PLN28

The article " Woman Hit by Drunk Driver Identified" by the Denver Post, discusses the on going problem of drunk driving. On December 6, Nicole King was crossing the Walnut street when she was hit and killed by a drunk driver. The driver would later be identified as Micheal Bartczak. During the trial it was found that Bartczak had a number of different previous charges from other incidents. The tickets he had received ranged from following to closely to vehicular homicide. This unruly situation continues to demonstrate the carelessness and stupidity of people under the influence of alcohol. It is a proven fact that more DUI's are charged around the holidays. Police are now starting to crack down on driving while intoxicated more than ever. People should have control and have plans in case they get drunk to get home, like a taxi or a ride with someone else. We hear about it in the news and on commercials but yet it still is a growing factor. People should be responsible and now when to stop.

PLN27

The article "5 Boulder Students OD on Prescription Drugs" talks the growing problem with high school students bringing their parents' persciption drugs to school. Last Wednesday, a female student at Justice High School brought her mother's pain medication to share with a friend. As more students learned about the availability of the pain medication,more students became involved. Authorities were notified when officials at the high school learned that 5 students had possibly overdosed and were throwing up. All 5 students were taken to Boulder Community Hospital and released to their parents later that afternoon. All of the students were expected to make full recoveries.This quandary continues to demonstrates the continuing problem of presciption drugs abuse in our schools. With police cracking down on illegal drugs such as, marijuana and cocaine, students are turning to their parents' medicine cabinets. Students know they do not have to get marijuana or any other illegal drugs in order to get high. Parents need to prevent the availability of their presciption drugs at home. Justice High School offers a program called At Risk Youth. This program is designed to help kids deal with addictions and alienation problems. Schools everywhere should have programs like this in place, so at risk teenagers have another resource for help. Also it just might prevent situations things like the one at Justice High School from happening. Next time the students may not be so lucky.

PLN26

The article "These Folks Take Poaching Seriously" tells the story of a poaching crime that made its way to a larger level. John Davidson, Jeremiah Tyson, and David Park were charged with 49 crimes resulting in a 22000 dollar fine and and a life time suspension of their hunting license. In 2008 Department of Wildlife officer Mike Swaro got a call from a concerned citizen. He would later find out that this would be the biggest investigation of his career. It started off as just a poaching case, but then it evolved into a investigation concerning more than 20 DOW officers. Once the investigation was over investigators confiscated about 25 sets of antlers, 3 big game skins, a trophy elk, 78 packages of meat, and 6 hunting rifles. The men were also fined 22000 dollars. The penalty in Colorado for poaching can be as light as a ticket or license suspension to jail time and hefty fines. In other words the state of Colorado does not take poaching lightly. Crimes like this happen all the time in Colorado and it is up to us to stop them . If they continue in the future then the species will eventually die off and there will be no more hunting. Hunting is a great recreational sport that can be shared with anyone. It has always been an American pass time and can bring allot of people together as a family. To allow this great privilege to be passed on through the next generations we need to conserve the outdoors as much as we can, for someday it night not be around.