Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2023
Goldendale’s fentanyl underground
The Sentinel has acquired a list of local sellers
Fentanyl 6: First-hand accounts of fentanyl users and families, part 6 LOU MARZELES EDITOR Today The Sentinel continues a multipart series of first-hand accounts from fentanyl users. The information is compiled from a variety of sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity either directly with The Sentinel or through an intermediary. To protect their privacy, names and details that could be used to identify the sources have been altered, though the information about how their experiences unfold is accurate. Here is a brief recap of key information from previous stories in this series: • A dose of fentanyl small enough to cover the tip of a pencil can cause death • The fentanyl high is brief, typically lasting two to three hours • It takes progressively more fentanyl to get high as the body quickly develops resistance to the drug • As users increase their fentanyl quantities, the risk of lethal overdose increases • Withdrawal from fentanyl occurs almost as soon as the high
wears off • Withdrawal can be physically and emotionally unbearable, leading users to immediately seek additional doses to avoid the pain • Narcan will save a life in the event of an overdose, but it also instantly initiates painful withdrawal—moreover, according to some user accounts, it doesn’t always work with only one application • Fentanyl is cheap, usually about the cost of a candy bar— until the addiction has taken root • A steady supply of fentanyl— enough to forestall withdrawal upon the cessation of the high— ends up costing large amounts of money ~ ~ ~ If you’re not familiar with the TV series “The Walking Dead,” here’s a quick summary: it’s set in Goldendale between the hours of 11:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. and features stories of mindless zombies on drugs being preyed upon by vampire sellers. Like most zombies, these move sluggishly and with one-track thinking; in this case, it’s to get another high. Like all vampires, the sellers make a wanton living by draining the life
out of their victims. Of course, there is such a TV show, and, of course, it’s not really about Goldendale. It’s a horror series about a zombie apocalypse that ran from 2010 to 2022. But the people who dwell in the literal and figurative darkness of Goldendale at night sometimes refer to its many nocturnal drug denizens as the walking dead. We’ll use that term in this story not to denigrate those who traverse that world but as a symbol of how that world can seem and how few citizens outside of that culture are aware of what goes on. “It’s an entirely different world,” states Remmy, father of a chronic fentanyl user. His son, whom we’ll call Gordon, is handicapped but nonetheless has been on Goldendale streets by night using and buying. Gordon may be slowly coming back to the light and has shared much information with his father about the nighttime underground. “People in the day don’t have a clue what life is like in town at night,” Remmy continues. “They can’t imagine the activity, the kind of money that changes
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A SENTINEL PUBLICATION
PERFECT NEW YEAR’S GIFT: The new Klickitat County calendar for 2024 is still available at The Sentinel office, Goldendale Pharmacy, Holcomb’s, and Allyn’s. Price is $8, which includes tax.
Vol. 144 No. 52
$1.00
City distributes Lodging Tax funds RODGER NICHOLS FOR THE SENTINEL The Goldendale City Council held its last meeting of the year last Monday and covered a half-dozen measures on the agenda in less than 90 minutes. Councilors approved an agreement between the City of Goldendale and Klickitat County on the city’s contribution to the East District Court and agreed that the Klickitat County Emergency Ham Radio service could relocate its antenna to the city watershed property. The big money item of the evening was the awarding of a contract on the Waste Water Treatment Plant upgrade project. The bid, at $3,278,043.73 from Tapani Construction of Battle Ground, was low enough that the city was able to include two optional packages to the project and still be more than a half million dollars below the engineer’s estimate of $3,791,839.98. There was more good fiscal news, as Councilor Dave Jones announced that Cypress Creek Renewables, whose application to build a large solar panel farm near Goldendale is pending review by the Energy Facilities Siting Council, is donating $10,000 to the high school swim team, another $10,000 to install solar lighting on the exercise area near the pool, and $30,000 to help fund inclusive and handicapped accessible playground equipment for city parks.
The city will also save some money on animal control. The individual who has been doing the job on a part-time temporary basis no longer wants to continue, and councilors will consolidate those duties with those of the position of building inspector and code enforcement. Current Building Inspector Mike Hussey will get an additional $12,000 a year to add those duties, saving the city more than $24,000 a year. The area of biggest concern for the public involves the award of Lodging Tax money to local nonprofits for events to draw visitors to town. As usual, there were requests for more funds than the city had available to distribute. Requests totaled $67,800, but the maximum amount available to the Lodging Tax Committee to award this year was $50,000. Members of the committee said they only awarded $43,800 in order to keep a reserve for unexpected circumstances or perhaps an opportunity for a new event. Here’s how the funding was divided: The Brighter Goldendale Christmas Committee and Abate of Washington each asked for $15,000 and the committee suggested $7,000 each instead. The Goldendale Pride Event asked for $3,000, and the committee recommended $2,000. The committee approved a full $1,800 request from the Golden-
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County near top in life expectancy Life expectancy in the United States has generally been on the rise, with rare exceptions for certain segments of the population. Between 1960 and 2019, the life expectancy of Americans rose by roughly a decade to the age of 79. Greater longevity can be attributed to improved health care such as diagnostic and medical advancements, as well as shifting lifestyle choices including healthier diets and a reduction in rates of smoking and alcohol consumption. While no one single factor determines the overall health of an entire community, certain socioeconomic and environmental factors such as access to health care, clean air, clean water, and affordable housing, contribute significantly to the general health and wellbeing of the entire population. Using 2022 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the website Stacker identified counties with the longest life expectancy in Washington. Life expectancy measures the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live and is calculated based on the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period. Counties with unreliable or insufficient data were excluded from the analysis. Mortality data came from the National Vital Statistics System. No. 15. Walla Walla County - Average life expectancy: 80.2 years (same as statewide average) - Health outcomes statewide rank: No. 16 --- Length of life rank: No. 17
--- Quality of life rank: No. 13 No. 15. Skagit County - Average life expectancy: 80.2 years (same as statewide average) - Health outcomes statewide rank: No. 10 --- Length of life rank: No. 12 --- Quality of life rank: No. 8 No. 12. Franklin County - Average life expectancy: 80.3 years (0.1 more than the statewide average) - Health outcomes statewide rank: No. 17 --- Length of life rank: No. 6 --- Quality of life rank: No. 24 No. 12. Chelan County - Average life expectancy: 80.3 years (0.1 more than the statewide average) - Health outcomes statewide rank: No. 13 --- Length of life rank: No. 8 --- Quality of life rank: No. 17 No. 12. Snohomish County - Average life expectancy: 80.3 years (0.1 more than the statewide average) - Health outcomes statewide rank: No. 5 --- Length of life rank: No. 9 --- Quality of life rank: No. 5 No. 11. Whitman County - Average life expectancy: 80.6 years (0.4 more than the statewide average) - Health outcomes statewide rank: No. 6 --- Length of life rank: No. 4 --- Quality of life rank: No. 12 No. 10. Lincoln County - Average life expectancy: 80.8
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