CHUVALO'S DRUG TALK HARD-HITTING

Bible Hill - Heavyweight boxer George Chuvalo went toe-to-toe with
some of the top boxers of the last century, but even the pounding he
took in the ring could not prepare him for the fight he'd face after
retirement.

Chuvalo was the Canadian champion for 18 years, but when he retired in
1979, his life quickly spiralled into a "hell on earth" that
culminated with the loss of three of his sons and his wife to drug
abuse.

It took him several years to find his feet again, but since 1996 he
has been crisscrossing the country speaking at schools, in prisons and
to community groups about the deadly impact of drug abuse.

On Saturday he spoke to two dozen people in Bible Hill in a session
sponsored by the Mother Spirit Lodge Society, a Colchester County
group committed to building a facility for people affected by drugs.

"If you ever think about taking drugs, remember what drugs did to my
family," he told the teens in the audience. "It's painful for me to
tell this story over and over again, but it's worth it if it makes you
think twice."

Using graphic language and no-holds-barred descriptions, Chuvalo told
the audience how his youngest son Jesse, 20, shot himself after he got
hopelessly hooked on cocaine while he was trying to recover from a
motorcycle accident.

He recounted the heartache of then watching his older sons, George Lee
and Steven, go to jail as they repeatedly turned to crime to feed
their drug habit.

In one robbery, he said they used a butcher knife and a hatchet to get
drugs from a pharmacy. Even as police chased them, they stuffed
handfuls of pills into their mouths, using only their saliva to
swallow them.

George Lee died of a heroin overdose in 1993. It proved too much for
Chuvalo's wife, Lynne. She died of an overdose four days later, using
pills she had earlier taken from her sons.

Chuvalo believed his son Steven had beat the drug habit during a stint
in prison, but he was wrong. Steven died of a heroin overdose in
August 1996, just 11 days after his release from jail.

"My sons were so desperate for heroin, they'd crap their pants at the
sight of it," he said. "They wouldn't clean themselves up until after
they'd shot up."

Chuvalo said it's important that young people understand the reality
of drugs, because too often the media portrays drug users as exciting
characters.

Turning to the parents in the audience, Chuvalo said children need
good role models and encouraged the adults not to smoke, drink or take
drugs.

He went further, saying parents owe it to their children to provide a
loving environment that will give teens stability when they're forced
to make tough choices in their lives.

Sharday Paul, an 11-year-old from Millbrook who sat transfixed during
the 90-minute presentation, said the boxer's message came through loud
and clear.

"Nobody needs drugs," she said. "They can only lead to problems."