B OONE COMMUNITY RECORDER Your
FAMILY FUN B1
75¢ Community
Recorder newspaper serving Burlington and Hebron
THURSDAY, AUGUST 30, 2012
People of all ages enjoyed the traditions at the Boone County 4-H and Utopia Fair.
BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS
Hebron animal rescue ‘rapidly growing’
THE HEROIN EPIDEMIC
By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
Charlotte Wethington holds a picture of her son, Casey Wethington, who passed way from a heroin overdose in August 2002. FILE PHOTO
HEROIN EFFECTS HIT HOME
Family members of heroin addicts share their stories By Amanda Joering ajoering@nky.com
The night of Dec. 15, 2008, wasn’t the first time Ellen Goetz woke up to find that her son, Scott Dietz, hadn’t come home. “He borrowed my car and left to go out with a friend,” Goetz said. “He said ‘I love you mom, I’ll be back later.’” But, Dietz never came back. The 30-year-old was found dead in a parking lot in his mother’s car a few days later after
RELATED LINKS This story is the third in a series about the current heroin epidemic in Northern Kentucky. Links to the first two stories are available here: Police work to combat growing heroin epidemic: http://bit.ly/growingepidemic Heroin deaths on the rise, expected to continue: http://bit.ly/heroindeaths
overdosing on heroin. Bill Mark, director of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, said that heroin accounts for 63 percent of arrests in Northern Kentucky, with the re-
gion leading the state in heroinrelated arrests. Campbell County Coroner Mark Schweitzer said across the region, heroin overdose deaths have continued to rise every year, with the current numbers being higher than he’s ever seen. Dietz, described by his mother as a good person who was very outgoing and could always make people laugh, had been struggling with addiction for years. While she isn’t sure exactly when his drug use started, Goetz said he had admitted to her a few years ago that he had been using heroin. See HEROIN, Page A2
HEBRON — Angie More of Hebron knows every animal can’t be saved. “We can’t save them all, but at least we can change the world for one or two at a time,” she said. That’s why the motto of Paws and Claws Animal Rescue, the rescue she started earlier this year, is “one by one, until there are none.” The motto helps put the issue in perspective so it’s not so overwhelming for foster families who want to help more animals but can’t. “Because of course we want to save them all and take them all in, but right now that’s not a reality,” More said. She had previously worked with animals and different shelters and rescues. “None of them really had the same ethical and moral vision that I did,” More said. After taking a break last December she realized this was her calling and “that was what I needed to do.” After talking with friends, the rescue – funded by donations and adoption fees – began in January, gaining nonprofit status by March “and we are rapidly growing.” The group works with different area shelters, pulling dogs and cats from the euthanasia list, More said. While the group has previously done a few “owner surrenders,” More said the rescue is trying to turn the focus away from that and “trying to promote responsible pet ownership.” The group is not breed-specific and has even taken on several “special-needs” animals.
Angie More of Hebron hugs CiCi, a dog currently up for adoption. More founded Paws and Claws Animal Rescue earlier this year. THANKS TO ANGIE MORE
According to More, because the rescue does take on animals with special needs that have high vet bills, Paws and Claws is looking for business sponsors and donors. Volunteers and foster homes are also needed. The group can “only save the number of lives for the number of foster homes we have,” she said. The animals stay in their foster home until they can find a permanent home. “Once the animal leaves the shelter, they never go back,” More said. Many people don’t take the responsibility of pet ownership seriously, she said. “To a lot of people, it’s more of a convenience thing for them and they’re still seeing the lives of dogs and cats as disposable.” Thus far, the group has saved 52 animals and currently has 17 adoptable cats and dogs in the rescue. For more information call 859250-9396, visit pawsclawsanimal rescue.weebly.com or find the group on Facebook.
Local delegates headed to GOP convention By Stephanie Salmons ssalmons@nky.com
A looming tropical storm wan’t stopping local delegates from attending the Republican National Convention taking place Aug. 27-30 in Tampa, Fla. According to the official convention website, some 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories are gathering to nominate the Republican presidential candidate. John Nalbandian of Union is a district alternate who planned to be in Tampa for the convention. “I hope the weather cooperates,” he said before leaving. “That’s the unknown right now.”
Nalbandian said he’s looking forward to seeing Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, as well as a number of Republican governors speaking. “I’m looking forward to that, seeing some people (from) around the country.” He’s also anticipating speeches from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. Romney will have a chance to “tell his story and his background and give the voters the opportunity to see who he is,” Nalbandian said. Nalbandian said he thinks Ryan was a “great pick" for Romney’s running mate. “I’m excited to see him speak.”
Because Ryan went to school at Miami University, he has “ties to the Kentucky/Ohio region, so I think that’s great,” Nalbandian said. While Nalbandian said viability of coal and specifically energy issues are “vital for Kentucky,” the economy is the “dominant factor” in the upcoming
HAPPY REUNION
OLD FASHION DAY
Petersburg boy reunites with first responders that took care of him. A3
There's still time to register for the parade in Walton. B5
election. Rep. Addia Wuchner of Florence, a district alternate, is also attending. Wuchner attended the 2008 convention as a Nalbandian delegate and said the convention is the time “those ideas, those plans, that synergy is built (and we) get to know more about our candidate.” The convention is a time to focus on a platform and a plan, she said. She wasn’t concerned about the weather, but said America is already “in the eye of a storm of crisis that’s facing this country.” Wuchner says she enjoys all
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the speakers, who bring different attributes and insights. During the process, voters get to know their presidential and vice presidential candidates “much more inti-
mately.” Other Republican delegates include member at-large alternate Julia Bright, member atlarge alternate Cathy Flaig of Hebron, and district delegate Tami Wilson of Florence. Check out next week’s issue of the Boone County Recorder for a look at the delegates attending the Democratic National Convention. Vol. 9 No. 36 © 2012 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED