TODAY

THU

FRI

87/71

83/63

81/60

Locos
shut out
Settlers

Reds
defeat
Braves

SPORTS 1C

SPORTS 1C

Breaking news at limaohio.com

Issue 166, Volume 132

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 $1

Start early to fight heroin

By John Bush

jbush@civitasmedia.com

Matt Rourke | AP File

A sign outside the Comcast Center is seen in Philadelphia on

December 3, 2009.

Net neutrality
wins sweeping
victory in court

ABOUT THIS SERIES

The Lima News finishes
a four-day series looking
into the real impact
of heroin and opioid
addiction in the region
and the challenges in
defeating the drug.
Read more stories from
the series Heroin: A
different kind of drug
problem at LimaOhio.
com/heroin.
Sunday: Laws and the
court system
Monday: How people
get hooked
Tuesday: Challenges
with treatment
Today: Efforts to
prevent addiction
Heroin Epidemic
Leadership Project:
Phone: 419-371-4388
Email: info@helpohio.
org
Website: helpohio.org

By Sam Hananel
and Tali Arbel
The Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal appeals court on

Tuesday upheld the governments net neutrality
rules, preserving regulations that force internet
providers such as Comcast and AT&T to treat all
online traffic everything from Netflix and cat
videos to games and downloads equally.
The 2-1 ruling is a sweeping victory for the
Obama administration and the consumer groups
and internet companies that have pushed net
neutrality for years. The Federal Communications
Commissions rules block internet service providers from favoring their own services and disadvantaging others; blocking other sites and apps;
and creating fast lanes for video and other data
services that pay for the privilege.
On technical grounds, the ruling upholds the
FCCs authority to regulate broadband service
as a utility, much like phone service, and to forbid what it considers unreasonable practices. It
applies equally to wired broadband providers like
cable companies and mobile ones such as Verizon.
Tougher regulation down the road
The net neutrality rules have been in effect
since June, and the courts decision isnt going
to change how the internet works tomorrow. But
the FCC has already been taking some steps that
would change how broadband providers act. The
ruling could pave the way for tougher restrictions
on cable and phone companies that affect what
services they offer, which consumer data they can
use and how, and what they can charge.
The providers who filed the lawsuit say
theyll appeal.
This decision is huge for the FCCs authority,
said Marvin Ammori, a longtime net-neutrality
advocate. We won big on everything. That sets
the stage for what Ammori and several analysts
see as the next big battle. That will likely involve
zero rating the practice of exempting preferred video services from customer data caps.
Comcast, for example, lets you can watch video
at home with its Stream service with no danger
of bumping against your data cap (if you have
one). T-Mobiles Binge On program lets you watch
any video you want from Netflix and many other
providers without counting it as data use. Net-neutrality advocates say these types of practices are
unfair and tilt the market toward certain favored
providers.
Other consequences are more difficult to gauge.
Christopher Yoo, a professor of law, engineering
and communications at the University of Pennsylvania, said the ruling could mean higher prices for
some services, while providers might drop others
altogether.

Whats your take on todays news? Go to

limaohio.com and visit us at facebook to
share your thoughts.

CIVITAS MEDIA

2016 Published at Lima, Ohio

24 pages, 4 sections

A NEWS
People & More: 2A
Nation: 3A
Editorial: 4A
Business: 7A
Weather: 8A

See heroin |5A

Former addict fighting heroins push

By John Bush

jbush@civitasmedia.com

BLUFFTON Stephanie Jones knows exactly

what addiction feels like.
In 2011, Jones had
brain surgery and was
put on a morphine pump
to help her cope with the
pain. She said what was
supposed to be a 12- to
24-hour pump turned into
two or three days of constant access to the highly
potent narcotic. She was

John Bush | The Lima News

Stephanie Jones

then put on 10 milligram

Percocet, an opioid-based
pain medication, and sent
home.
I started to need more

and more, and when I

couldnt get any more
from the doctor, I went
to the streets, Jones
said. I was buying 13 to
18 pills each time, and if
I couldnt get Percs, Id
turn to Vicodin or whatever.
Jones addiction lasted
just six months before her
husband put a stop to it.
She said he threw out all
her pills and locked her in
See push |5A

Pablo Martinez Monsivais | AP Photo

No easy answers to violence

By Josh Lederman
and Kathleen Hennessey

See net |8A

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

program, young people are able to participate in physical activites like

boxing as an alternative to drug and alcohol use.

President Barack Obama speaks to members of the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.

Net neutralitys long slog

I think everyone has to be shocked at the
magnitude of the FCC victory, said MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett. But it was a long

Facebook f Logo

OTTAWA In the
fight against heroin, preventing people from ever
trying the drug is the
logical first step.
With a drug this potent,
even a first-time user
can develop a full-blown
heroin addiction rather
quickly. As more people
John Bush | The Lima News experiment, the number
Ashton Smith, 10, boxes with New Look Fitness owner Aaron McLaurine of addicts increases, and
as part of Lima UMADAOPs summer youth program. Through the drug treatment centers

CMYK / .eps

made future tragedies

almost a foregone concluThe Associated Press
sion.
In the days after the
WASHINGTON Was deadliest shooting in
it homegrown terrorism, modern U.S. history,
hatred or random gun
Obama has offered no
violence?
simple prescriptions or
Americans searching
promises for new action
for answers after the
even as the candidates
Orlando, Florida, shootvying for his job put forings are finding no easy
ward aggressive plans of
solutions from President their own. Instead, the
Barack Obama, who is
president has suggested
conceding that a deadly
the root causes behind a
mix of extremism and
disturbed mans actions
are difficult to determine
easy gun access have
Facebook f Logo

B REGION
Region News: 1B
Obituaries: 2B

CMYK / .eps

C SPORTS
Sports: 1C
Second Quarter: 2C
Best of Region:
4C-5C
Classified: 6C

D Reminisce
Reminisce: 1D
Comics: 2D
Puzzles: 4D
TV: 4D

INSIDE:
For more coverage of
the Orlando, Florida,
shooting, see page 3A.

and may be less important than a sort of soul

searching about what to
do about it.
We know that at some
point there are going to
be, out of 300 million,
there are going to be
some individuals who
find for whatever reason
that kind of horrible
propaganda enticing,

OHIO Lottery

DAILY (Tuesday)
Pick 3: 3-5-8 day,
8-7-4 night
Pick 4: 7-9-5-4 day,
0-7-0-0 night
Pick 5: 7-8-2-9-4 day,
5-2-7-0-6 night
Rolling Cash 5: 9-10-13-25-36

Obama said Monday.

And if that happens,
and that person can get
a weapon, thats a problem.
The comments were
Obamas most direct
acknowledgment yet that
the attacks like the one
in Orlando may be a new
fixture of American life
the sort of observation
that could only be delivered by a second-term
president with seven

CLASSIC (Monday):
3-13-16-19-23-28
KICKER: 560287
Jackpot: $8.1 million
LUCKY FOR LIFE (Monday):
1-4-21-34-37
Lucky Ball: 7
POWERBALL (Saturday):
20-27-36-41-58

See violence |8A

Powerball: 7
Power Play: 2
Jackpot: $153 million
MEGA MILLIONS
(Friday):
34-61-66-67-68
Mega Ball: 7
Megaplier: 5
Jackpot: $293 million

NEWS

The Lima News

Wednesday, June 15, 2016 5A

Is the pen mightier than the needle?

Lawmakers fight uphill battle against heroin

By Craig Kelly

therapy and peer sponsorship.

There were 47,055 lethal
drug overdoses in the U.S. in
COLUMBUS During
2014, with more than half of
times of crisis, there are oftenthem related to either heroin
times when one voice, one
or prescription pain killers,
vision is needed to create a
ties to say, What do we need to making overdoses the leading
cause of accidental death in
path out of the situation, with
do to address this?
the nation, according to the
too many ideas and no consenAs legislators such as Cupp
American Society of Addiction
sus leading to inaction. Howand Sprague have put their
Medicine. While these numbers
ever, when it comes to seeking heads together, they have
emphasize the need for
solutions to the alarming rise
found that there is not going
legislative action, that action
of heroin, legislators rely on
to be one simple solution to
has not always come swiftly.
multiple perspectives and expe- this issue of heroin, and that a
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman,
riences, according to state Rep. multipronged attack strategy is
R-Ohio,
sponsored the
Bob Cupp, R-Lima.
required.
Comprehensive
Addiction and
I think that actual expeIt boils down to three main
Recovery Act, first introduced
riences that people have,
catagories, Sprague said. The
in early 2015. It did not pass
whether its a family member
first is preventing more people
the Senate until March of
or themselves or whether its
from becoming addicted, and
this year, with House passage
through the eyes of emergency
that has to do with reducing
coming in May. When signed
responders or law enforcement,
the number of prescription
into law, CARA would provide
all of those are very helpful,
pain killers coming out of the
for expanded opioid abuse
he said.
medical system. In all of our
education efforts, both to
After learning of the alarmK-12 health classes now, were
teenagers and the elderly,
ing rise of heroin in Hardin
teaching kids about the link
expand naloxone availability to
County, Rep. Robert Sprague,
law enforcement, strengthen
R-Findlay, started taking a lead- between prescription pain
ership role in seeking solutions killers and addiction to heroin. drug monitoring programs
The second is closing down
and expand disposal sites
to heroin abuse. For him and
the chain of custody within the for unwanted prescription
others in the statehouse, the
medications.
pressing nature of this problem medical system to make sure
that pain killers stay where
After two years of
has helped to overcome any
theyre prescribed. The third
listening to those in recovery,
potential gridlock.
piece of the puzzle is treatment families, advocates, and
Because of the severity of
law enforcement, Im more
the epidemic, its really caused and trying to save peoples
lives. We want to make sure
determined than ever to get
us to all take stock of what
we have a full continuum of
this bill signed into law so
needs to be done, he said.
it can begin to make a real
care, including medication
As a result, I think its pulled
difference in the lives of
substitutes,
counseling,
group
people together from both par-

ckelly@civitasmedia.com

ONLY ON LIMAOHIO.COM
Read more stories from the
series Heroin: A different kind
of drug problem at LimaOhio.
com/heroin.

Heroin
From page 1A

find themselves overwhelmed with the

number of users trying to get clean.
Those who cant get help or refuse
to admit they have a problem often
wind up in jail for possession and
distribution of the drug, or for committing some other crime that was fueled
by their addiction.
Though drug prevention programs
such as the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program have been around
for decades, the prevalence of heroin
in Ohio and the rest of the U.S. is everincreasing. To address the growing
epidemic, everyone from police officers
and school administrators to politicians
and community leaders are collaborating to stop heroins push.
Through a variety of programs and
initiatives, most of which are youthfocused, the goal remains the same:
Intervene before its too late.
Start talking!
To help prevent drug use before it
starts, Ohio Gov. John Kasich launched
Start Talking! in January 2014.
Start Talking! is a statewide youth
drug prevention initiative that incorporates various strategies to promote the
importance of having drug-free conversations with young people.
The program features three components designed to provide parents,
teachers, guardians and community
leaders with the tools to get the conversation started.
Parents 360 Rx is a community
education program meant to increase
knowledge of the dangers of substance
abuse among adults.
The hope is that more conversations
will occur at home and in the
community to deter drug use.
Parents360 Rx tool kits are available
free-of-charge, and include a video,
discussion guide and other tools for
decreasing the risk of children taking
illegal drugs.
Know! is a drug prevention and
awareness partnership that targets
parents and caregivers.
The goal is to increase
communication between parents and
their children about substance use. This
is achieved through free, twice-monthly
emails that offer tips for families to help
them talk on the subject.
5 Minutes for Life is a program led
by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the
Ohio National Guard and local law
enforcement in partnership with high
schools and the Ohio High School
Athletic Association.
Troopers, law enforcement officers
and National Guard members talk to
student athletes to encourage them to
become ambassadors who lead
peer-to-peer conversations that promote
healthy lifestyles.
Jan Osborn, superintendent of the
Putnam County Educational Service
Center, has been working with the state
to help implement these programs in

the region. He said in order for the

programs to be effective, everyone must
work together.
What were trying to do is get commitments from agencies, schools,
church groups and parents so that
we can provide a more formalized
approach, Osborn said. The schools
cant do it alone, we need community
involvement and the parents to take on
this challenge also.
Osborn said he was skeptical of the
program at first, but after learning more
about how serious the heroin epidemic
is, he is now passionate about tackling
the problem.
Im becoming more and more convinced that to do nothing is morally
wrong, he said. Start Talking! isnt the
only component necessary to stop this,
but to me its an excellent program to
start with.
Osborn said he understands that once
someone gets addicted, the chance
that they fully recover is slim. For this
reason, he said he believes starting the
conversation early is crucial.
For them to fight and win is
becoming a rare battle, so its
important that we be there before
they take that first chance, he said.
I think its common sense that
whenever theres a potential danger,
we need to alert anyone who may be
susceptible to that danger.
Since kids are often more susceptible
to peer pressure, we need to empower
them to have the knowledge and resilience to not make bad decisions.
Lima UMADAOP
In Lima, the Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program
is using a two-pronged approach to
prevent substance use among young
people.
Through the organizations Prevention Wellness and Education Center, the
communitys youth are able to participate in a variety of activities that serve
as an alternative to drug use.
UMADAOP has an after-school and
summer program that allows schoolage children to participate in sports,
join clubs such as the Boy Scouts and
Girl Scouts, take field trips, and work
as a team on a variety of projects. This
summer, the programs participants are
involved in a community garden project.
There are a lot of young people who
sometimes dont get the opportunity to
do a lot of these alternative activities,
so we provide them with those
opportunities to get involved, said
Marcell King, assistant director of Lima
UMADAOP. Its positive alternatives to
the things that are happening on
the streets.
The programs are held in the summer and between 3 and 6 p.m. during
the school year, which King said is the
time when most young people get into
trouble. UMADAOP also has youth-led
programming, allowing high school and
college-aged students to serve as positive mentors to younger children.
The other part of UMADAOPs
drug prevention effort centers around

Photo illustration by Craig J. Orosz | The Lima News

those who are suffering from

addiction, Portman said.
The legislation is still awaiting the presidents signature.
Even with action that has
already been taken, legislators
acknowledge it may take some

education.
Part of promoting a healthy lifestyle
is educating young people on the negative things that drugs and alcohol can
bring, King said, so we spend quite a
bit of time teaching them those different aspects.

time before the battle is won.

Its going to take a while
to work through this,
Sprague said. Its going to
be a process.
Reach Craig Kelly at 567-242-0390 or on
Twitter @Lima_CKelly.

Push
From page 1A

Law enforcement
As school and community leaders are
attempting to prevent people from getting started on heroin, law enforcement
officials are busy trying to stop the drug
from entering the hands of those who
seek it.
Lt. Scott Wyckhouse runs the Ohio
State Highway Patrols District 1 Criminal Patrol Team. The district covers
11 Ohio counties, working with local
law enforcement to prevent heroin and
other drugs from being transported to
the areas it serves.
Wyckhouse said this is carried out
through what is called an enforcement
blitz.
For two days, we boost our
manpower, we have more K9 units, and
increase traffic enforcement in the city
or county were in, Wyckhouse said.
Its a cooperative effort.
Recently, the criminal patrol team
held an enforcement blitz in Allen
County, and were able to seize 40 grams
of heroin.
While the OSHP and other law
enforcement agencies arent able to set
up drug checkpoints like they do for
alcohol, Wyckhouse said officers are
trained to look for drug activity
on traffic stops.
With narcotics, everything has to get
from point A to point B, so the best way
to find these drugs is through traffic
enforcement, he said. When our officers pull someone over, they are trained
to look for criminal indicators. It seems
to be a pretty successful way of interdicting drugs.
Though traffic enforcement has
allowed police officers to seize
countless amounts of drugs like
heroin, Wyckhouse said they are only
scratching the surface.
Its hard to say were successful, he
said. You may have taken some [drugs]
off the streets, and even saved lives, but
theres still more out there.
Wyckhouse said that while heroin and
other drugs are as prevalent as ever,
there has been an increased emphasis
on combating drug trafficking. In 2014,
Ohio Attorney General Mike Dewine
awarded more than $500,000 to law
enforcement to combat the flow of
heroin along Interstate 75.
The last several years, theres started
to be an uptick in our enforcement
effort in drug trafficking, Wyckhouse
said. In our division, were trying to
give the best training to the younger
and newer guys on what to look for and
focus on.
I feel that were putting forth quite
an effort, but unfortunately, more manpower and resources are always needed
to combat this problem.

her room for five days as she

detoxed.
Had my husband not done what
he did, I would have likely resorted
to heroin because thats always the
next step, she said.
Five years into recovery, Jones
feels her calling is to use her experience with addiction to help others.
In March, she founded the Heroin
Epidemic Leadership Project, or
HELP. The goal is to provide a safe
and sober living community that
administers long-term recovery
services for those who suffer from
substance abuse disorders.
Jones said the organization isnt
fully up and running, as they still
need to attain more funding to
purchase a building. She said they
are waiting for the IRS to approve
HELPs nonprofit status.
Once we get that, we are going
to apply for federal and state
grants, Jones said. Right now
were relying on volunteers.
But the lack of funding hasnt
stopped Jones from raising awareness about heroin addiction, or
helping an addict when they reach
out to her.
In May, Jones organized the firstever Heroin Epidemic Leadership
Project summit in Lima. Police
officers, a sheriffs deputy, hospital
officials, former addicts, a doctor,
judge, paramedics and many others
from agencies offering services and
treatment gathered to discuss the
problem and potential solutions.
Since that time, Jones said shes
helped eight people find treatment
in cities such as Columbus and
Dayton.
When my phone rings and its an
addict who needs help, we get them
into treatment, she said.
With funding, Jones hopes to create a 24-hour recovery house where
people with substance abuse disorders can find treatment in Lima.
She said that by working with other
addiction services such as Coleman
and the local Mental Health and
Recovery Services Board, she can
provide comprehensive, evidencebased programming.
In addition to counseling services,
12-step programs and medically
assisted treatment, Jones said she
envisions an environment that
allows addicts not only to fight the
disease, but also turn their lives
around.
Were trying to formulate a 12- to
24-month program for addicts that
is completely structured, from financial management to getting their
GED to job placement, she said.
Working with all those aspects is
the best way to tackle addiction.

Reach John Bush at 567-242-0456 or on Twitter @

bush_lima

Reach John Bush at 567-242-0456 or on Twitter

@bush_lima