “learning to fly.”

“The idea today is that when the kids release the balloons, they’ll all say, ‘Owls learn to fly,’ then release their balloons on the word ‘fly’ as they unite as Seymour Owls,” Browning said.

The school corporation had matching unifying shirts made for students and staff, Bohle said.

The sense of belonging is so important, especially for middle school-age kids, Bohle said.

“That’s what we want, cohesiveness with this Class of 2024 to let them see the future to when they are all hopefully graduating together from Seymour High School, to kind of create their own niche as a whole class because a lot of the time, you don’t see that until junior or senior year,” Bohle said.

At the picnic, student government officers were given a leadership role, helping out with the balloons and helping serve food.

Sam Rockey, 11, is the student government president. Last year, he attended Emerson Elementary School.

“It was fun today, and we played kickball, basketball, tug of war and three-legged race,” Sam said. “Mrs. Bohle and Ms. Browning blew up the balloons, a couple of student helpers from the high school tied them, then the vice president and I tied the strings on.”

When he found out they were finally going to have their D.A.R.E. party, Sam said he was happy.

Aleia Findley, 12, serves as student government vice president and previously attended Cortland Elementary School.

“Everyone was so excited we were going to have a pool party, then it got postponed, but they rescheduled it, and everyone was happy again,” she said. “Then it got rained out, too. When we heard about this picnic, everybody got so excited because we were actually going to do something.”

Aleia said if a friend told her they were thinking about taking drugs, she would remind them of the five-step plan they learned in the D.A.R.E. program to help them make a safe and responsible decision.

Bohle said she hopes the picnic becomes an annual event.

“I would definitely love to join forces and create this if the FOP and D.A.R.E. officers would want to be involved again or we could make this just something for our class to do,” she said. “We will do whatever we can. This is something they haven’t had before, and we want that for them.”

From Seymour Tribune. Go to the Seymour Tribune’s website to view photos from the event.

Three police officers who were Bartholomew County’s first D.A.R.E. officers will reunite to be honored at a 25th anniversary celebration of the program.

As many as 2,000 people are expected at Monday night’s D.A.R.E. graduation at Columbus North High School gym, which will celebrate 25 years of teaching young people about making good choices and decisions in their life and the dangers of drugs, alcohol and other addictive substances.

When launched in the 1980s, D.A.R.E. was known as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, later dropping the full name.

For the first time, the program is combining all D.A.R.E. graduates into one celebration as part of the anniversary, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman, who is a D.A.R.E. officer himself and organizes the effort with local schools.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the program from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Special guest will be motivational speaker Retro Bill Russ, who is known for his visits to Columbus DARE graduations and is in his 17th year as an official D.A.R.E. Safety Buddy.

The original D.A.R.E. officer team who started with the program in the early 1990s will take a bow during the graduation.

They are retired Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy Pat Bryant, who served as a D.A.R.E. officer from the beginning until 2015 when he retired from law enforcement; Rob Kittle, former city police officer and sheriff’s deputy who served for a couple years; and Jim Norris, retired from the city police department, who served for about a year.

About 1,300 students entering middle school age go through the 10-week D.A.R.E. program each year in area schools, Harris said.

From The Republic

Three police officers who were Bartholomew County’s first D.A.R.E. officers will reunite to be honored at a 25th anniversary celebration of the program.

As many as 2,000 people are expected at Monday night’s D.A.R.E. graduation at Columbus North High School gym, which will celebrate 25 years of teaching young people about making good choices and decisions in their life and the dangers of drugs, alcohol and other addictive substances.

When launched in the 1980s, D.A.R.E. was known as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, later dropping the full name.

For the first time, the program is combining allD.A.R.E. graduates into one celebration as part of the anniversary, said Lt. Matt Harris, Columbus Police Department spokesman, who is a D.A.R.E. officer himself and organizes the effort with local schools.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the program from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Special guest will be motivational speaker Retro Bill Russ, who is known for his visits to Columbus D.A.R.E. graduations and is in his 17th year as an official D.A.R.E. Safety Buddy.

The original D.A.R.E. officer team who started with the program in the early 1990s will take a bow during the graduation.

They are retired Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputy Pat Bryant, who served as a D.A.R.E. officer from the beginning until 2015 when he retired from law enforcement; Rob Kittle, former city police officer and sheriff’s deputy who served for a couple years; and Jim Norris, retired from the city police department, who served for about a year.

About 1,300 students entering middle school age go through the 10-week D.A.R.E. program each year in area schools, Harris said. Officers are hoping that many local residents who graduated from the D.A.R.E. program over the past 25 years will attend Monday’s ceremony, he said.

Officers who volunteer as D.A.R.E. instructors attend a two-week training course focused on instructor development, public speaking and learning the curriculum, Harris said. They then embark on going out to schools and leading a classroom of youngsters, with some of the responsibilities including evening and weekend events.

The Originators

Norris, who was the public information officer for Columbus police when he became a D.A.R.E. officer, said he enjoyed working with the students. His assignments included Southside Elementary and Lincoln Elementary and working to get the overall program started.

“The biggest challenge back then was to convince the kids to trust us,” he said. “Just earning their trust.”

Kittle and Norris said Bryant was the D.A.R.E. officer to talk with to learn about what it was like 25 years ago to start the program, as he stayed with it his entire law enforcement career.

Bryant taught sixth graders at Mt. Healthy and moved through other schools during his D.A.R.E. career, but allowed he also liked to go into kindergarten and first and second grade classrooms to give the younger kids a preview of what a D.A.R.E. class was like.

“It was a good way to connect with youth,” he said. “We would educate them about marijuana and opioids and all that stuff, but it was about all kinds of medications — even cough syrup,” he said. “It was to educate about all drugs.”

But in addition to that, D.A.R.E. officers had the chance to help youth understand what law enforcement was all about, Bryant said.

“They learned we weren’t untouchable,” he said. “They learned we had wives and kids.”

Many times over the years, a D.A.R.E. officer was the first police officer many kids came into contact with through the program, he said.

It wasn’t all serious teaching, Bryant said. There is some role playing as part of the D.A.R.E. programming and Bryant was known for a no-exceptions rule, he said. If the superintendent or even the sheriff showed up for a D.A.R.E. class, they would role-play, too, with the students, he said.

And there was the time that he had just finished up a class, and the cheerleaders were practicing nearby, he said.

They were doing the cheerleading move where they would jump up and touch their toes, he said. “And I said, ‘I can do that,’ and they said, ‘No you can’t,’ “ Bryant said laughing.

“So I jumped up and touched my toes, and it’s a good thing I had a jacket on that day, because I split my pants,” he said, laughing at the memory. “I do tell that story on myself.”

Kittle, who taught at Richards, CSA-Fodrea and Parkside, also filled in at other schools when needed, including at Southside.

He credited the late Phil P. Wasmuth, a track coach and substance abuse counselor at Columbus North, as being instrumental in bringing the area schools and the sheriff’s department and city police department together in a collaborative effort to offer D.A.R.E. programming.

“He deserves the real recognition,” Kittle said of Wasmuth. “The three of us were focusing on teaching, but he was a heck of a guy and he really made it come together.”

Kittle will occasionally have a young adult approach him with the comment, “Hey, you were my D.A.R.E. officer,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to Monday night,” Kittle said. “We’ve had a lot of people come through the program, and back then we had no way of knowing how far this program would go. A lot of credit goes to the people who came after us.”

Even though he’s not a D.A.R.E. officer now, Bryant says Monday night will be full of memories of his time in the program.

“Yes, I do miss it. At times I drive by a school and I just think about how much I miss my kids,” he said.

At a Glance

What: 25th anniversary celebration and D.A.R.E. graduation

Where: Columbus North High School

When: Monday, doors open at 6 p.m., program starts at 6:30 p.m.

How much: Free, the D.A.R.E. program has moved the graduation to North’s gym in anticipation of a large number of local residents who attended a D.A.R.E. class returning to celebrate the anniversary.

Current D.A.R.E. Program Officers

Current D.A.R.E. officers and their time teaching the program:

Columbus Police Department
Lt. Matt Harris, 16 years
Sgt. Steve Long, 11 years
Officer Eric Kapczynski, 11 years
Officer Zach Wright, 6 years
Officer Bernard Sims, 6 years
Officer Clayton Nolting, 4 years
Sgt. Alyson Rech, 4 years
Officer Tony Kummer, scheduled to attend D.A.R.E. training in June
Officer Marcus Clark, scheduled to attend D.A.R.E. training in June
Officer Casey Kendrick, scheduled to attend D.A.R.E. training in June

Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department
Deputy Jessica Pendleton, 3 years

From The Republic, May 4, 2018

Police officers emphasize the importance of education and claiming responsibility for one’s actions. The Crawfordsville Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office educate local elementary school students through Drug Abuse Resistance Education and other drug courses. They hope to curb drug problems by teaching children about the effects of drugs like heroin, but they need help from families.

Journal Review Online Editor’s note: This is the first part of a multi-part series on heroin. The Journal Review is publishing this series as part of National Red Ribbon Week.

Montgomery County has a problem.

Heroin has been a foundation of crime. It has broken households, dismantled lives and led to untimely deaths.

“Heroin is a huge problem because people get addicted to it so quickly,” Crawfordsville Detective Lieutenant Bob Rivers said. “Addicts get so sick without it and get desperate for a fix.”

Police believe many thefts and robberies stem from heroin addictions. Rivers and Crawfordsville Detective Lieutenant David Long have even covered daytime thefts and break-ins that resulted from an addict’s desperation. Some of those cases emerged after an addict stole and lied to family members.

“Addiction starts with a bad choice,” Long said. “That choice grows into larger problems that are hard to beat, but the initial bad choice was there. You have to own up to that. You cannot recover until you admit you have an addiction.”

Heroin is a narcotic drug that acts as morphine when it enters the body. It is an extract from opium poppy plants that has become a problematic recreational drug over several decades.

“Heroin works very quickly and is very potent,” said Pharmaceutical Dr. Tricia Williams of Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health — Crawfordsville. “It establishes a physical and mental craving by changing someone’s brain chemistry slightly. The mental craving for the euphoric feeling drives the addiction.”

Montgomery County Jail Commander Lonnie Jones has spoken with several offenders who were addicted to heroin. Jones said those discussions indicate heroin is easily accessible and inexpensive.

“After they detox, they understand heroin is bad for them and that it can kill them,” Jones said. “The addiction is so strong, they can’t stop. I’ve been told it’s a stronger addiction than methamphetamine.”

Heroin addicts have confessed to police officers that the first high is always the strongest. The constant pursuit of that high then leads to a severe addiction and dependency.

Local law enforcement officers said there are several reasons why people turn to heroin. The root cause, they believe, is gateway drugs and prescription medications.

“A lot of kids and adults don’t realize how big of an issue prescription drugs are,” Long said. “They can get addicted to prescription drugs, which are more expensive and harder to get. Heroin, on the other hand, is cheaper and attainable. It becomes a more affordable alternative.”

Throughout his 27-year law enforcement career, Jones has seen drug abusers switch from marijuana to heroin. He also has seen several generations of families battle addictions to heroin.

“It’s discouraging to see some of these folks coming back and battling the same issues,” Jones said. “When they exit, you hope they decide to leave the substance alone and live a clean life.”

However, the nature of heroin often causes former users to relapse. Heroin withdraws cause physical and mental pains so severe, users crave the drug just to feel normal. Relapses often cause overdoses and deaths.

“Someone can be off heroin for a while and be alright, but something triggers them to use it again,” Rivers said. “Their tolerance lowers during the recovery process and they eventually overdose.”

Chief Deputy Ryan Needham of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said drug arrests fluctuate between methamphetamine and heroin. The dealers of those drugs extend from Crawfordsville to Indianapolis. However, Needham has noticed a decline in drug-related deaths.

Rivers and Long have found heroin users to be honest about their addictions. They usually speak with offenders once they are stable.

“These are average people who made a few bad decisions that cost them a lot,” Long said. “Not only are they desperate, they are also depressed and remorseful. They are usually honest because they are past the hurting stage and are reflecting on what they have done.”

Police officers emphasize the importance of education and claiming responsibility for one’s actions. The Crawfordsville Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office educate local elementary school students through Drug Abuse Resistance Education and other drug courses. They hope to curb drug problems by teaching children about the effects of drugs like heroin, but they need help from families.

“Adults often forget kids are smarter and more capable of learning than they think,” Long said. “Through these programs, we need to make sure we don’t coddle kids. We need to teach them about real world situations and what they are going to encounter.”

Rivers has even been to scenes where young children have tested positive for heroin. He fears how much the drug can impact a family and a child’s future.

“It’s hard when families are affected,” Rivers said. “We have had several cases where child protective service agencies were involved. It’s sad.”

From Journal Review Online