ANTI-DRUG PUSH TAKES MESSAGE TO LINCOLN

Mary Ann Gunn has witnessed how methamphetamine ruins lives and
destroys families.

She's taking her message to stay off meth and other drugs to parents
and students in the Lincoln community today.

"I want to see it stopped. I think prevention is the key," she
said.

Gunn is the 4 th Judicial District judge in Division IV who runs the
Washington County Drug Treatment Court program. She is the keynote
speaker for a Project Right Choice town hall meeting that begins at 7
p.m. in the Frank Holman Auditorium at Lincoln Public Schools.

The drug court allows qualified, nonviolent offenders facing felony
drug or drug-related charges an opportunity to seek extensive,
aggressive treatment, submit to drug testing and stay off drugs. For
many, it's an alternative to prison.

About 75 percent of the drug court participants are addicted to
methamphetamine; most of the others are alcoholics, Gunn said. Meth is
dangerous and highly addictive, she said. Some addicts have said they
got hooked after using meth three times or less, she said.

"Meth will rot your teeth, but it also attacks heart valves," she
said.

The people in drug court often have reached bottom and are trying to
get their lives back in order. They must go several times to drug
court, which is held in local schools before students in grades five
through 12. Adults in drug court often tell Gunn that they would have
never gotten hooked if they had witnessed drug court when they were in
school. Gunn recalled a young child from Winslow telling her one day
after court that his best friend wanted him to use meth. "Now you
understand about peer pressure," she said. "But he's my best friend,"
he said. She explained that his best friend was not asking him to use
meth; a drug addict was. Tell him to quit for six months, and then ask
him if he still wants you to use meth, she said.

The boy was so happy because he knew how to say no, she
said.

Project Right Choice Project Right Choice is a coalition of
individuals with the purpose of providing information to reduce the
use of meth and other illegal drugs. Gunn applauds the efforts of the
organization. The group has sponsored three other town hall meetings
in Fayetteville, Huntsville and Springdale. "When we did our first
town hall meeting, I was amazed at how many people did not know about
that drug and how addictive it is," said Judy Cohea, the secretary for
Project Right Choice and the support service manager at the
Fayetteville Police Department. The group decided to focus on meth
because it is so addictive and so harmful. "There is no race, no age,
no economic background that makes you different. It's going to get
you, and it's going to make you the addict that it wants you to be,"
Cohea said. "It touches everybody you know. It's a community epidemic.
"Lots of fun, free food The Safe and Drug Free Schools Committee at
Lincoln Public Schools is sponsoring several student events and a free
barbecue dinner to entice parents. Students and members of the
community are welcome to attend the town hall meeting.

Lincoln Superintendent Frank Holman said past experience has shown
that offering free food and fun events significantly increases turnout
for important events like town hall meetings.

He said addressing community problems like drug addiction requires a
proactive approach that brings a wide range of people together to talk
about it.

"It's a community issue we can't solve with school policies. It takes
all of us working together," he said. "We want to do all we can to
help parents understand (about the dangers of drug use )."

Panel of experts The town hall meeting will include a panel of
experts: . Sharla Jamerson, a forensic nurse, who will discuss the
effect that cooking meth in a home has on family members . Matt
Durrett, the 4 th Judicial District chief deputy prosecutor, who can
explain what happens to people who get prosecuted for drugs .
Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder, who can explain how many people
are arrested on drug and drug-related crimes and the burden it places
on law enforcement . Doug Frans of Decision Point, whose specialty is
providing residential treatment for addicts who are trying to get off
drugs.