DEPUTY WRITES BOOK TO CURB DRUG USE

MANITOWOC -- When Joe Keil, a K-9 unit deputy with the Manitowoc
County Sheriff's Department, was training law enforcement officers to
be Drug Recognition Experts, they ordered Chinese food.

When the delivery driver walked into the room, one thing was evident
to the officers within 10 seconds -- the driver was high on
marijuana, Keil said.

"He shows up at a class where there is 30 cops that are going to DRE
school, and he has been smoking weed 10 minutes before and driving a
car," Keil said.

The DRE program trains law enforcement officers to recognize signs
during traffic stops that someone may be under the influence of
drugs. The first Wisconsin DRE program began in Manitowoc County,
Keil said. Since he was DRE certified in 1996, he has taught
thousands of officers across the United States to recognize drug use, he said.

Keil's experience with the DRE program and 21 years with the
Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department, led him to write a book, "When
Just Say No Doesn't Work."

The book, which was released June 21, is a guide to street drugs and
recreationally used pharmaceuticals, language and slang, methods,
signs and symptoms of use, and drug- and paraphernalia-related photos.

For example, "Orange Crush" T-shirts are popular, but the slang
represents crushing pills to many of today's youth, according to Keil's book.

"For some parents, they will sit there and say 'not my kid, not my
kid,' and then it is their kid and it is just too late," he said. "I
am just hoping that it reaches as many households as it can where
parents will go, 'wow I didn't know this' or 'now I have found this
- -- what do I do?'"

Keil wrote the book after he had looked at other books written by
physicians and psychologists. He said the books were hard for people
to understand and covered a lot of chemical issues.

"There was nothing out there that showed what to basically look for
or the paraphernalia and the stuff that goes along with drug use," he said.

Keil has been a K-9 handler for the last 10 years, he said. During
that time, he has made thousands of arrests and seized more than
$750,000 in vehicles, drugs and cash, he said.

"We have got the same problems here that we do in the bigger cities,
just on a little bit smaller scale," he said. "The exact same drugs I
found everywhere else, I found here, too."

It is important for society to be educated about drug use, because
drug use has transitioned from illegal drugs to common household
items, substances and over-the-counter products, he said. The newer
forms of drugs are easily obtained and potentially fatal, he said.

Keil began writing the book about five years ago but quit after
feeling discouraged. He continued writing after he had what his wife
Deb Keil called an "epiphany."

"I was flying out the Phoenix to teach a class, and basically this
voice, whether it was God, said to me, 'Joe, finish the book --
finish the book,'" Keil said. "I pulled it down from my overhead
compartment and just started writing."

The writing process was finished about one year ago, and Deb began
the publishing process. She sent manuscripts to different publishing
companies but received only rejection letters.

One day, Keil ran into a retired officer friend who had written a
book. The friend connected the Keils with his printer.

"The printer said he knew a publisher who would actually like to take
on this project, so it just kept snowballing from there," Keil said.

"When Just Say No Doesn't Work" can be purchased online at www
.whenjustsaynodoesnt work.com or at LaDeDa Books and Beans on New
York Avenue in Manitowoc.

Keil will be signing copies of the book at Copps from 1 to 3 p.m. on
Saturday. The book will be available for purchase for $20.

"Even with just word of mouth, they are going pretty fast already,"
Deb said. "We have had a lot of people calling and asking for the book."