Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Vol. 19 No. 36
Voyager Media Publications • shorewoodsentinel.com
local community
Overdose awareness event comes to village E.R.M. Overdose Awareness Foundation will hold an informational rally and memory walk on Aug. 31 By Kris Stadalsky for the bugle/sentinel
sweditor@buglenewspapers.com @buglenewspapers
By Jeanne Millsap for the sentinel Shorewood resident Brian Benak’s wife, family, neighbors, friends and military veterans and supporters threw him a surprise retirement party Saturday at the Joliet VFW post for his 31 years of service in two branches of the military – the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. Benak retires September 1 from active duty and will be inducted into the U.S. Army Retired Reserves. The official celebration began early that afternoon, then a neighborhood party continued way into the night. “I thought we were just going to do some pictures down by the river,” Benak said, “then we’d be home and that’d be it. . . I was overwhelmed.” Operation Welcome You Home began the party with its usual fanfare of veteran motorcycle riders and horns, flags and sirens then escorted Benak and his family to the VFW. To his mother, Barb Benak, her son’s retirement is a relief. She said she couldn’t be more proud of his choice to serve his country, but she worried about him during his deployments in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. She said she was glued to the television.“I was panic-stricken,” she said. “When he was in Iraq, I have never been so scared in my life.”
See ‘soldier’ page 23
The Details. Shorewood resident Brian Benak’s wife, family, neighbors, friends and military veterans and supporters threw him a surprise retirement party Saturday at the Joliet VFW post for his 31 years of service in two branches of the military – the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army. “I’m amazed by his duty and the sacrifice he makes and how dedicated he is,” she said. “It was kind of scary for us, but I think it made (his children) appreciate the things what we have and to see what he’s doing for our country. You see their pride.”
When it comes to drug use and overdose, the days of saying “it doesn’t happen in my backyard” are long gone. In 2011, more than 41,000 people died in the United States from drug overdoses.That was up from 37,000 in 2009, according to International Overdose Awareness Day and the Drug Policy Alliance. Opiates, like heroin, are the largest overdose category. Drug overdose has become so rampant that a day each year is dedicated to raising awareness of the problem. August 31 is Overdose Awareness Day, and in addition to bringing the problem and possible solutions to light, it’s a day to help reduce the stigma of overdose deaths and publicly mourn lost loved ones. E.R.M. Overdose Awareness Foundation, a new organization spearheaded by Elaine Rivas, will hold an informational rally and memory walk on Aug. 31, at Shorewood Towne Center Park, beginning at 6 p.m. Rivas is lining up speakers to talk about what’s going on in our own community, what is being done in response to the problem, what services are available to help and how they can be contacted. “Heroin has been formally announced as an epidemic,” said Rivas, “and unfortunately it’s in our area.” Rivas is also working with several organizations that will set up informational tables, such as support centers, forums and recovery programs. >> see awareness | page 3