BEFORE METH KILLS AGAIN, GET HELP

If police and his own mother are right, Nathan Puddy put his girlfriend and
their two kids into a car and smacked into the rear of a semi at 50 miles
per hour, having fallen asleep at the wheel because he'd stayed up all
night using methamphetamine. If he'd lived, there would have been a long
line of people ready to string him up.

Puddy, 25, who lived in Creve Coeur, died underneath the trailer of that
truck on a pretty September afternoon near Washington. So did his
23-year-old girlfriend, Brandy Brownlee. Somehow, their daughters survived
to become orphans. Thanks a lot, Dad.

This may be a brutal assessment of the facts, for Puddy surely did not
intend his family harm. But he exposed them to it when he turned to meth.
Drug abusers typically deprive their children of physical and emotional
sustenance, of the promise of good judgment, of attention, and certainly of
a good example. Any parent who makes meth his priority says to his children
they don't count for much.

It would be nice to think that this brutal accident would be a wake-up call
to every abuser out there with kids who didn't ask to be born and deserve
better. But if that's too much to expect, then how about a dozen? Six? Two?
One? Help is available, it's available here, and it's available even to
those without the money to pay for it.

White Oaks in Peoria treats meth addicts and other abusers as well. "It is
difficult, but we have been successful," says Tom Murphy, the chief
operating officer. It has plenty of room for women; men may have to wait a
bit for admission, but Murphy promises, "We will respond" to anyone who calls.

The number is 692-6900. Pick up your phone.