| Rockland schools for substance abuse counselors merge
Two Rockland schools that train students to become credentialed alcohol and substance abuse counselors have merged. The CASAC School of the Rockland Council on Alcoholism and other Drug Dependence and the Addiction Counselors Training Program of Rockland County will now operate as the Rockland Chemical Dependency Studies Institute out of the new Haverstraw Center in Haverstraw. "We've had two competing agencies that are now bringing together the finest leaders and instructors in the field under one roof," said Debbie Maidman, operations manager of the new school. "They are coming together with the same mission, the same focus." Accredited counselors who graduate from the school work in outpatient and inpatient treatment centers, the criminal justice system, schools, department of social services and department of transportation evaluations, rehab and halfway houses.
Hazelden releases book on celebrity addict stories
The Hazelden Foundation, Minnesota-based substance abuse treatment center with a national reputation, is releasing a book detailing the addiction battles of celebrities. Hazelden, which has treated many big-name actors, musicians and personalities for drug and alcohol addiction, said it will publish a book called "The Harder They Fall", which tells the stories of celebrities rise to fame, descent into addiction, and recovery. Among those profiled are comedians Richard Pryor and Richard Lewis, musicians Grace Slick and Alice Cooper, media pundit Glenn Beck. .
Hospital announces new cancer care center
A local hospital will be able to offer cancer patients state-of-the-art care thanks to an unlikely partnership.When Anderson Hospital in Maryville opens its Comprehensive Cancer Care Center in September, cancer patients will have access to traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But the center will also offer cutting-edge research and investigative therapies thanks to a partnership with Mary Crowley Cancer Research Centers.Based in Dallas, Mary Crowley is a national leader in cancer research. Mary Crowley focuses on non-toxic treatments, including gene-targeted therapies, cell-based therapies and vaccines, all of which do not harm patients' existing healthy tissue and system.The nearest Mary Crowley center is in Dayton, Ohio, and although nearby hospitals may provide cancer research or trials, Mary Crowley trials are highly innovated and unique.But with hundreds of hospitals from throughout the Midwest to choose from, why would Mary Crowley research come to Maryville? Edwardsville residents Allen and Linda Cassens are to thank.
State's sputtering economy may get jump-start from a biofuel boom
Michigan is on the verge of a biofuel boom -- one that experts and lawmakers say could provide a high-octane kick to the state's economy and put the state at the forefront of efforts to end the nation's addiction to foreign oil. Two years ago, Michigan had one biofuel plant -- a corn-feed ethanol facility in Caro. Today, it has six operating ethanol and biodiesel facilities and at least 16 more in the works -- including a cutting-edge cellulosic ethanol plant and two proposed biodiesel locations in Detroit. That growth puts Michigan in the middle of a biofuel industry that has tripled its output since 2000 and is projected to continue its expansion. Some say Michigan is chasing the same glittery dream as a dozen other states and may find nothing more than fool's gold.
Lindsay Lohan's Post-Rehab Club-Hopping Could Lead To Relapse, Experts Warn
You're a high-profile young celebrity who has just completed your second stint in rehab in six months. You're psyched to get out and get on with your sober life. So what's the first thing you do when you get sprung? Go to a nightclub and party alongside a bunch of wasted weekend revelers in Las Vegas, right? Not a good look, according to addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, co-host of the syndicated show "Loveline." "My expectation was that we were going to see more recovery because she extended her stay appropriately and seemed to be following the advice of professionals," said Pinsky of Lindsay Lohan's Saturday trip to a Sin City nightclub. "The problem is that early in treatment, you don't have this active craving, and you think you can walk into an environment and be around the old triggers and not have it result in using, which is a common mistake." The biggest potential pitfall for Lohan, Pinsky said, is not explicitly following the advice of her treatment team, which, he strongly suspected, did not include going to a club so soon after ending her 45-day stint.
Church has plans for big campus
The Life Christian Church in West Orange is gearing up to move its growing ministry from two separate locations in town to a sprawling campus off Northfield Avenue. The multicultural, nondenominational church has plans to consolidate its Harrison Avenue worship center and its Ridgeway Avenue ministry office and family life campus-based operations into a seven-acre site that a developer donated to the church as part of a complicated land swap to gain new municipal open park space. But some township residents have expressed concern about the church's Peace Over Addiction Through Healing substance abuse program that features weekly recovery meetings for people struggling with recovery issues. For now, however, the church has submitted an application with the township planning board only for approval to construct 3,500 square feet of modular offices on the site, at Northfield Avenue and Vizcaya Boulevard, across from the Jewish Community Center.
OD ends S.I. slay hunt
He stalked her, set her house on fire and finally killed her. Then he took the easy way out and overdosed on heroin. At least that's what the angry husband of Yvonne Rivera says. Rivera, 44, was gunned down Saturday in her Port Richmond driveway, and Staten Island detectives had been hunting for ex-con Troy Snell, 38. Rivera's 26-year-old son, Angel Rivera, was critically wounded when he tried to protect her. Snell, who was obsessed with Rivera, was found dead in his sister's Newark basement Sunday, killed by a heroin overdose, authorities said. "He's a coward," Rivera's grieving husband, Eugenio Acevedo, 42, said yesterday. "He couldn't pull the trigger on himself. He could pull the trigger on my wife and kid, but he drugged himself to die in peace.
Military dogs get care worthy of soldiers
When he came to, the Marine's arm hung lamely. It was broken by ball bearings hurled so hard from a suicide bomb that they also became embedded in his gun. Yet Brendan Poelaert's thoughts quickly turned to his patrol dog. The powerful Belgian Malinois named Flapoor had served him as partner and protector for the past four months in Iraq. Now, the dog staggered a few steps along the Ramadi street, then stared blankly. Blood poured from his chest. "I didn't care about my injuries, my arm," his handler says. "I'm telling the medic, 'I got to get my dog to the vet!"' About 2,000 of these working dogs confront danger beside American soldiers, largely in the Middle East. With noses that detect scents up to a third of a mile away, many sniff for explosives in Iraq. Their numbers have been growing about 20 percent a year since the terrorist attacks of 2001, says Air Force Capt.
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