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The Forsyth County News
Opinion
This is a page of opinions- ours, yours and others.
Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the
writers and artists and may not reflect our views.
Car theft should be
everyone’s concern
A vehicle is stolen every 20
seconds in the United States.
Chances are one in 42 that either
your vehicle or its contents will be
stolen this year.
These statistics, compiled by a
National Insurance Crime Bureau
(NICB)ZGallup survey, represent
two strong reasons for purchasing
anti-theft devices for your vehicle.
However, the survey also illus
trates that many people believe
that anti-theft devices are unneces
sary for their own vehicles because
their cars, for one reason or anoth
er, are not at risk.
The fact is, there is no vehicle
nor area that is completely safe
from crime. It can happen to any
one, anywhere.
“With 1.55 million cars stolen
in 1993 alone, car owners must
take that extra step to protect their
vehicle,” said Randy Bly, director
of traffic safety for AAA Auto
Club South.
The following are some
assumptions that the NICB/Gallup
survey found among car owners on
why they believe they are less sus
ceptible to theft. In response, the
NICB offers a few facts about
vehicle theft that may be surpris
ing.
“I don’t live in a high-risk
Inflatable life jackets:
The future is now
After more than a decade of
study, the U.S. Coast Guard has
published manufacturing standards
for inflatable life jackets and some
models are likely to be approved for
use on recreational boats as early as
this fall, according to BOAT/U.S.
(Boat Owners Association of The
United States).
Each year, about 800 people die
in recreational boating accidents
and 75 percent aren’t wearing life
jackets. “Approval of inflatable life
jackets'could be one of the biggest
life-saving advances in recreational
boat safety we will see in our life
time,” said BOAT/U.S. President
Richard Schwartz.
BOAT/U.S. had been pushing
hard for federal approval of inflat
able life jackets, testifying twice
before Congress in the past three
years on the need for Coast Guard
action.
In the only nationwide con
sumer field test of inflatables, a
On Your Payroll
' CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt, 212
Kelly Mill Road, Cumming, Ga.
30130
Mayor Pro-Tern, Ralph Perry,
1420 Pilgrim Road,
Cumming, Ga. 30130
Lewis Ledbetter, 205 Mountain
Brook Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130
' Quincy Holton, 312 Samaritan
Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130
Rupert Sexton, 705 Pine Lake
Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130
John Pugh, 108 13th Street,
Cumming, Ga. 30130 ■»
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
David Sexton, 5330 Dahlonega
Hwy., Cumming, Ga. 30130
Ron Seder, 6355 Barberry Hill
Place, Gainesville, Ga. 30506
James Harrington, P.O. Box 305,
Cumming, Ga. 30130
John Kieffer, 4403 Pine Tree
Close, Cumming, Ga. 30130
Lamar Suddeth, 3145 Pleasant
Grove Rd., Cumming, Ga. 30130
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Sherry Sagemiller, 1460 Squire
Lane, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-887-8388.
Arthur Wright, 4200 Oaktree
Larie, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
area.” The fact is, there is no such
thing as a low-risk area. FBI data
shows that in the last few years,
car thieves are starting to leave the
cities in search of easier targets,
such as towns and suburbs.
“My car is too old.” Used cars
are stolen more often than new
cars. Since parts for older models
are in high demand, auto thieves
often strip a vehicle and sell the
parts at a total value of two to four
times a vehicle’s actual value.
“Anti-theft devices are too
expensive.” In reality, most anti
theft devices cost less than the
deductible you’d pay if your car
was stolen. Some insurance com
panies, like AAA Auto Club South
Insurance Company, offer lower
insurance discounts for vehicles
with anti-theft devices.
“My car is not a popular model
to be stolen.” In many cases, vehi
cles are stolen to be used in other
crimes or simply for joy-riding.
The car is simply used for a means
of transportation and the type of
car is of little importance to the
thieves.
Whether it’s a complete car
alarm system or The Club to lock
onto your steering wheel, this
extra step gives a potential car
thief one more reason to step
away.
three-year ( 199093) study by the
BOAT/U.S. Foundation for Boating
Safety involving 520 boaters, the
majority of participants said they
would choose one in an emergency
over a regular life jacket.
Inflatable life jackets contain a
carbon dioxide cartridge that
inflates the jacket automatically
upon contact with water. They offer
greater comfort and buoyancy than
traditional life jackets and perform
better in keeping the head out of the
water, important if the wearer is
unconscious.
Inflatables have been used wide
ly on military and commercial ves
sels. But few have been sold to
recreational users because they have
been much more expensive than
regular life jackets. “As consumers
see the great benefits of inflatables,
we expect higher demand to lower
prices, which will encourage even
more people to wear them,”
Schwartz said.
770-887-6883.
Eddie Taylor, 4195 Morningside
Drive, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-887-4405.
Ben Benson, 1265 Dahlonega
Highway, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
770-889-9892.
Don Hendricks, 5985 Polo Drive,
Cumming, Ga. 30130. 770-889-
2909.
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES
•U.S. Senator Sam Nunn
303 Dirksen Senate Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.
Telephone: 1-202-224-3521,
Atlanta 404-331-4811
Fax: Washington, 202-224-0072;
Atlanta, 404-331-5439
•U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell
200 Russell Senate Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
Atlanta: 100 Colony Square,
Suite 300, 1175 Peachtree St.,
Atlanta, Ga. 30361
Telephone: 202-224-3643;
Atlanta 404-347-2202
Fax: Washington, 202-228-3875;
Atlanta, 404-347-2243
•U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 9th District
1406 Longworth House Office
Building, Washington, D.C. 20515
Gainesville: P.O. Box 1015,
Gov. Zell Miller 203 State Capital, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 1-404-656-1776
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Congressional hearing examines the increased international trafficking ofßohypnol
Senators hear from women victimized by ‘date rape drug’
A Senate subcommittee today
heard shocking testimony from
two young women victimized by
America’s newest drug threat,
Rohypnol, the so-called “date rape
drug,” which is increasingly being
smuggled illegally into the United
States through international traf
ficking.
U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-
Ga.) presided over Tuesday’s hear
ing as chairman of the Western
Hemisphere Subcommittee of the
Senate Foreign Relations
Committee. The hearing examined
the rise in international trafficking
of the illicit drug and its devastat
ing effects on American teenagers
and women.
“Rohypnol is America’s
newest drug menace that is sweep
ing high schools, college campus
es and bars. At least seven times
more powerful than Valium and 10
times more potent than Quaaludes,
this drug strikes with horrifying
speed, incapacitating users in a
matter of minutes and virtually
wiping out their memories for sev
eral hours,” Coverdell said.
“Not only is the drug being
widely abused by teenagers, law
enforcement authorities are find
ing increasing cases where
Rohypnol has been slipped into an
unsuspecting woman’s drink in
order to disable and rape her,” he
said.
At the hearing, the senators
heard testimony from a Florida
and a Tennessee woman who fell
prey to a rapist in south Florida.
The attacker, who has since plead
ed guilty to rape, had boasted that
he had used the drug to assault
more than 20 women.
To deter these insidious, drug
related rapes, Coverdell intro
duced S. 1919, which creates a
new federal crime and stiffens
prison sentences and fines for con-
Gainesville, Ga. 30503
Telephone: 202-225-
521 l.Gainesville, 770-535-2592
Fax: 202-225-5211; Gainesville,
770-535-2765
STATE REPRESENTATIVES
• Senator Clint Day, 48th
District
121-1 State Capitol, Atlanta, Ga.
30334
Telephone: 404-656-0048
(office) or 770-446-1500
•Senator Casey Cagle, 49th
District
303-B Legislative Office
Building, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 404-656-7580
(office) or 404-656-6578
•Rep. Mike Evans, 28th
District
18 Capitol Square, Legislative
Office Building, Room 604,
Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 404-656-0250
(office) or 404-656-0265
•Rep. Keith Breedlove, 85th
District
Legislative Office Building,
Suite 412, Atlanta, Ga. 30334
Telephone: 404-656-0137
(office) or 770-945-1579
victed criminals who administer
Rohypnol, or other controlled sub
stances, against the will of another
person in order to commit a rape
or other felony. If approved, these
criminals could spend at least five
additional years behind bars for
this federal offense in addition to
any state sentences they receive.
66
This send a clear
message to rapists and
other predators who
would attempt to use this
illegal drug on innocent
victims that this crime will
not be tolerated. „
99
“This sends a clear message to
rapists and other predators who
would attempt to use this illegal
drug against innocent victims that
this crime will not be tolerated,”
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Friday, July 19,1996 -
Coverdell said. “My legislation
takes a tough stand against this
new threat, which is growing as
the drug is smuggled into our
country from Mexico, Columbia
and other nations in our hemi
sphere.”
Rohypnol is an illegal drug in
the U.S. but is legitimately manu
factured as a powder in
Switzerland and Brazil and then
pressed into tablets at facilities in
Mexico and Columbia for use in
more than 60 countries where the
drug is prescribed legally.
However, with increasing frequen
cy, the drug is being targeted to
the illegal U.S. drug market.
“Drug smugglers use overnight
mail, commercial aircraft and
pedestrian traffic across the U.S.-
Mexican border to ship Rohypnol.
There is a growing concern that
the narcotic might now be smug
gled into the U.S. through orga
nized drug traffickers,” Sen.
Coverdell said.
“Rohypnol seizures have sky
rocketed since 1993. In 10 years,
DEA officials confiscated more
than 375,000 tablets, more than 80
percent of these pills seized in just
the last two years,” he said.
Among those who testified on
how drug traffickers are penetrat
ing U.S. borders and spreading the
scourge of Rohypnol throughout
the U.S. were: Sergeant Detective
Dave Robshaw of the Broward
County Sheriff’s Office, Terrence
Woodworth, deputy director of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s
Office of Diversion Control and
Maria Herrera, supervisory special
agent for the U.S. Customs
Department’s Office of Strategic
Problem Solving.
Also testifying were Sen.
Joseph Biden (D-DeL), Rep.
Gerald Soloman (R-N.Y.) and Dr.
Robert Armstrong with Hoffman-
La Roche, the drug’s manufactur
er.
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