Two individuals suspected of selling drugs to an undercover Southeast Area Drug Enforcement investigator were bound to Gage County District Court Friday. Joshua L. May, 23, and Glen Walk, 20, waived their rights to a preliminary hearing in Gage County Court Friday afternoon. They will go before the district court on March 6 at 10 a.m. May faces one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine. He is currently in custody on a $15,000 bond. His attorney is Charles Bentjen. Walk was charged with distribution of methamphetamine and distribution of marijuana. He posted ten percent of a $25,000 bond. His attorney is Darin Knepper. A preliminary hearing in Gage County Court was set for six other defendants on Feb. 11. Trevor P. Garton, 18, faces three counts of distribution of a controlled substance near a school as well as intent to deliver near a school, a class II felony. Judge Steven Timm lowered Gartons bond from $50,000 to $25,000 Friday on the condition he enter a chemical dependency treatment facility. Gage County Deputy Attorney Amanda Spracklen-Hogan said Garton could face additional charges stemming from drugs and drug paraphernalia found in his residence when he was arrested on Jan. … Continue reading →

When Dennis Cadigan returned from Vietnam, a Marine machine gunner blinded by an enemy booby trap and addicted to his pain medication, he almost became just another veteran statistic. His dependency on pain medication quickly led to a full blown heroin addiction and Cadigan was on a dark path. It isn't hard to imagine him becoming one of the 300,000 veterans who live on the streets or in a shelter on any given night in the U.S. Or one of the thousands of veterans who continue to suffer from drug addiction and substance abuse. But Cadigan was lucky and determined. He had friends and family who helped him clean up, and a drive that enabled him to succeed. He eventually createdPhoenix Woodworks, a company he hopes to build and share ownership in with other disabled veterans. For many veterans, however, increasingly those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the story can end very differently. From 2002 to 2005 prescription drug abuse doubled among U.S. military personnel and then tripled between 2005 and 2008. And the rates of abuse are higher among military than civilian populations, 11% and 5% respectively. Drug addiction is only one challenge veterans face. One in seven homeless … Continue reading →

Published: 1/24/2013 8:37 PM | Last update: 1/24/2013 11:36 PM By Ken Stephens - The Hutchinson News - kstephens@hutchnews.com One element of the cost of drug crime that cannot be qualified is its rippling effect on the families of drug users. When fathers go to prison for drug-related crimes, families often end up on public assistance, and when mothers go to prison for drug crimes, their children often end up in foster care, said Shirley Faulkner, director of substance abuse services at Prairie View Inc., a private drug and alcohol treatment organization. In school, the children raised in chaos have a harder time concentrating, Faulkner said, and they don't connect well with others because they have been taught to keep secret what they see at home. "One of the rules of addicts' families is 'Don't talk, don't trust, don't feel,' " Faulkner said. "And so these children learn that 'What happens in our home stays in our home.' You don't go to school and talk to anyone about it. You don't talk to teachers about it. If anyone asks anything about it, it's none of their business. So children have to repress many of these experiences that they endure and … Continue reading →