ImageApril 9, 2014 Newsletter

By John Hammer

Charlotte Shelburne Rotary

 

 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014, 7:15 a.m.

Trinity Episcopal Church Community Room

Welcome

President Dave opened the meeting with the Pledge and Doris Sage gave the invocation.

Guests: Bill Young and T.J. Donavan - Our speakers

Eric Denu - Assistant Governor #1 and Member of Middlebury Rotary Club

Mark Lund – Potential member

 

Upcoming:

April 4-12 – Shelburne Players present Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Kris Engstrom will be doing the landscaping for the sets.

April 10 – Board Meeting

April 11 – Volunteer Support to the Charlotte Senior Center Volunteer Recognition Dinner.

April 16 – Committee Meetings

April 23 – Jim Donovan, speaking about Route Seven

April 25-27 – 7850 District Conference, Hilton Hotel, Burlington. Members are urged to pre-register at http://bit.ly/1gUQJT1 More Below.

April 30 – Brett Sigurdson, Editor of the Charlotte News

May – Volunteer work in Hinesburg (TBD). The building is being designed.

Early June – Volunteer work in clearing at Charlotte Demeter Park and Shelburne Nature Path. Michael Clapp will be passing out lists in a week or so.

District 7850 Calendar: Hot Link http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Events/EventsCalendar.aspx?accountid=50051

Announcements

Rotary District 7850 Conference – 138 have registered so the numbers are looking good. Saturday morning include a six-piece jazz band. The garden show in the Lake Champlain Room will have 32 horticultural designs displayed including one, a Rotary-themed creation, by Marilyn Bedell. Dave Rice is still looking for Ambassadors to serve on Saturday for the 12-4 and 4-8 periods. Contact him at: drice@together.net.

Scholarship Committee – Headed by Alan Hathaway is in full swing and has begun to work on the large number of applications that were received last week. Their task over the next 3-4 weeks will be to review all of them and select the recipients. Alan is looking for replacement members for next year. He was particularly praiseworthy of Bob Sanders, who has been instrumental in making the program a success.

Drug Movie – Apropos to today’s presentation on the opiate crisis in Vermont, a movie on the drug problem in Vermont followed by a discussion will be shown at the Vermont Commons School (behind the IDX Bldg.) this evening at 6PM. Adam Bartsch has the information.

Bowlathon – Ric Flood announced that the Bowlathon will be held in mid-June. Members are urged to submit a list for solicitation letters.

Sergeant at Arms – Ric Flood took over the duties of SAA today.

Ric Flood began by enthusing as to how he was in Hartford last week on business and attended the UConn basketball game. He was happy to report that Bill Clinton and George Bush were sitting happily together. He was struck by the fact that where else in this fractious world would you see such a thing? He went on to relate a story about his trip to Aruba last week with his two daughters. They were living the high life down at Soprano’s, a dance club. They met four unaccompanied women (an 84-year-old grandmother and her three daughters from Ohio) with whom the Floods began to dance in one enthusiastic group. While the seven were up dancing, a thirty-something woman came over from the bar and started dancing with the grandmother, then began “bumping and grinding” with Ric. Then, “out of the blue” came some fellow from nowhere and “cold-cocked” him, knocking him to the floor. As he lay on the floor, the woman ran over to another man and left the club with him. Ric is not sure what was the relationship, but he knew it was time to leave.

Pat Sokolowski – Happy to be back from Texas

George Schiavonne – Was caught feeling around in his pocket and complaining that he had no money but was just looking for his lost keys.

Carole Obuchowski – Happy for Ric’s story -  she just couldn’t beat that one.

Adam Bartsch – Happy to see the temperatures up in the 50’s and 60’s.

Elaine Dates – Ditto.

Eric Deneuve – Praised Steve Dates for his “fabulous job as District Governor.”

Linda Gilbert – Back from several weeks in Florida where she did a lot of  “bumping and grinding.”

President Dave – Could say nothing, he was “just shocked” to learn of Ric’s escapades.

Steve Dates – Happy that George has found his keys.

Roz Graham – Went to see Les Miserables at the Flynn. She exhorted everyone to go see it. It was brilliant.

Terrill Titus – Glad George clarified that it was his keys that he was fumbling around for. Her daughter is running a half marathon next weekend and she will be getting all dressed up for the Make a Wish 25-Anniversary Gala.

Sam Feitleberg – Happy to report that contributions for the Shelburne Veterans’ Monument have reached 25% of the goal. It was noted that Sam is responsible for soliciting two of the biggest gifts. He is appreciative for all those who have supported the project so far.

Tom Glaser – Glad to be back after a long absence.

Alan Hathaway – Has been in Florida for a month bumping and grinding. Wanted to say a special “thank you” to Bob Sanders for making the Scholarship Committee what it is today.

John Dupee- Will be sailing in St. Maartan for the next two weeks.

Michael Clapp – Can’t grab hold of the thought of Ric bumping and grinding.

Trafton Crandall - Happy that baseball season in open.

Howard Seaver – Offered that perhaps next year he will be able to get to do some bumping and grinding.

Eric Hanley – Happy the Yankees are already ahead of the Red Sox. Will be going to a fishing movie Friday getting ready for trout season.

Chris Davis – Also happy for the start of trout season and has a birthday Friday.

Tod Whitaker – Had 3 ½ of his five beehives survive this brutal winter.

Ric Flood’s ticket was drawn and he drew the Three of Spades for a rollover of the brand new pot.

Speakers – The speakers were Bill Young, Executive Director of Maple Leaf Farm Rehabilitation Center and T.J. Donavan, State’s Attorney for Chittenden County.

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     Trafton Crandall with Bill Young                       T.J. Donovan with Tom Glaser and Howard Seaver

 

T.J. Donovan opened with the statement that the opiate addition epidemic mentioned by Governor Shumlin in his State of the State address was not an overstatement. There are more overdose deaths in Vermont than motor vehicle deaths. His main point was that over the years addiction has been handled through the criminal justice system and it has not worked. Vermont spends $140 Million on its Department of Correction. It’s the second fastest growth item in the state’s budget after health care. We spend more money on corrections than we do on higher education. Addiction is a health care issue and the outcomes from the criminal justice system have not been good. For instance the recidivism rates are 43%. It costs $52,000 to put a man in Vermont prison for a year. It’s $77,000 for a woman. The most common reason for jailing women in Vermont is non-violent property crime, namely drugs.

He emphasized that addiction is a health care issue similar to mental illness and there are insufficient assets in Vermont to handle addiction in the health care system. Seventy-eight percent of all women incarcerated in Vermont’s prisons have received treatment for mental health problems. Many of them have been victims of sexual, emotional and psychical abuse stemming from poverty. Much of addiction stems from legally - prescribed painkillers.

The criminal justice system is incredibly arbitrary. What is needed is a system that will assess each addiction case on the basis of evidence-based risk. Take out the arbitrariness of the system. He proposes assessing the risk to the community and measuring the addicts’ needs. The problem has to be addressed through understanding the elements leading to the addiction, not applying the law to them. That has failed.  

Find out what the underlying problems are.

Vermont is a good market for drug dealers and the war on drugs has attacked the supply side. It is time for a determined effort to address the demand side. The victims need to be treated with respect and compassion. They have to be helped to become sober. It’s hard work. The barriers to care need to be broken down. Give addicts an opportunity to get the help they need. There are 280 known heroin addicts who are on the waiting list to get to the methadone clinic on Dorset Street. There just aren’t the assets to get them help. Donovan mentioned that he met one woman who estimated that she had to obtain $90,000 a year to support her habit, but she wanted to get out of it. He pointed out that addicts, as a rule, want to get out of the habit. It is not pleasurable for them, it is a driving habit they can’t break.

He closed with saying that we can’t do worse than what we’ve already done.

Bill Young followed with a short definition of addiction that is available from the American Society of Addiction Medicine:

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in an individual pathologically pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.

Addiction is characterized by inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. Like other chronic diseases, addiction often involves cycles of relapse and remission. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death. (The long definition is about three pages long).

It is important to understand this definition in order to understand exactly what is happening to an addicted person. They can’t think straight. Their perceptions change and they unknowingly do things without knowing the consequences of what they are doing.

Addiction is not an indicator of poor moral character. It’s a chronic disease. It’s not fun. There is no pleasure. It is a matter of preventing the pain that results from drug deprivation and creates a craving for the drug to escape that feeling. That’s why it’s so difficult to break the cycle. It changes the brain. They just “can’t seem to quit.”

To help, the system of treatment needs to be strengthened. Persons should speak to their legislators and other government officials. Ask them what they are doing about it. What are the plans, what is happening next year. Treatment needs to be available when it’s needed. Rotarians should advocate for strong and high quality programs in a comprehensive system involving social, safety and health components. Ask questions and push policy-makers. It’s a long-term challenge.

Vermont spends $500,000 Million a year in responding to the problem of addiction (hospitals, jails, courts, etc.). Only 4% of that goes towards treatment.

Maple Leaf gives hope. That’s the most important product that they can give.

George Schiavonne asked what do we do? Donovan said that the criminal justice system is now primed to send a certain percentage of the affected population over to the health community, but that community needs to be ready to accept and treat these folks. The medical community needs to be able to administer the treatments and resolve the liability challenges presented by the drugs ending up on the secondary market. The addicted population needs to be treated by the public health system not the criminal justice system.