Desert Messenger

Page 18 www.DesertMessenger.com THRIFT STORE FROM PAGE 3 church to cool off, some of them had to sleep in the church overnight. They also fed those who came there, and Isaiah 58 also had many people go there as well. What we wanted to do was make sure that these cooling stations would have ad- equate supplies to deal with the people they were helping. We had a board meeting Friday, and voted to give funds to like a lot of fuss that may never be needed, but we feel that it is better to be prepared than to try to fi nd things during an emergency. We gave Pastor Bruce a check to get Shirley Phillips, Pastor Bruce Swart, Joanne Winer After giving Pastor Bruce this check, started buying some of the supplies, and once we get a permanent storage shed or container, we can add more as the funds allow. This will make it eas- ier to have it all in one place, and keys will be given to those in charge so they can have access to it when needed. Jini, Joey, Shirley and myself decided to go out to lunch to celebrate--we just could not stop smiling and feeling good about what we had decided, and we just knew that we were doing what we had wanted to do all along when we started this store--help our community, and having the community help us to do it makes it even more special. We are so thankful to all our vol- unteers who work so hard, and to all Scholar's Academy Valedictorian Class of 2012 Berenice Delfin Congratulations to all the graduates! Pastor Bruce to go into an emergency account. These funds will be used by him to buy air mattresses, blankets, towels, pillows, and food to help in such an emergency. They will be stored at the church, but will be available for the whole town when needed. After we fi nd a shed to keep these supplies in, we will keep adding more supplies as our funds allow until we have enough for everyone who may need them. We will be working with Isaiah 58 as well, since they are also going to be a cooling station for emergencies. Eventually, we hope that other places will also be available if needed. This may seem our people who donate items for us to sell, and to those who support our store by coming and shopping there- -you are all part of this Community Thrift Store, and we really appreciate you all very much. We could not do it without you, and we hope you will continue to support what we are trying to do to help the people of Quartzsite. Donations are always welcome, and if you can't bring them by during open hours, we can arrange to pick them up- just call Jini Dill at 928-927-6039 or on her cell phone at 928-916-7338. June 13, 2012 Not my kid by: notMYkid PERSPECTIVES FROM PAGE 17 I care for my adopted Town of 4 years, and that is why I am in- volved. From my point-of-view, after oppositionists' vile spewing of verbal, videoed and written attacks, threats, and outrageous statements (all was and is still planned), the Town had to lock down in "protec- tive mode" for the sake of keeping us all calm and safe. Dire tactics sometimes have to be used and de- cisions have to be made that may appear little askew rather than al- lowing criminal acts of others. photo by Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear As calm as Quirky Quartzsite seems to us on a daily basis, there is a dan- gerous element permeating through the oppositionists who are obvious- ly frightened (as I heard on Abbey's radio-blog) to have the voter fraud investigation. If there is a formal, legal independent audit of these re- cords, everyone should be thrilled for the answers. Otherwise, you are truly hiding something. ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! Among U.S. adolescents, misuse of prescription painkillers peaks at age 16, earlier than thought, a new large survey analysis reveals. "What our fi ndings suggest is that if we wait until the last year of high school or college to take some kind of action that could prevent the misuse of opioid painkillers, it'll be a case of too little, too late," cautioned study co-author James Anthony, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the department of epidemiology and bio- statistics at Michigan State University in East Lansing. Some kids had already misused these drugs by age 13 or 14, or eighth grade, the researchers found. The authors warned that their fi nd- ings highlight a weakness in public health strategies that take sole aim at college-age drug abusers, given that the roots of the problem seem fi rmly planted among younger students. Dr. Marc Galanter, director of the division of alcoholism and substance abuse within the psychiatry depart- ment at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, agreed that the current analysis "cor- rectly points to the need for preven- tion and early intervention." Prescription pain relievers are becoming our nation's gravest drug- abuse problem," Galanter said. "And a pattern that often emerges is that younger adolescents may use these pills intermittently or occasionally, and then later fall into heavier use and addiction. So the earlier this issue can be addressed in that sequence, the greater will be the opportunity for a constructive outcome." What can parents do? Summer is approaching and your children will be home more often. Don't be the provider of drugs to your kids or their friends. Make sure to clean out any old prescriptions from your medicine cabinet and keep all narcotics locked up. Keeping the temptation to try drugs out of sight may help keep it out of their minds. www.notMYkid.org also believes in preventative home drug testing. If you suspect your child is involved in any type of substance abuse, please don't hesitate to start that conversation! Don't know where to start? Please contact notMYkid for support, infor- mation and resources.

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