| Man shares burden for addicts
My name is Edward Fortson and my mission has been to assist people who need help to recover from drug addiction. In July of 2000 God burdened my heart to help establish a Christian Rehabilitation Center in Northeast Arkansas. I researched different organizations and toured a facilities in Tuscumbia, Ala. called Restoration Ranch. This center was a division of Mission Teens, Inc. which operated nine different centers across the country. At the time I believed that establishing a center was what I was being led to do. In December of that same year I started to actually work with the people who needed to go into the centers. I worked with a young woman in jail and helped her get into a center. I had a lot to learn and no clear guidance or handbook on how to do this. I have learned about centers, the jail systems, court systems and even the prison systems.
New enrollment rights for people with Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced two new special enrollment opportunities for people with Medicare to change their current health coverage. Medicare beneficiaries who currently have a Medicare Advantage Plan and believe they were enrolled in the plan based on misleading or incorrect information provided by plan employees, insurance agents, or brokers can get a special enrollment to get out of the plan. "We filed 24 complaints with (the) Department of Insurance over the last year and a half," said Anne Antoville, manager for the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program. "I just got a letter today from an agent that we filed a complaint on because of the level of misinformation." According to the July 2007 newsletter of the National Senior Citizens Law Center, seven major health insurance companies suspended marketing of Medicare Advantage plans in the wake of widespread reports of misleading and abusive marketing practices.
Bernalillo County works on new program to help meth addicts
Starting with methamphetamine addicts, Bernalillo County has made its first move toward creating a social services safety net program for people coming out of jail. The Meth Team started taking clients June 18 and provided them with services they need to stay sober, employed and mentally and physically healthy. County officials say the team also aims to start education programs in schools, community centers and other venues. The team is the beginning of the county's hope to reduce the number of people returning to jail for addiction-driven crimes and to help stabilize affected families. In the first month, the Meth Team's two case workers have enrolled about 25 clients. Face-to-face visits — on a daily basis and sometimes more often — ensure the clients have access to the services they need, officials say.
Ravenel has court date today
COLUMBIA — Suspended state Treasurer Thomas Ravenel is scheduled to make his first court appearance on a federal cocaine charge here today, two days after he was released from a 30-day stay at a rehabilitation program in Arizona. Ravenel's attorneys entered a not-guilty plea for the 44-year-old multimillionaire developer earlier this month, but Ravenel did not appear in court at the time. U.S. Magistrate Joseph McCrorey ordered Ravenel to appear in court within 48 hours of being released from treatment at the Sierra Tucson Center in Catalina, north of Tucson. It is a psychiatric hospital specializing in addiction and behavioral disorder treatment. He was released Sunday. Ravenel is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute less than 500 grams of cocaine. Prosecutors have said Ravenel shared the cocaine with friends and did not sell the drug.
Grinspoon frontman tells of 'ice' addiction
Phil Jamieson, frontman of Australian rock band Grinspoon, has spoken candidly about his addiction to crystal methamphetamine. Speaking to Andrew Denton on ABC TV's Enough Rope, which airs tonight, Jamieson opens up about being an "ice" junkie and the effect it had on his life. He says he began taking "ice" in social situations, but not long after he started he was addicted and using every day. "I would do things by myself and I'd never done that. I'd use by myself and I'd hide it," he said. "It was really socially unacceptable, except within a very close circle of friends of mine, and I'd become withdrawn, really paranoid. But I felt that without it, I just wasn't normal at all. I had to take it to be normal. I started realising, this thing's doing me, like it's got me." Jamieson says he became paranoid about everyday situations, including being in public, going to buy food and driving.
Inspections Continue on Bay Bridge
In the wake of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, inspections continued Monday at the Irondequoit Bay Bridge. The base of the bridge got a close-up look. Inspectors climbed into scuba gear and dove off a boat into the murky Irondequoit Bay to inspect the concrete foundations of the bridge. This follows last week's inspection by state DOT workers who used a cherry picker to get a look at the bridge's underside. The bridge has received special attention due to its similar age and design as the Minneapolis bridge. sh/rv New York State DOT
Email this Story to a Friend Print Friendly Version .
|
