Arkansas Blog

what is this emergency powers thing mentioned in the press release?

ARK. BLOG: When prison crowding reaches a certain point, early releases of certain inmates are possible to reduce inmate population.

Darrell Porter, superintendent of the Smackover School District, was arrested Friday night after the school's football game for DWI. He smelled of booze while in the Press Box at halftime. Also, he's charged with endangering the welfare of a minor - two of his four kids were in the car with him.

Tonight is an emergency school board meeting to decide what to do.

OK...who is she related to and/or connected to? NO ONE gets this amount of preferential treatment without some major strings somewhere.

Years ago I found out the following (through some investigating at the NLR police department): There are a multitude of 'legal' (mostly) ways that connected people are able to continue driving drunk on our streets and/or drive drunk and escape the punishment that the rest of us would get. From knowing when the arresting officer is going on vacation to 'mishaps' involving scheduling/records. Before then, I believed, as most folk do, that MADD had successfully stopped most 'serial' drunk drivers. Ha.

And for some crazy reason...when the legislature is in town...watch out.

It's obvious Ms. Blair is sick and needs to be institutionalized. Prison will not resolve her problems. She needs professional medical attention and hopefully someone will take the responsibility in seeing that it's provided.

Cato: Depends upon what you mean by "professional medical attention."

Take it from an old substance abuse counselor: You can't help an alcoholic/addict who doesn't want to be helped.

In some cases, mandatory treatment can be provided, but its effectiveness depends upon the willingness of the "client" to participate. Sometimes it's provided in the free world under court order; sometimes someone has to be locked up before s/he will submit to it.

Granted, SHE NEEDS HELP, but "hopefully someone will take the responsibility in seeing that it's provided" is an awfully open door. Just who should "take the responsibility" and how would "it be provided"?

Yes, of course, "something should be done."

I'm all for getting people help, cato, but the priority should be getting them off the streets...then helping, if possible. If this country spent a fraction of its 'War on Drugs' resources on social programs designed to help people help themselves rather than sticking with the 'lock em all up' mentality we'd be a lot better off.

The private prison lobbyists will spend a lot of money (your tax money) fighting that sane idea Zelda.

We've created another monster

Any way you slice it or dice it, this 10-time offender's release from the slammer is outrageous. There simply is no excuse good enough for her release. She's an activated time bomb that's eventually going to get behind the wheel and kill somebody. Who will that Somebody be? Your child? Your grandchild? Your spouse? Your parents? Your sibling? Your next door neighbor?

Last week, a Jefferson County jury convicted Stephen Williams, a 28-year-old drunken driver, of four counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of a Boone County grandmother and her three grandchildren. The judge sentenced him to 32 years in the pen. With good time, he'll be eligible for parole in five years.

The children's mother was in a separate car following the grandmother's car and witnessed the accident. In court she said the deaths of her mother and children dramatically changed her life. "After that was all over, there have been days when just choosing to breathe has been almost more than I was able to bear," she told jurors. "I'll never get to choose Christmas gifts, prom dresses, senior pictures, colleges, a wedding dress - any of those things that parents get to choose or help choose for their children. We will live with Mr. Williams' choice to drink and drive every day for the rest of our lives," she added.

Williams, a former car salesman and finance manager at Landers Ford Lincoln Mercury in Benton, took the stand and apologized to relatives of the family. "I can't put into words how sorry I am for that accident that took the lives of your loved ones," he said before breaking down in tears. "It's not fair that I'm alive and they're not. I would give my own life right now if it would bring your family back."

Oh, yes. But much too little, and far too late.

I am a personal witness to -- and later an in-court witness about -- one of Ms. Blair's DWI incidents. Think it was number 6 or 7. I was cruising west along Cantrell in Riverdale at maybe 2 p.m. on a weekday, summer of 2003 or 2004. She was in a blue Firebird and took a right onto Cantrell from the road that is home to Dixie Cafe and Waffle House. She swung way wide and almost hit me (I was in the left lane) but I recovered. Then, at that traffic light at Cedar Hill she blasted straight through the red light, and a guy taking a left had to go up on the median to miss her. Next, she headed up Cantrell Hill and at least FIVE times swerved all the way into the far left lane, hugging the hill, wrong way against traffic. After the first swerve I dialed 911, fully sure I'd soon be describing a head-on collision, likely including death or at least serious mayhem. At the top of the hill and for several blocks past Kroger, etc., she continued her swerving into the far wrong lane, but miraculously cars were able to dodge her by diving left or heading up onto the sidewalks. I thought it would all end at University, but somehow she stopped. I'm still on with 911, no cop in sight. At the big curve by Kraftco hardware store she didn't quite get it maneuvered and moved into the wrong-way lanes, sideswiping a guy in a Cadillac and blowing out her left front tire. Still she continued. Still no cop. She got to Mississippi and took a left. The swerving subsided a bit. At about Evergreen a cop was headed my way and I flagged him. He did a U-turn and pulled her over on a side street. At that point I had a near anxiety attack, realizing what could have been -- and that I would have witnessed it first-hand. One of the most gut-wrenching 10 minutes of my life.

I agree with most of the commentary here - esp. Zelda's. Having said that, our ENTIRE approach to "substances" is FKed and everyone with over 2 functioning brain cells knows it, yet our "leaders" do 0.shit about it, except the standard government remedy: If "A" doesn't work, try "A."

MADD is typical of out-of-control "do good" groups that gain WAY more power/influence than they deserve - placing their particular ideology over SOLUTIONS the same way politicians do. MADD has become a fascist group, just like all the others - Right to Life (except for SUPPORTING the death penalty and OPPOSING physician assisted suicide; who's life IS it anyway?), their opponents NARAL et al., Partnership for a Drug-Free America/DARE... ALL of them operate with an INTRACTABLE conflict of interest, because if they actually SOLVED the problems they supposedly strive to do, they would all BE OUT OF JOBS and that ain't gonna happen!!!

THAT is why these intractable social problems will NEVER be solved until we raise up a cadre of politicians who actually THINK, as the overwhelming number of regular posters here do!!!
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Sheila Blair, 10-time DWI offender"

I wonder what her "gateway drug" was?

Oh, wait. According to Asa! it had to be pot.

Sky Pilot, great commentary. In Washington County there is Drug Court, for all drug abusers.
It's working well. Abusers are carefully monitored like with anklet monitors until they
reach certain levels of achievement.

Razorback star, Matt Jones, is one the newest to enter the system.
Hopefully, MaryAnn Gunn's rehabilitation Drug Court will become the model for the
entire state.

Prison Profiteers may not like it.

.

Alcoholism is a disease. Needs to be treated as such.

"Just who should "take the responsibility"--"

Family? Human Services? Church? The State? AAA? MADD? The Prohibition Party?

The State's system of rehab and mentoring after incarceration or rehab is pitiful. well it is practically nonexistant. Just getting a person into treatment in Arkansas is an amazing challenge that starts with the question, "Who is his/her insurance provider?".

If we could slash the returns to prison of substance abusers and alcoholics just a little, we could provide for everyone in need of more effective, lasting treatment, save bundles of cash and most importantly, save many lives. A newspaper called One Day At A Time writes only about the facts of recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Incredible stories.

Bravo to the cops that had the brass ones to arrest the school superintendent for drunk driving and for saving those children. Wonder if they've already checked his office for hidden brewski and bourbon? The 10x DWI offender and this creepy overpaid superintendent are the tip of the iceberg.

As long as private prisons and insurance companies have lobbyists, the laws and rules/regs will benefit the special interest$$.

Not to quibble, Max, but I only count seven DWI convictions on that spreadsheet.

So what went on with this woman, anyway? She's got two old DWIs, six weeks apart, back in 1995. Then nothing till November 2002, whereupon she racked up six DWI arrests--two on consecutive days, no less--and five convictions in under a year, ending with a failure to appear. It sounds like something happened to her that knocked her off her pins. She obviously needs taken off the roads, but what was going on there, anyway?

Cato: Yes, of course, alcoholism is a disease--and needs to be treated as such. As is drug addiction.

But these are not diseases caused by germs, bacteria, or viruses. There is no really effective medical "treatment." That's the reason the work is done by substance abuse counselors.

I worked in a hospital setting during my residency. The physicians were involved primarily during detox. After that they monitored the "patients," but the actual "treatment" was done by counselors.

After my residency, I worked in a prison setting. Two-thirds of our residents were there for drug-related offenses; not just possession or distribution, but also for robbery, burglary, fatality during DWI, etc., etc. Various crimes committed to get money for drugs/alcohol and those committed under the influence of drugs/alcohol.

Sometimes the most difficult step for the alcoholic/addict to make is to get past viewing her/his condition as "weak will," "moral failure," "sin," etc. and to quit excusing her/his use as a "mistake." And our society, especially the churches, need to get past that step too.

A mistake is when you're trying to do the right thing and don't quite make it. Substance use is the result of a CONSCIOUS DECISION. Alcoholics/addicts must learn to make better decisions. As they begin to understand/realize that their behavior is the result of their decisions, and that they can make better decisions, they begin to get into recovery--provided that's what they want.

I worked with only voluntary clients--no mandatory. So I didn't have to fight a lot of resistance and I had (apparently) a pretty fair success rate--taking my participants at face value (obviously, anyone can be conned in that context).

Obviously, Ms 10-DWI needs treatment, but getting anyone forcibly committed to any kind of treatment program in this country involves legal proceedings. If she's served her time, there may be no grounds to have her forcibly committed.

When you said "family," you hit one of the keys. Frequently it is a "family intervention" that gets a user into treatment.

[By the way, I assume it was just a typo, but I'd expect more results from AA than from AAA. :-) ]

Not to sound repititious, but considering that MADD is today's version of the Temperance League - one has to wonder at what point they will stop.

Through their pressure, the DUI limits were lowered from 0.10 to 0.08 and this organization will continue to work toward laws that will try to eliminate any public intoxication/drinking.

Make no mistake about it - MADD doesn't want anyone to have a drink outside of the comfort of their home - period.

Wellwood: Is eliminating public intoxication a bad thing?

If you drink outside the comfort of your home, how do you get home? Walk? Bicycle?

You remember, I assume, that MADD was started by a mother whose child was killed by a drunk driver.

Do you find it unreasonable that members of MADD would be opposed to people being publically intoxicated?

Wellwood,

MADD has a point, of sorts--driving big fast cars while drunk (or sleepy--that nearly got me killed) is a Bad Idea.

It'd be better to have some way to measure level of impairment directly, rather than make inferences from blood alcohol level. That'd take the moralism out of the question and get down to the actual problem.

On the other hand, if you're driving a small vehicle that won't go ninety--say, an electric in-town car, a bicycle, or a golf cart--and aren't able to wipe out half a dozen people with a tiny mistake, then it's a different story. I've also noticed MADD has a lot less traction in cities where it's possible to hit the bars and get home by bus or train.

Seems to me the problem can be relieved with better city design, more public transit, and more bars in walking distance. Lots more bars.

Wellwood, dropping the limit from .10 to .08 is nothing. Click my name.