DON'T LET DRUGS CLAIM ANOTHER VICTIM?

On Thursday, July 13th, 2006 at 10:00 am hundreds of local residents
gathered to remember the lives of three Pleasure Island youth who we
lost last year due to drugs.

The memorial service was held at the public beach
access located at Hamlet Avenue in Carolina Beach. It is at this location
that the Town of Carolina Beach and the Adopt-a-Beach Program placed a sign
dedicated to the three beautiful young men. The Adopt-a-Beach sign is
sponsored by Nicole, Alisha, Judy, Cindy, Jerri, and Jack. It reads "In
Loving Memory Of: Levi Jordan Catlett DOB 12-11-87 DOD 05-07-05, John
Christian Moore DOB 4-10-78 DOD 03-22-05, and Justin Lee Kelly DOB 3-21-84
DOD 7-13-05. At the bottom of the sign is the number for Coastal Horizons
Crisis Line (1-800-672-2903).

The memorial service was held on the one-year anniversary of the
futile death of Justin Lee Kelly. The service led by his mother Jerri
Kelly-Twisdale was an emotional time to grieve the loss of such a
young and special life. The memorial was also a time to raise
awareness in the local community about the real and present threat
posed by drugs in our community. "The death of a loved one due to
drugs has been so very hard to talk about. These children were greatly
loved and all our hopes and dreams died with them. Everyday without
them is the hardest thing you'll ever have to deal with.in the last
weeks we lost four more children to heroine and one to cocaine. It can
happen to anyone at anytime and your whole world will change forever.
One year ago on this day, I lost my beautiful son Justin Lee Kelly.
His dad, brother, and myself will never be the same, but we can fight
this disease of drugs and hopefully help each other," said an
emotional Jerri Kelly-Twisdale. Keith and Rachel Thompson, who lost
their beautiful daughter Blaire Thompson, also spoke to the crowd on
behalf of the DAMMADD organization.

Everyone who attended the service received a flower donated by Wendell
Thomas; there were 500 flowers.

After the speakers concluded bringing their message to the audience,
there was a paddle out held in Justin's honor.

The waters became filled with lives Justin had touched during his
short life. As each person placed a flower in the surf and others swam
and paddled out to place them amongst the waves, each and every heart
was filled with the sadness of missing Justin Kelly and the others
lost to drugs.

There were decals remembering Justin for sale for $3 each and all
proceeds were donated to DAMMADD.

The question on everyone's mind remained how can we stop this from
happening again? Keith Thompson addressed the crowd and spoke of the
methods DAMMADD is taking to prevent this vicious loss of young lives.

DAMMADD stands for dads and mad moms against drug dealer and is a
grassroots anti-drug organization committed to helping in the fight
against the drug problem in our communities, our workplaces, and our
schools.

The purpose of the organization is to put drug dealers behind bars and
provide people with a place to leave anonymous tips that may save the
lives of our youth.

So far to date the DAMMADD organization has received 2,443 tips that
have led to 76 arrests and 36 convictions with over $10,100 given out
as rewards for information leading to the convictions. "The DAMMADD
program works in two ways: 1) We pay rewards for tips about drug
activity that lead to the arrest and conviction of drug dealers.

Tips can be provided through the use of this site (http://www.dammadd.org).
All information will be kept anonymous, = so your safety is ensured.
2) We are committed to doing presentations to raise drug awareness
throughout the country, reaching as many people as possible. Ours is a
message of empowerment. We not only discuss with young people the
dangers of drugs, we also give them a tool they can use to stop drug
activity in its tracks."

"In environments where drugs are prevalent, fear is used to suppress
action. Using our system, people can feel secure that any information
they give us will be kept strictly anonymous.

With the added benefit of a cash reward, we hope to give people the
incentive to fight back against the drug activity that is destroying
families, friends, and communities. It is time the drug dealers began
to look over their shoulders, began to fear leaving their homes.

Every person they see on the street could be the one that sends them
to jail - without ever leaving their home, without ever giving their
name. No violent conflicts, no retribution. Information is the weapon
of the 21st century.

Finally, our communities have a safe way to fight back." Keith
Thompson is the North Carolina Director of the organization. Keith and
Rachel Thompson are the parents of Blaire Thompson who tragically died
of an overdose in a Wilmington hotel room. Blaire Thompson was not
your typical drug addict; she graduated magna c laude from UNCW and
taught school in Pender County. She was pursing her masters in
education when she died. Keith and Rachel Thompson tried everything to
get their beloved daughter off of heroine, but to no avail.

They are now pushing for a law to fight drug addiction at its source.
"They get the drugs from a drug dealer, and they are the people making
money.

Everybody else loses.

In the case of our daughter, she lost her life. Everybody loses except
the dealer. Now we're going to let the dealer share in the cost of
drugs," said Keith Thompson.

The Thompson's have found support in Senator Julia Boseman who
introduced a bill called the Blaire Thompson Act that would hold drug
dealers civilly liable for the harm they cause.

Victim's families could go after the dealers' cars, their homes, or
any other assets of value.

The economic costs of drug addiction are enormous and there is no way
to quantify the loss of losing a loved one. Drug dealer liability laws
are already on the books in 14 other states.

Currently there are already stiff penalties for committing drug crimes
within 300 feet if a school.

Senator Boseman would like to increase the protected area to 1,000
feet and set minimum bails after drug arrests to keep suspects in jail
longer.

She would also like to increase the penalty for drug sales that result
in deaths like Blaire Thompson's. Take a moment and remember the
families of these young men and women who are suffering everyday with
the loss of a child or sibling or parent due to drugs. The pain must
stop and the only way that can happen is if you get involved. There is
no reason these young lives should have been lost and it is time to
stand up and stop the cycle.

Visit www.dammadd.org and find out how you can help make a difference
and save a life. If you or someone you know needs immediate assistance
don't hesitate to call 911, it could mean life or death.