PINPOINTING NEEDLES

Joe Ferguson sniffs out discarded hypodermic needles like a bird dog
tracking game.

Aggressive and single-minded in his search, the burly, 38-year-old
former Marine reconnaissance swimmer is hell-bent on cleaning up
parks and neighborhoods throughout the Eugene-Springfield area where
drug users toss needles after shooting up.

"This has become my passion," said Ferguson, who began volunteering
last year with the Eugene-based HIV Alliance. He goes about his work
with his three children and pets in mind, figuring he's doing his
part to make the community safer for those unaware of the danger
posed by contaminated needles littering parks and alleys.

"I just see it as one of those things where you're either part of the
solution or part of the problem," he said.

"I decided to be part of the solution."

At least twice a week, Ferguson dons a bright yellow vest and makes
his rounds as a leader of the Sana Neighborhood Needle Awareness
Program. Sometimes he goes alone, although the tours usually include
one or two other HIV Alliance volunteers. advertisement

The small group finds an astonishing number of used needles.

Focusing primarily on Eugene's Whitaker neighborhood, Glenwood and
west Springfield, the Ferguson-led cleanup crews have picked up and
safely disposed of about 600 dirty needles - or "rigs" - since January.

"They are everywhere," Ferguson said. "Not just under the bridges and
in the alleys. They're in our parks, all over the place. When I
started, I had no idea it would be like this."

The needle problem is a fallout of the epidemic of injected drug use.
The HIV Alliance estimates there are 10,000 intravenous drug users in
Lane County. Most of them shoot heroin and methamphetamine.

On a related note, federal agents last week broke up a sophisticated
drug ring in Eugene and Springfield that they said was distributing
55 pounds of heroin and 15 pounds of meth a month in the southern
Willamette Valley.

The primary threat associated with discarded needles is the
possibility that a person or animal could get stuck and contract
Hepatitis C, a potentially fatal blood-borne disease. The risk of
contracting HIV after coming into contact with a dirty needle is
lower because the virus cannot survive for long outside the human body.

"Needle sticks don't always result in a (disease) transmission," Lane
County Public Health nurse Betsy Meredith said. "But there is a risk,
and the risk is high."

Homeless Camps

Before Ferguson - a University of Oregon student who originally
decided to get involved with the HIV Alliance for his senior project
- - brought fresh energy into the nonprofit agency's cleanup program,
volunteers picked up hypodermic needles only when called upon by
local residents who discovered them near their homes or elsewhere.
The organization lacked the manpower to do much more.

"It's really taken shape since Joe started," said Forest Headley, who
accompanies Ferguson on cleanup patrol, in addition to running the
HIV Alliance's needle exchange program for intravenous drug users.

"Joe's got good energy and he's a lot different than most of the
volunteers we have," said Headley, noting that most people who
volunteer at the agency are young women.

"He's definitely unique to this field. Most people here aren't
comfortable going into homeless camps and other high-risk areas.
Joe's comfortable going anywhere."

Perhaps the biggest risk Ferguson and Headley face when they do
needle patrol is the possibility they could get stuck. They do the
job barehanded, carefully using a "garbage grabber" tool to pick up
dirty rigs and drop them into biohazard containers, which they take
to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene for incineration.

HIV Alliance officials are seeking donations to buy a few sets of
needle-proof gloves and other supplies, with hopes of expanding the
unfunded program.

"It's time for the community to step up," agency spokeswoman Etopi
Fanta said. "Because we're doing this to make it safer for them."

High-Risk Neighborhoods

Many of the needles discovered by Ferguson, Headley and other HIV
Alliance volunteers are in areas where curious children and animals can roam.

Whitaker resident Melanie Harris is well aware of the potential
danger posed by the needles.

"My friend's kid came walking up to her out here with one just a few
weeks ago," Harris told HIV Alliance volunteers who picked up several
so-called "sharps" last Wednesday in an alley next to her house.

The 8-year-old boy's mother "totally tripped," Harris said. "She was
like, 'Arghh! Put that down!' That's what makes it so scary, the fact
that there are lots of kids around."

The 90-minute trek through Whitaker last week yielded 57 needles,
including more than a dozen in Washington-Jefferson Park. That's more
than Ferguson's group found during previous searches in the area. But
it's nothing compared with the 92 dirty rigs volunteers discovered
earlier this month in Springfield's Island Park.

In Springfield, Willamalane Park & Recreation District crews
regularly pick up used needles while cleaning up public spaces
throughout the city.

Damon Crume, the district's horticultural program manager, said
popular Island Park along the Willamette River "is the worst" when it
comes to drug users tossing dirty needles.

"It's discouraging to know there's that much of it going on," said
Crume, whose crews have days where they find more than 100 needles in the park.

Crume welcomes the help of HIV Alliance volunteers. City parks
officials in Eugene feel similarly.

"If we've got other people out there who can pick these things up
safely, then we're all for it," said Richard Zucker, the city's parks
amenities supervisor.

Zucker, whose crews work seven days a week to clear trash from parks
and riverfront areas, said needle pickup is a regular part of the
job. About 1,400 used rigs were retrieved by city workers from July
2005 to June 2006 in spots along the river frequented by transients
and drug users, he said.

"It's a major public health and public safety problem, and that's why
we're out there," Zucker said. "Not just to make the parks look good,
but to make them safe."

Accidents sometimes happen with the city pickup crews.

City parks maintenance manager Kevin Finney recalled an instance
about two years ago when a seasonal worker lifted a trash bag from a
can and was stuck by a protruding needle. The woman tested negative
for any blood-borne disease.

"There are a lot of needles out there, and that sort of thing happens
occasionally," Finney said. "When it does, we take it seriously."

Needle Drop Boxes

Cleanup patrols aren't the only way local agencies are working to rid
neighborhoods of used needles.

Throughout the week, HIV Alliance and the county Public Health
department offer needle exchanges, and a pair of 24-hour needle drop
boxes have been set up in Eugene in recent months.

Trent Seager, who heads Public Health's HIV and Hepatitis C
prevention program, said the county has several more of the metal
boxes ready to be installed elsewhere.

Seager said about 250 used needles are deposited into the health
department's drop box each month, with several hundred more dropped
into the container outside the HIV Alliance office on Garden Avenue
near the University of Oregon.

Meanwhile, Ferguson and his cleanup crew circulate fliers around the
community to increase awareness of the service they offer. Anyone who
finds dirty needles in their neighborhood can call the agency and get
them removed.

The work is appreciated by Whitaker resident Marie Silva, who poked
her head through her fence last week when Ferguson and Headley
patrolled an alley behind her house. They found about a dozen needles there.

"It is so awesome that you guys are doing this," Silva told the
volunteers. "Thank you. Thank you for helping clean up this neighborhood."

How To Help

The HIV Alliance's Neighborhood Needle Awareness Program seeks help
to expand its services in Lane County. Call 510-1058.

Donate: The Eugene nonprofit group needs to buy needle-proof gloves,
biohazard containers and other supplies. Another need is a reliable
van or car to transport volunteers around the Eugene-Springfield area
for cleanup work.

Volunteer: The group patrols parks and neighborhoods, picking up
discarded hypodermic needles. Volunteers may work only a few hours each week.

Connect: Community organizations, businesses and residents should
call the HIV Alliance if they find discarded needles.