Valley in denial about drugs and kids
Evidence is mounting that the valley is in denial about
drug and alcohol use by local youth.
Police, counselors, and parents say valley youth have an alcohol and
drug problem. In a 1997 blind survey, youths themselves said large percentages are
illegally consuming drugs and alcohol at younger and younger ages.
Yet, too little is being done to turn the trend around.
That’s why a crowd of 150 parents and kids showed up on the steps
of the Courthouse two weeks ago to push the Blaine County Commissioners to fund two
prevention programs, DARE and PAL. That’s why 600 people signed petitions in favor of
funding the programs.
While the commissioners funded six months of the DARE
program—$73,000—they left the Sheriff’s Department and parents to come up
with the rest.
Prevention programs are only one piece of the substance abuse puzzle.
If prevention doesn’t work, intervention and rehabilitation are the only recourse.
In Blaine County, there’s little recourse at all for youth
troubled by drugs and alcohol. The only real option—in-patient treatment—is
often too expensive for average families.
The single existing program, Project Respect, is on the verge of
disappearing for lack of funding.
This doesn’t speak well of Blaine County.
Blaine County has a total assessed market property market value of $3.9
billion. Its property appreciation rates are legendary. Altogether, the area generates
more than $26.5 million in property taxes.
It is full of million-dollar homes. It hosts fund-raisers that generate
millions of dollars each year for non-profit organizations and political candidates.
The fact that local families with substance abuse problems may find
themselves with no place to turn for help is inexcusable.
The Wood River Valley’s economic engine is fueled by visitors
seeking relaxation and a good time. One way or another, everyone in the valley is in the
glamorous and seductive party business.
Local party-makers create the good times. Most learn early that they
cannot keep up with visitors—they come and go too fast.
Constant exposure to alcohol—and the illegal drugs that are like
steel filings to the resort town magnet—is more than an occupational hazard. It is a
family hazard.
When kids fail to make the distinction between party making and
partying, it can be lethal.
It’s one thing to do business in an area that depends on party
making. It’s another to ignore the fact that the same economy that feeds valley
families can also steal the lives of their young.
The valley should not willingly put the lives and the futures of its
young at risk. Valley leaders should move quickly to ensure that all families with kids in
trouble have somewhere in the valley to turn for help.
