Alcohol is drug of choice among our young people
Consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors and parties where minors consume alcoholic beverages present a myriad of problems for the minor, the community and law enforcement.
Alcohol is the drug of choice for youth and the leading cause of death among teenagers. It”s involved in the deaths of more teens than all other illicit drugs combined ? by a four-to-one ratio.
Underage drinking is a factor in nearly half of all teen automobile crashes and 50 to 60 percent of youth suicides. Alcohol abuse is linked to as many as two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens and college students and it contributes substantially to homicides, suicides and fatal injuries.
While many believe that underage drinking is an inevitable “rite of passage” that adolescents can easily recover from because their bodies are more resilient, exactly the opposite is true. The brain changes dramatically during adolescence and this growth can be seriously inhibited by alcohol consumption. The damage alcohol can cause to the adolescent brain is often long-term and irreversible. Even short-term or moderate drinking impairs learning and memory far more among youth than adults. Adolescents need to drink only half as much as adults to suffer the same negative effects.
Youth who begin drinking alcohol before age 15 are four times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who wait to begin drinking until age 21. In 2006, of the 797 clients enrolled in outpatient treatment services at Alcohol and Other Drug Services, 24 percent of the clients were under the age of 18. Of these, 38 percent reported beginning to drink before the age of 12, which is twice the rate for the state.
Because of the negative consequences of underage drinking ? coupled with the fact that, on average, young people begin drinking at 13.1 years of age ? it is critical to address youth access to alcohol proactively through all sources, including social sources. In addition, home parties have repeatedly been identified as the primary source by which youth obtain alcohol. Studies indicate that most underage drinking “occurs primarily outside commercial establishments and most often in residences and open areas like beaches and parks. National research shows that 57 percent of minors reported drinking at friends” homes and that one third of sixth and ninth graders obtain alcohol from their own homes.
If you are a parent interested in preventing the use of alcohol or drugs in your home or if you are a youth who is interested in making changes in your community please call Carrie White, prevention specialist for the Lake County Alcohol and Other Drug Services, at 263-8162, ext. 228.
CHP Officer Adam Garcia
Team DUI
Can”t avoid potholes
Have you visited the Clearlake post office lately? I am sick and tired of having to avoid the numerous large, deep potholes on the exit lanes of the post office parking lot to Olympic Drive. Since this is a highly traveled spot, on federal property, it seems to me that funds should be available and the post master could have acted a long time ago to correct this problem before more damage occurs to car tires, suspensions, wheel alignments, etc.
W.P. Businger
Clearlake
City must stop allowing dirt road construction
The City of Clearlake allows dirt roads to be constructed in front of new homes. I lived here in Clearlake for 19 years and for those 19 years there was and is lots of talk about how to solve the problem of unpaved roads that past ordinances have allowed and is our heritage.
But there is no talk about the unpaved roads that developers are being allowed to add currently. If you want to see them just take Lakeshore Drive across Highway 53 and at the first downhill portion of 40th Avenue, look left and there they are — the extension of Fur, Cedar and Oak to 40th Avenue where the city is allowing dirt roads to be added, which will front at least 20 lots with new homes being built on some of them. Ask about them and you are told these are parts of old subdivisions that are grandfathered in.
This means the citizens of the City Clearlake will be stuck for 40-50-60 years with these new dirt roads and eventually our tax money (city, county, state, or federal ) will pay for roads that the developer did not construct and should have been included in the price of the houses being built on these dirt roads.
I am not an attorney but it seems reasonable that the law or whatever allows this practice of grandfathering to continue could be changed at less cost, to the tax payers in this city then being saddled with the cost of constructing paved streets later, which will be expensive because the unpaved streets have never been engineered and do not have road base or drainage that is required for a new development (not grandfathered).
I tried to get a complete picture of how many more feet, yards or miles of unpaved streets could be added to the city. There is a number (the City of Clearlake Planning Department knows or should know but, they are not telling) of grandfathered subdivisions within the city, that at the time the subdivision maps were approved paved streets were not required, but after waiting over three months for a reply to my simple question to be answered, this was the wait following waiting a month to be told that my written request had been forwarded, I decided to go with what I”ve been told. You may ask why didn”t I go to a council meeting and complain about it there, I”ve tried that more then once and I have never received a follow-up phone call after speaking at a council meeting under citizen”s input.
I would like the City Council request the information I asked for and see what response they receive; two of the present council members were planning commissioners so they surely know what to ask for! After they receive an answer if they ever do they should revise the ordinances that allow dirt streets.
To see what is required under the new ordinances go east off Old Highway 53 onto Burns Valley Road and after the turn in the road you will see an example of it, something you can be proud of.
Dick Conway
Clearlake
SSI and VA recipients are eligible for a tax rebate
Most Americans have heard that Congress recently passed an economic stimulus package that puts hundreds of dollars into the hands of more than 130 million American families. This year, about 15 million California households will receive an average of $844 in tax rebates.
However, most Social Security recipients don”t realize that they are eligible for a rebate of $300 through this economic stimulus package, even if they have no other income. This rebate also applies to people who receive VA disability compensation, pension or survivors” benefits. But they can only receive it if they file a tax return.
If you receive Social Security benefits or VA disability compensation, pension or survivors” benefits, I encourage you to file a tax return so you can receive your rebate. This economic stimulus package was designed to help Americans who are struggling with the rising costs of housing, energy and healthcare, and that includes many seniors and people with disabilities.
All you have to do is file a 2007 IRS Form 1040 or Form 1040A and report at least $3,000 in qualifying income on the form, which includes your SSA or VA benefits. For assistance, please call my Congressional office at (707) 226-9898. Or, find complete instructions for filling out this form at my Web site, http://mikethompson.house.gov.
These rebates and other efforts to revitalize the economy are just a start. There is clearly much more to be done. Congress continues working to find new, long-term solutions to our country”s economic problems.
U.S. Congressman
Mike Thompson
Make Mexico a state
How long do we have to put up with the system saying yes-no to making Mexico a state? It”s so simple, the answer to the illegal immigration problems. Also no Green Cards, no guest worker programs, no drugs. The $989 billion made by manufacturers stays in the United States and they pay back money to Americans who lost their jobs.
Stop people escaping to Mexico after killing a small child, a cop, his girlfriend and family; they are death-penalty cases and they fled to Mexico! And Mexico refuses to send anyone back to the U.S. unless the U.S. gives assurance of no death penalty.
How can Mexico dictate to the U.S. law and complain about our immigration laws? Now that”s change. Start an American Foreign Legion Army for CDCR inmates. Better than rot in jail. Work their way out. This is the short of it. What a future for us all. God bless America.
Russell Hann
Clearlake
