The Times Herald from Port Huron, Michigan • Page A2

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EACHDigitalAccessSUBSCRIP- TIONincludesaccesstothetimes- herald.com,tablet,mobileandthe Newsstand Howtocallus: (810)985-7171or(800)462-4057 VolumeNo.109,No.223 IMES ERALD WWW THE IMES ERALD COM Homedeliverysubscribers accessyouraccountonlineat www.theTimesHerald.comSubscriberZone. 2A NEWS Middaydaily3: 2-8-3 Middaydaily4: 6-6-7-5 Daily3: 4-4-5 Daily4: 9-5-0-1 Fantasy5: 02-07-26-37-38 ClassicLotto47: 18-2032-39-40-43 Keno: 02-05-10-11-14-1819-23-26-35-38-44-46-50-51- 53-54-55-58-60-64-77 FridayMegaMillions: 11-20-30-34-38MegaBall: 12 Powerball: PickupMon- winningnumbers. LOTTERY NUMBERS TODAY High 75 Partly cloudy TONIGHT Low 57 Chance ofT- storms MONDAY Chance ofT- storms WEDNESDAY Partly cloudy TUESDAY Partly cloudy YesterdayHighLow PortHuron7350 Mt.Clemens7757 BadAxe7350 Normal7761 Record9449 Watertemperatures Lakeport70 PortHuron70 MarysvilleNA St.Clair70 MarineCity73 (Medium-High) 40minutestoburn TheTimesHerald strivesforfairandaccu- regretitanytimeanerror ismade.Itisthepolicyof thisnewspapertocorrect substantiveerrorsinfact thatappearinitsnews columns.Pleasebring errorstotheattentionof MichaelEckertat(810) thetimesherald.com. GETTINGIT RIGHT CORRECTIONSAND CLARIFICATIONS Wendlingsaidhere- fortheMarchandMay 2012incidentsinMay andJuly2013. mostpowerlesstogo forwardwiththeprose- cutionuntilthattestis Wendlingsaidsending theteststoaprivatelab istoocostly.

Capt.GregMichaud, directorofMichigan StatePoliceForensic thereisabacklogof about90percentofthose casesaredrug-related bloodtests. Thebacklogmeansa 10-to11-monthwaitfor countiestoreceiveblood Michaudsaidthelab triestoexpeditethe processincasesinvolv- ingdeaths. hesaid. Michaudsaidthe backlogofdrug-related casesisduetoaperfect crackdownondrugged drivingandthecompli- catednatureofdrug screens. policestafflostsome toxicologiststoearly retirementincentives andwereunabletofill positionsbecauseof fundingcuts.

Thetoxicologydivi- sionoftheforensicslab abouttwo-thirdsofthose scientistsarenewhires invariousstagesofa two-yeartrainingperiod, Michaudsaid. Thetoxicologistson staffcanbecalledto testifytwoorthreetimes adayatcourtsthrough- outtheUpperandLower Peninsulas. Michaudsaid. Betterdrugrecog- nitiontrainingprograms forlawenforcementalso haveledtoanincreased demandfordrug-related tests. influxinrecentyears becauseofprogramsthat Michaudsaid.

Sevenoreightyears relatedbloodtestsayear, Michaudsaid. year. Whileanalcohol-relat- edbloodtestmighttake drug-relatedbloodtest cantakeuptoaweek. Michaudsaidnew hiresattheLansingfacil- ityhavehelpedtoad- butmorefundingis needed. ouslyhavingthere- sourcesonyourwork forcetomeetthework 30-dayturnaroundinall ofourforensicdisci- Druggeddrivingon localroads St.ClairCountySher- iffTimDonnellonsaid theissueofdrugged drivingisnotuniqueor new.

arrestsforoperating undertheinfluenceof Thatnumberincreased and23in2012. Donnellonsaidin- dicatorsofdrugusecan itdifficulttorecognizeat aroadsidestop. showingnosignsofalco- begintosuspectdrug use. said. Hesaidsomeofhis deputiesreceivedrug recognitiontrainingsuch asAdvancedRoadside ImpairedDrivingEn- forcement.Thecourse trainslawenforcement cuteimpaireddrivers.

Donnellonsaidcases flectthedifferencebe- tweenhandlingcases thatdealwithalcohol versusdrugs. aboutthiswasshehadso causeofthebacklog therewasnoresolution andshehadthesame Michaudsaidstate policelabshaveaseven- to14-daybacklogfor alcohol-relatedblood takesaboutadaytocom- plete. Acommunity epidemic Theincreasein druggeddriversisrooted inanincreasecounty- wideofprescriptiondrug Donnellonsaidthe countyhashadalarge increaseinprescription opioids. heroinwasseizedinSt. said.In2012,thatnum- berjumpedto226grams ofheroin.

68pillsoftheanti-anxi- etydrugXanax.In2012, thenumberofXanax pillsseizedincreasedto 205.Xanaxisthemost frequentlyabusedofa classofdrugsgenerally calledtranquilizers. amountsofprescription Donnellonsaid. AnnetteMercatante, medicalhealthofficer fortheSt.ClairCounty HealthDepartment, calledprescriptiondrug abuseoneofthemost importantissuesforthe community. ingatthedataand Mercatantesaid. Accordingtoinforma- tionfromtheMichigan AutomatedPrescription isabovethestateaver- ageforpercapitauseof andoxycodone.

Stimulantsinclude linandConcerta.Hydro- codoneandoxycodone areconsideredopioids. Thereareabout10.4 donedrugsprescribed foreverypersoninSt. percapitaisthestate average. St.ClairCounty’sunits percapitaofstimulants hydrocodoneandoxyco- donearehigherthan laccounties. GradyWilkinson, chiefexecutiveofficerof SacredHeartRehabilita- thenumberofopiate- basedprescriptionpill abusersinthecountyis reachinganepidemic.

Wilkinsonsaidthe generationabusingpre- scriptionpillsisgetting peopleatSacredHeart predominantlyarein their20s. theaverageagewasin tingintroducedtoopiates throughthepillmecha- getthatbymayberaid- cabinets. waywherethelegitimate addressofpainleadsto Wilkinsonsaidbecom- ingaddictedtopainkill- ificationisdifficult. emergencydepartment directoratMcKenzie HealthSysteminSan- stoptheabuseofpre- scriptionpills. Hamedinstitutedan department.

thenumberofnarcotics prescriptionsinthe emergencydepartment by70percentwithinits said. amountofpeopleofdif- ferentagesonthese needitandalotofthem havebeentodifferent doctorsanddifferent nurses. Hamedsaidthesys- temaddressesanover- prescribingbyphysi- cianswholargelyignore alternativepainmanage- ment. thinktherearetrendsto gencydepartmentre- strictsnarcoticsand sedativesforchronic painbygivingpatients alternativesorprescrib- ingnon-narcotics. Physiciansonlypre- scribenarcoticsaftera thoroughmedicalhistory Theemergencyde- partmentalsoworkswith thelocalcommunity mentalhealthagency, lawenforcementand communityagenciesthat addressprescription drugaddictions.

surprisedbytheother Hamedsaidissues withdruggeddrivingare anaturalextensionofthe increaseinprescription druguse. Hesaidthewaya prescriptionmedication affectsapersondepends personhaseatenthat peopleshouldwaitsixto sevenhoursbeforedriv- ingaftertakingaTylenol beforedrivingaftertak- ingaVicodin.ButHamed saidthatcouldchange dependingondifferent variables. Lawmakersweighin TheJuly20carcrash andtheancillaryissues atthestatelabhaveat- tractedtheattentionof stateRep.DanLauwers. beevenmoreterribleif happenagain. sureanotherfamily Lauwerssaidsome prioritiesforfuturelegislationinclude: Ananalysisofthe statepolicebudgettosee wherere-prioritizingcan takeplacewithinthe tionalfundingfromthe stateisneeded.

Areviewofthecir- cumstancesthatallowed Bergmantoremainout- sideofjailwithtwo pendingcasesforoper- atingwhileunderthe influence. Otherlegislation wouldlookatwaysfor lawenforcementagen- ciestobettersharein- formation. beenworkingwithWen- dlingandDonnellonto addressthecrashandthe circumstancessurround- ingtheincident. Hehopesalsotoin- cludeSen.PhilPavlov, plans. avenuesweneedtopur- ContactBethLeBlancat(810) DRUGGED ContinuedfromPage1A BYTHENUMBERS 1in3: crasheswhosebloodtestsfounddrugs.

Michigandriverfatalitieswhosetestswereposi- tivefordrugs logthatisdrug-related annualnumberofdrug-relatedbloodtestsbyMichigan StatePolicescientists.Theytestabout6,000ayear. Increaseinthenumberofdrivingdruggedar- restsfrom2009to2012 from12arreststo23. Increaseinheroinseizesfrom2011to2012. HowmuchabovethestateaverageisSt.Clair drugs. Asschoolchildren aroundthenationhead backtothebusstopinthe ofthemmaynoticea changeintheirschool buses.

Agrowingnumberof schooldistrictsacross theU.S.areshiftingparts oftheirfleetsfromdiesel fueltopropanetostretch strainedbudgetsandpro- ingtoofficialsfrom schooldistrictsandfrom privatecompaniesthat operateschoolfleets. Theoverwhelming theindustrypublication SchoolTransportation News. madefromdomestically producedoilsoranimal fatsandblendedwithpe- mostcommonalternative cordingtothemagazine. seemstobetheschool busalternativefuelof choicethisyear. SchoolDistrictNo.4is takingdeliveryof61pro- panebusesthisyear, whichwillbringitstotal tionandfleetmanage- ment.

Hesaysschooltrans- portationofficialsinMe- ternativestodieselin 2010.Atthetime,school officialsaroundthena- tionweretryingtofigure outhowtocomplywith standardsforbusesen- actedbytheObamaad- ministration. concernedbecausethe economicsituationhad hadanymoney.Budgets gotcutalloverthecoun- try.Sowecalledaround. Thecosts Theyhadtoconsider notonlythefueland alsothecostofaddinga fuelinginfrastructure. Thentherearethefuel costs.Latkosaysthedis- lonofdieselcompared propane. gallonexcisetaxrebate, somypriceis62.5centsa Theinitialcostofa schoolbusisabout ilarlysizeddieselbus, presidentofsalesand marketingatROUSH CleanTechofLivonia, signsanddevelopspro- panefuelsystemsforve- hicles.

Busesgetabout10per- centfewermilespergal- lonwithpropanethan thatoverthe18-year, lessthandiesel. greenhousegasemis- Motivationchanges Schooldistrictsbegan seekingcleaner-burning alternativestodiesel about10yearsagoafter studiesfoundthattheair insideschoolbuseswas oftenfiveto10timesdirt- ierthantheairoutside. districtsaremotivated says. concernedaboutcosts. layingpeopleoff.They’re moneybackinthedis- Schoolbusesgogreen witheco-friendlypropane Districtsfindalternativefuels canbecheaperinlongrun ByLarryCopeland USAToday ONEDRAWBACK LapineSchoolDistrictbeganacquiringpropanebusesthree yearsagoandnowusesthemon18of21special-education routes.

usedforteamstravelingtoout-of-townsportingevents forthereturntrip. andmakesurewehaveaplacetorefuelforthereturn trip..