DEATH * BY * METH

This is dedicated to Travis Holappa who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered on July 25, 2004 in Northern Minnesota. This was all due to meth. I am Travis' mother and I wish to make this devastation turn into a better thing by educating and exposing the truth about meth, the dangers, and the deadly consequences it brings about to individuals and communities.

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Location: Colorado, United States

I want to do what I can to educate people about what is going on around the world with the meth problem. I want people to know about it BEFORE they even get the idea to want to try it. It is a dangerous drug and will ruin your life as well as all those who love you. I am on a mission on behalf of my only son, Travis.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Meth Madness

EDITORIAL: Meth madness
The Lufkin Daily News
Sunday, October 16, 2005

Methamphetamine use in Angelina County is running “rampant,” says the executive director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas.
And Phyllis Grandgeorge has the number to back her statement: The number of meth addicts visiting the drug abuse council is up 150 percent since 2003.
That's scary because in 2003 we already knew meth use was a huge problem in our community. And local law enforcement officials have been busting hundreds of meth labs — which aren't hard to set up — in just the past couple years.
What is becoming more and more clear is the fact that, if we want to curtail or eliminate meth manufacture and use in Angelina County, it's going to take a concerted effort from all of us.
ADAC on Thursday hosted an education conference to let more than 200 people — children's advocates, substance abuse counselors, educators, law enforcement officers, probation officers and others — know more about methamphetamine abuse and recovery.
It seems that some of our citizens who, in particular, need training are ministers and counselors at our churches. Vallie Cross, an ADAC official who spoke on the issue Thursday, said many addicts are more than willing to participate in faith-based recovery — “They have seen hell already,” she said — but often ministers don't know how to handle people who are under meth's spell.
“Things are moving pretty fast, and pastors don't know what to do,” Cross said.
Meth is making foster children out of an untold number of kids whose parents are addicts, so there's also a need for people to counsel and support those children. Most of those kids have been neglected if not abused, according to Grandgeorge.
We are glad to see so many people working together to respond to the meth crisis in Angelina County, but more of us — especially those of us, like church and school leaders, who come in contact with young people on a regular basis — need to take the initiative to recognize signs of meth abuse and production.
And we really need to become better equipped to help meth addicts navigate the road to recovery, and to help children rebound from the obstacles they face from having parents who are meth addicts.
To contact the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of Deep East Texas, call 634-5753 in Lufkin or (800) 445-8562.


Personally, I like the idea of the churches stepping up to the plate and perhaps opening up their homes to take in children who are victims of meth abuse. These children are falling through the cracks as the foster care system in our country is stretched to the limit! What do you think? Kim

Thursday, October 13, 2005

S. Indiana official stole for meth

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- A former Vanderburgh County deputy auditor pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $28,000 in taxpayer money, saying he needed the cash to buy methamphetamine for a habit that began while he worked 16-hour days processing tax bills.
Todd Hochstetler was sentenced Wednesday to four years in a county work-release program. He earlier paid the county $30,088 in restitution, which covered the costs of the investigation.

Hochstetler was the county's chief deputy auditor until Auditor Bill Fluty fired him in May.
Around that time, Fluty discovered Hochstetler had used his position to fraudulently generate property-tax refund checks totaling nearly $28,000, prosecutors said. The refund checks were issued for a duplex that Hochstetler and his girlfriend rented but did not own.
"I used meth as a crutch to help me through the long days and nights," Hochstetler wrote in a letter to the court. "Because of my behavior, I developed financial problems as well. I abused the public trust by obtaining money from public funds."

See the rest of this story at: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051013/NEWS01/510130498/1006

Does anyone else see the seriousness and extended reach of this drug? If you read the entire story, you will find that at least they are also going to put him through drug treatment! This is absolutely necessary and that is not even a guarantee that meth users will not go back to the drug!!!

Murderer sentenced to life in prison

Allegan County, Michigan

Shawn Michael Ely will spend life in prison with no possibility of parole for the murder of Jerald "Skip" Allen.Ely, 35, was sentenced Friday, Oct. 7, in Allegan County Circuit Court. He was convicted by a jury in September of first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony. Allen was found at his home in Valley Township in January 2004, killed by a shotgun blast.

Can't we help these people before they get to this stage in the drug scene? There just does not seem to be a word that actually describes the devastation this drug in injects in our lives! Kim


Find this story at: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15371151&BRD=8&PAG=461&dept_id=476333&rfi=6

Rep. Wirth target of meth probe

Police say drug was found in her car after Corvallis lawmaker was hit

SALEM — State Rep. Kelley Wirth of Corvallis is under investigation by Salem police for possession of methamphetamine, according to police.Wirth has not been charged with any crime, and police say they don’t think she was dealing the drug. She could not be contacted for comment Wednesday.

Check out this story. I don't know if this State Representative is guilty or not. But if she is... look at how far reaching the arm of meth is and could be!!! Send me your comments!!

Check out this story at: http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/10/13/news/community/thu02.txt

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Miller convicted of murder

Miller convicted of murder
by Tom CoombeEditor

Frank Miller of Ely has been found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Both the guilty verdict and sentence came late Thursday night at the St. Louis County Courthouse in Virginia, at the conclusion of a six-day trial and after about nine hours of deliberations by an eight-man, four-woman jury, which determined that Miller, 31, kidnapped and murdered Travis Holappa of Embarrass in July, 2004.Miller was convicted on all four counts brought forward by prosecutors, including two counts of kidnapping, one count of first-degree murder and another count of first-degree murder in conjunction with a kidnapping.Judge James Florey vacated the first three convictions and sentenced Miller on the fourth, which allows for the life without parole sentence.“You’re not going to have a very good life,” Florey told Miller during the sentencing. “But you brought that on yourself... There’s no doubt in my mind that the state has proven its case and you were responsible for the death of Travis Holappa.”

Read more of this article at: http://www.elyecho.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=2&ArticleID=7316


Comments? (Travis' mother)

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Records detail violent workings of big meth ring

Assaults. Kidnapping. Robberies. Drug deals. Addiction.
The Arizona Daily Star reports police statements in court records detail the violence tied to an alleged ring of methamphetamine dealers brought down in August, when officers arrested about 30 people.
The records detail how the so-called Greenwell-Owens ring allegedly made more than 800 drug sales since December 2003, distributing more than 20 pounds - or 2,250 plus doses - of meth and smaller amounts of other drugs.

See the news article on: www.dailystar.com/dailystar/printDS/96038.php


Meth related crimes are running rampant! My own son was kidnapped/tortured and murdered because of this drug! When will we start pulling together as communites and neighborhoods and putting a stop to the manufacture of this deadly drug.

Comments?

Children becoming victims of meth epidemic

Kids found in meth labs exposed to drug, neglect and abuse. This story is from Austin, Texas. A three-month old child drank from a bottle laced with methamphetamine in June 2004 and died! The mother admitted to "accidentally" mixing the drug with the baby's formula. She was charged with capital murder.

These children are innocent victims of the parents who have chosen to take meth. Meth is highly addictive and leaves the users high for days and makes them very aggressive, which may cause them to become abusive or make them too disoriented to care for children.

What are your thoughts? Share a story you know of. This story can be found on www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/10/10childmeth.html

Monday, October 10, 2005

DEATH BY METH

This blog will be dedicated to Travis Holappa and to exposing the truth about meth, the dangers, and the deadly consequences it brings about to individuals and communities. We will discuss the grief families go through when dealing with a loved one addicted. Come back often, and join in on the discussions. I am confident the things you learn here may well save a life--yours, or someone you love.