An event you should attend
The Marion County Sheriff's office and the Florence Police Department are hosting a meeting Friday night at the Florentine Center in Florence. Anyone reading this column ought to go. The topic of discussion will be drugs in Marion County, most especially meth and meth labs and how they affect our lives.
A couple of months ago, Sheriff Lee Becker and Jeff Soyez, a deputy with the sheriff's department, spoke to the Florence City Council after a raid in that community turned up a meth lab. Both Becker and Soyez were well-versed on the drug and its manufacture. Their presentation was easy to understand and I learned more in that 15 or 20 minutes than I had from everything I had ever read on the subject. They will make a similar presentation Friday night and you should be there to hear it.
I know, I know, it is scheduled for Friday night — game night. Tough call.
But consider this — meth labs have been uncovered in almost every town in Marion County in the last year or two. The problem is everywhere. It doesn't just exist on the other side of the tracks or in another town or 10 miles out in the county at some old farmhouse on a dirt road. No neighborhood or community is exempt — not even yours. A meth lab is a deadly environment, not just because of the end product, but because of the manufacturing process as well. An informed public is better able to protect itself from the risks of neighborhood meth labs.
This is a problem that is not going to go away. Profits are quick and huge. Rural areas like ours are going to face this situation for a long time. We all need to recognize the telltale signs. We need to know what to do and what NOT to do. We need to be more knowledgeable than we are.
This fight is not just about keeping drugs from our children. It also is about keeping dangerous and deadly activity out of our communities. You don't have to be a parent to attend the meeting. You don't have to be a teacher, coach, minister, or counselor (although all of the aforementioned SHOULD attend). You only have to be interested in keeping your community and rural areas safe. If you care about your property values, the quality of life in your town and county, or if you just feel the need to have a better understanding of something you don't comprehend, you should go and listen.
If you feel you must attend the game on Friday, that is understandable. You should encourage and support the children of your community who are involved in healthy activities. I bet this will not be the one and only presentation ever given. If we are smart, we will ask to hear it again. Becker and Soyez offer solid and factual information. Everyone should hear it. If you need a program for your club or organization, I would highly recommend that you invite them.
For the sake of our young people and our very way of life in Marion County each of us should find a way to hear their message.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
