The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 5

Local A5 News of our communities, our region and state the Pantagraph Sunday, September 14, 1997 Date-rape drugs' a growing cause for alarm here i Experts recommend the following steps to avoid becoming a victim: Avoid becoming intoxicated. Keep control of your drinks. Accept only those you see mixed or opened. Keep your hand over drinks if you turn away to chat with someone. Never leave drinks unattended.

41 A SCOTT RICHARDSON antagraph staff i Area law enforcement officials are worried that some of the drugs rapists are using as weapons to subdue their victims have arrived in Central Illinois, If so, experts say, the "date-rape drugs" that led U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to issue a national warning last month are destined to cause severe problems, not lonly for rape victims, but also for police jand prosecutors. Once slipped into a drink, the drugs render victims unable to fend off attackers and also induce short-term amnesia so victims may only have vague memories of an assault, if at all. The drugs also are metabolized very quickly, so testing may reveal no trace. At least one of the drugs also has anoth-jer side effect mixed with alcohol or in high doses, it can cause victims to stop breathing.

"This is dangerous stuff," said Illinois Jstate police Sgt. Chuck Grooss, who is with Force 6, the Bloomington-based undercover multi-agency investigations unit. Area hospital spokesmen and Blooming-Jton-Normal rape crisis workers say they treated any suspected victims of the drugs some view as modern-day Mick-ley Finns, or Mickeys. The drug of choice in most rapes remains alcohol. But Grooss said undercover drug agents have heard that GHB, known as Griffic" tor "Liquid and Rohypnol, also called "roofies" or "rope," are here.

Grooss said police are not surprised. They had long predicted it was only a matter of time before the drugs made the short Ihop from Chicago, where emergency rooms report rising numbers of cases, especially in neighborhoods that host singles bars. i Loree Adams, director of youth services Chestnut Health Systems, said teens seeking treatment at the Bloomington sub-1 stance abuse treatment center have shared I rumors that the drugs can be purchased in The Pantagraph area. And Cyndra Flynn, assistant director of student life for campus safety at Illinois i State University, said one student told her the drug has reached the Normal campus. Flynn has included information about i GHB and Rohypnol in presentations on rape prevention for more than a year.

Illegal in the United States, Rohypnol, 'which some term the "Quaalude of the A 90s," is available by prescription in Central America and Europe, where it used as a sedative for the short-term treatment of insomnia or to relax patients before surgery. In higher doses, Rohypnol, or funi-trazepam, becomes a strong depressant several times more powerful than Valium. Effects begin with an almost-instant high followed by a deep low. Blackouts and short-term amnesia are side effects. "They don't know what's going on, and they don't know even after it's done," Grooss said.

"They may have no idea what happened." Often dissolved in a victim's drink at a crowded bar or party, alcohol heightens the effects. Manufactured in pill form, Rohypnol may be stamped with the initials "RH" on one side. With a chemical name of gamma hy-droxybutyrate acid and listed as an unapproved substance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, GHB is circulated among body builders for its unproven reputation as a stimulator of growth hormones and as fat burner. It also has been used as a sleeping aid for insomniacs.

Because of its resemblance in powder form to cocaine, GHB has been seized, analyzed and positively identified in Illinois crime labs, though it's not currently listed among controlled substances in this state. However, several states have banned its sale and possession. GHB also may be a colorless, odorless liquid. Sometimes mixed with cinnamon, it may appear pink. GHB may cause hallucinations and heightened sexual desire and euphoria at first.

Heavy sedation follows along with the potential of coma and respiratory failure. The problems GHB causes to law enforcement are heightened because it can 'V 'i it Photo illustration DAVE So-called "date-rape drugs" can leave victims with little more than hazy memories. be manufactured in home labs, and successful prosecutions is clear. Even if a recipes are transmitted via the Internet, victim suspects she's been raped, she Primary ingredients? Cleaning supplies. would be unable to answer even the sim- Experts estimate 90 percent of rapes go Plest of questions about what happened, unreported, and the negative impact of Grooss said.

Did she say "no?" Did she try "date-rape" drugs on that statistic and to to fight off her attacker? Regardless, women who believe they have been raped while under the influence' of such drugs should not hesitate to seek help or report the crime. Obviously, policeq cannot build a case if they are unaware crime may have occurred, he said. Geography Bee widens world for area 5th-graders The Pantagraph and Illinois Power Co. have teamed up tql sponsor a McLean County Geography Bee, open to all fifth- graders in the area. 4 Students will compete in school bees, with finalists moving ,4 1 CT IVaI-I on to the grand final bee, which will be Nov.

15 at NormakS Community High School during National Geography AwareH ness Week. There will be prizes for the first-, second- and third-placa finishers at the final Geography Bee. Geography bees were an area tradition for 37 years, attract) ing students from up to 26 public and private schools from Blooming-ton-Normal and Lexington, until they were discontinued in 1995. They were renewed after area teachers petitioned The Pantagraph to sponsor the event. The Geography Bee is a natural extension of ml Geography takes you places! ygjrVafe The PantagraphMAUREEN O'CONNOR Punkin patch punt The Paragraph's News- paper in Education (NIE) program, which puts newspapers iif classrooms as a topical, relevant curriculum supplement, jj More than 6,100 papers a week are distributed to 128 classjfj rooms and used in a variety of subjects, including geography "Geography is more than a school subject," said Panta graph Publisher Donald R.

Skaggs. "It's an important factoEjj in everyday lives. Knowledge of geography extends beyond loS cation it has historical, economic and cultural relevance.) The Geography Bee is an excellent way to build excitement about learning and hopefully foster a lifelong interest in thej world around us." IP Regional Manager Peter Millburg added: "We're pleased' to provide area teachers with another tool to help them helpj Above left, Drew Fehr and Joel Smith, members of the Pumpkin Pulverizers II team from Morton High School, reacted Saturday after their catapulted pumpkin hit the targeted truck in the Punkin Chuckin contest at the 31st annual Morton Pumpkin Festival. Above right, Dave Barker, Lewis, wore an orange colored beard as he watched the other competitors in action. He said he was on the original team when the sport was invented in Harbe-son, by Bill Thompson, who also was competing Saturday.

Left, Roger Decker Jr. of Peoria picked up the pumpkins he intended to use in competition. He was on a team from The Industrial Technology Academy at Manual High School. This is the second year for the Punkin Chuckin' contest. Competition continues today.

LlMMgMBMgMtMaiBait nifc. in i our children learn about the world around them. The bee will! touch thousands of fifth-graders and their families, and Illi nois Power is proud to play a part in their educational expen ence." Srhnnls nartirinatine in the Generanhv Ree will receive newspapers through The Paragraph's NIE program, plus re-j source and teaching materials and a world map for each fifth-! grade student. Teachers will also have the opportunity to at- tend one of two workshops held in September. Project has youth dreaming of ice cream scoops! say, look, involvement in mis gang is go-j ing to result in But the effort won't just benefit thffl young people.

The surrounding neighbor-hood would continue to enjoy ice cream do spite the recent closing of Richie's. "I used to go to Richie's when it was up and running and noted it had a pretty good following," Crutcher said. "It's wonderful! a 1 1 4. 1 i 1 '4 10 nave mai uusiness mere. The building also could be a future site of! a Bloomington police substation, although i M- -J 1.

i tv 11- i ii.ni 3 1 -it. i GO k. 5 ft -J Slillil 1 1 1 in- iMtm Monday, when the Bloomington City Council agreed to provide $40,000 toward the purchase price of the property. Other agencies, including Youth Impact Inc. and the Community Youth Liaison Council, and several individuals have worked to establish the city's latest youth initiative.

If all goes at planned, Scoop Dreams would open next spring with eight to 10 youth employees. The young people, age 15 to 20, would be overseen by an adult manager while learning job skills, earning an hourly wage and receiving GED and other assistance. Profits from the business would be used to help its employees. Ideally the employees would use the job as a springboard to a better education or another job. Employees would be selected from Project Oz's Power Program, an education and training program.

Crutcher said the youths are not hardcore gang members but those who ran around with the wrong crowd. "The kids aren't dumb," he said. "We By DAVID WICKERT Pantagraph staff Nothing could be sweeter than a delicious frosty, ice cream cone on a scorching summer day except, perhaps, a fresh start in life after a troubled youth. A small group of local young people may be mingling those sweet dreams thanks to the efforts of several local agencies and the city of Blooihington. The groups plan to buy the former Richie's Ice Cream parlor at 702 S.

Morris Ave. to use as a training ground for youths who have broken with local gangs and are learning to make a better life for themselves. By next spring, they'll be serving up icy treats in a business that will be redubbed, appropriately, "Scoop Dreams." Kevin Crutcher, coordinator of the Youth Initiative Program at Project Oz, said the organizations involved have been "in awe of the enormous support the idea has received." A big portion of that support was given no tirm plans nave Deen estaDiisnea. In fact, many details of the effort remain unresolved. Many of them will be resolved in the coming months, and Crutcher said the group is proceeding cautiously to en sure the project comes off smoothly.

Scoop Dreams will be overseen by a board of social service workers and busi-J ness owners. Julie Dobski, an owner of lo- cal McDonald's restaurants, and Mikei Sprague, a State Farm agent and Bloom-1 ington City Council member, are among those involved with the project. The PantagraphMAUREEN O'CONNOR Ritchie's Ice Cream parlor in Bloomington will be the home of Scoop Dreams..