| At your service
The At Your Service column appears in The News-Journal on Mondays. Featured this week are service groups in Volusia and Flagler counties. AARP: 55 Alive Mature Driving, Tax-Aid, Medigap programs, driver's safety programs and more. www.aarp.org ; 866-595-7678. ACT Corp.: Intervention, education, treatment and rehabilitation services. www.actcorp.org; 800-539-4228. American Cancer Society: Rehabilitation programs, educational classes, support groups and more. www.cancer.org; 800-227-9954. American Heart Association: Programs to reduce premature death and disability from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. 386-676-0001; 800-683-0870. American Lung Association: Smoke cessation, asthma information and more. www.lungusa.org; 386-255-6447; 800-586-4872. American Red Cross: Provides blood supply to almost half the nation, aids in relief to disaster victims and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.
Body of homeless man found under bridge
Hypothermia killed a 55-year-old homeless man sometime on Wednesday. Iowa City Police identified Sonny Iovino as the man they discovered underneath the Benton Street bridge on Wednesday afternoon. Temperatures Tuesday night and Wednesday morning dipped into the upper 20s. Sgt. Troy Kelsay said the department was confident they had a positive identification of Iovino when his body was discovered but withheld the information until the family could be notified. He added that the investigation was treated as a criminal investigation until foul play could be ruled out. Kelsay said there was nothing that indicated that foul play contributed to Iovino's death. At 3:47 p.m., the department received a call about the body, and units arrived at the scene at 3:55 p.m.
Support groups
AL-ANON PARENTS SUPPORT GROUP: For parents whose children are struggling with abuse or addiction to drugs or alcohol. Meets each Tues., 7:30-9 p.m. at First Parish Church, 75 Great Road, Bedford Common. AL-ANON ALCOHOLISM SUPPORT: For those who are affected by someone's drinking; meets each Thurs., 7:30 p.m. at St. William's Church basement, 1351 Main St., Tewksbury. ANGER MANAGEMENT GROUP: A group for adolescents and adults seeking help contolling anger issues. Adolescents meet each Mon., 6-7 p.m.; Adults, each Mon., 7-8 p.m. at Center for Health Resources, 3 Baldwin Green Common, Suite 303, Woburn. Contact Elisa Fustolo, 781-932-0257, exst. 2 or Michael Hayden, 978-459-4884. CO-DEPENDENTS ANONYMOUS (CoDA): A 12-step fellowship of men and women whose common purpose is a desire to develop and maintain healthy relationships.
Family violence gravely serious Former mayor witnessed family violence as a boy
Plush carpet and palatial mahogany walls are just as ineffective a sound buffer as a house with dog eared linoleum flooring and tin thin plywood doors. A smashed glass of whiskey or a hard slap to the face makes the same sound to a frightened child regardless of wealth or circumstance. Children hear and feel everything. Rarely a day goes by that Leduc RCMP Const. Deanna Fontaine does not investigate a complaint of domestic violence in Leduc. Family violence in the bread and butter basket of Alberta? Oh, yes. Leduc RCMP members were called to 235 cases last year. One man pulled out his partner�s hair. A woman broke her husband�s nose. There was blood everywhere. And the children? �Unless they have the argument in Timbuktu, the children will hear it,� Fontaine said. November is Family Violence Prevention month and it�s time to educate the youth about it and how to prevent it from continuing, said Leduc-Beaumont-Devon MLA George Rogers.
Opium ain't that bad
The uproar over BJP leader Jaswant Singh allegedly serving an opium-laced drink at his home captures a defining characteristic of the modern world. It reflects the clash between traditional Asian customs and a modern narcophobic discourse intent on taming them. Eagerly reproduced around the world, narcophobia has resulted in an international war on drugs which paradoxically exacerbates the very evil it is supposed to vanquish.
The British empire's redefinition of traditional substances as dangerous drugs requiring state control had major international consequences. The perception that China was ‘poisoned' by opium fuelled an international anti-opium campaign that resulted in an outright US ban in 1875 and Britain's 1895 Royal Commission.
The colonial experience shrouds the use and abuse of opium.
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