News stories tagged with "substance-abuse"

(12/23/11) Paul O'Toole, a Burlington homeless man, died of hypothermia Saturday night. He was found sleeping on a heating grate. The temperature was 17 degrees, with windchill around 6. O'Toole's death has sparked debate about what options the homeless have as the weather gets colder. Some say he could have benefited from a low, barrier, or wet shelter. That means the kind of shelter where you're allowed in even if you're intoxicated. But mostly, people were sad that O'Toole couldn't get the help he needed. Sarah Harris stopped in Georgia Center and Milton, Vermont, to hear what people had to say.

(06/01/10) A majority of New York's counties have asked for a delay in implementation of a new state law toughening penalties for people who drive drunk with children in the vehicle.

The new law mandates monitoring devices in the cars of some people convicted under "Leandra's Law." County probation heads say the devices are a good idea, but they're expensive, and the state hasn't provided any help in paying for them. They call the extra costs an "unfunded mandate" -- and an unfair burden in tough economic times.

Gov. David Paterson says he won't grant a delay, and he wants implementation plans by June 15. Martha Foley has more.

(08/26/08) Neighboring North Country colleges have joined a growing movement calling for reconsideration of the 21-year-old drinking age. Clarkson University, in Potsdam, and St. Lawrence University, in Canton, join more than 100 colleges in what's called the Amethyst Initiative. They want to bring alcohol issues out in the open. St. Lawrence Pres. Dan Sullivan says St. Lawrence tackles drinking head-on. Every incoming student has to take an alcohol education class. But Sullivan told Martha Foley he's afraid that's not working.

(03/18/08) Late Friday night, a 23 year-old Fort Drum soldier injured seven pedestrians when he plowed into a crowd leaving a music club in Watertown. Kristopher Hendricks hit a parked car, then drove the wrong way down a one-way street. He was charged with drunk driving. Watertown police say all the people Hendricks hit are fellow soldiers. All but one has been released from the hospital. The incident came a week after Fort Drum's weekly newspaper began publishing the names and photos of soldiers arrested for DWI. The policy has touched off a debate over the best way to handle the misdeeds of combat veterans who have recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan. David Sommerstein reports.

(03/06/08) Fort Drum's commander says an increase in drunk driving, drug use, and other crimes among soldiers is unacceptable. And he's using public pressure to deal with it. The base newspaper will publish the names and photos of soldiers charged with DWI. 3500 Fort Drum soldiers returned from Iraq last November. It was the second or third tour of duty for many of them. As David Sommerstein reports, substance abuse is often associated with combat trauma.

(06/07/01) True accounts of living with alcohol collected and read by Students Against Destructive Decisions, or SADD, from Massena High School. Martha Foley reports.

The Massena Central School students reading in this story are shown above: (l. to r.) Robbie Witkop, Brandon Johnson, Nick Toth, Meagan Carey, and Kristin Murphy. They stand in front of the "Wall of Support," a collaborative project among art teacher Chad Simpson's sculpture students and SADD participants.

(01/09/01) Mental health and substance abuse services in the North Country will get a big boost from New York State. The Department of Health is awarding a grant worth nearly $200,000 to a regional network of providers. David Sommerstein has more.