IF YOUR KIDS ARE SELLING DRUGS, TURN THEM IN

Dear Editor:

I am saddened by the letters in Wednesday's Advocate from Ryan Shangraw's
stepmother and sister. Any time young lives are lost, it is tragic. I do
not know many details about the case. I cannot help but believe, however,
that drugs played some part in the killings. Even in the unlikely event
they did not, what other motive do the police have to go on? If I were a
police officer, that would certainly be the place I would choose to begin
my investigation. I think to say that they are not looking for the murderer
is unfair and premature.

The sister's letter is even more unsettling. She loved her brother, looked
up to him, and misses him. That's how it is supposed to be. However, if she
knew he was a drug dealer (making $1,000 a day sounds like more than being
"just a little caught up in selling drugs"), then surely the rest of his
family had to know it as well. I don't know Jennifer's age, but surely
someone realized how many other people's lives her brother's activities
were affecting, not to mention the risks he was taking for himself.

I have been a teacher for most of my adult life, and I would not even want
to guess the numbers of kids I've known personally who have gone through
difficulties, even tragedies, due to the influence of drugs by family
members or "friends" of the family. Fights, rapes, killings, divorces,
child and spouse abuse -- all these things and more -- kids have had to go
through because drugs were in use. If someone in a kid's family was using,
they had to buy the stuff from somebody. I hope it wasn't Ryan, but how can
anyone know?

The drug community is a violent one. Lives are lost every day. This time,
it hit home. Many suppliers would not hesitate two minutes to make an
example out of one dealer over some small issue. There are also some
parents out there who would feel more than justified in shooting a person
who had helped get their child hooked on drugs. I don't know that either of
these things happened in this case. Whatever really happened is left for
the police to try to find out.

My main point is this: If I had a parent or a child or a brother or a
friend and I knew that person was involved in dealing drugs, the first
thing I would do is turn them in to the authorities. No matter how much you
love them, or how much trouble they are going to be in, what they are doing
is wrong and it is bad. By reporting them, you might just prevent another
tragedy like the one on Feb. 1. You also might prevent some 5-year-old
child's life from being ruined or some horrid highway accident from taking
the lives of a van load of Girl Scouts. The list of good things that could
happen is endless.

I am truly sorry for the families of both the young men who were lost, and
my intention is not to make the pain they are already feeling any worse. If
I have done that, please forgive me. I hope they will find peace.

David Banks, Liberty