danger zones facing teen drivers? Find out on our 
Our thanks to all the Purple Uppers who participated in this year's Purple Up for Military Kids day and to those who sent us your photos. You can see them all here.
Committee dedicates garden to all who serve
On Saturday, April 27th, the Take Pride Committee unveiled a Military Appreciation Garden in Elko's Main City Park. The garden is intended to honor all who serve our nation in any branch of the armed services.
Cancer survivor gets Ely students' attention
More than 200 White Pine Middle School students saw first-hand that cancer from tobacco isn't always decades away but can strike young tobacco users as well as older users.
On March 13, Gruen VonBehrens, who began chewing tobacco at age 13 and developed cancer by 17, spoke to students in Eureka and Ely, Nevada, about the devastation his early tobacco use caused. VonBehrens, missing his lower teeth, jaw, half of his tongue, and some neck muscles from 35 surgeries, has made himself a graphic reminder for young people of the dangers of tobacco. (PACE Coalition photo)
PACE Coalition has hired Mary Ann Martinez for the position of Community Health Advocate to work with Latino communities in northeastern Nevada and assist individuals in securing and managing health care. She can be reached at (775) 340-9263. Read the Elko Daily Free Press article.
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Deputy Director David Mineta (at podium) addresses a standing-room-only audience during National Above the Influence Day. Sharing the stage are (L-R) moderator Matt McCarty; PACE Coalition Executive Director Cathy McAdoo; and student panelists Navpreet Samra, Sierra Dumas, Hannah Zuraff, Justin Berger, and Madi Estes. (Photo by Shannon Squires ©2012)
Local students wow audience during 1st-ever National Above the Influence Day
Wow! A standing-room-only crowd of students, parents, educators and government, civic and business leaders came to the Elko Convention Center yesterday to listen and learn from a panel of remarkable Elko and Spring Creek high school students. The young panelists spoke to the audience and the nation about the pressures of negative influences and what it takes to rise above them. Get the story.
In the news: Tobacco
CDC: Declines in cigarette consumption offset by increases in other smoked tobacco products
Loopholes in tax structure, classification system are possible causes
Sharp increases in total adult consumption of pipe tobacco (used for roll-your-own cigarettes) and cigarette-like cigars since 2008 have offset declines in total cigarette consumption, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although total cigarette consumption continued an 11-year downward trend with a 2.5 percent decline from 2010 to 2011, dramatic increases in use of non-cigarette smoked tobacco products have slowed the long decline in overall consumption of smoked tobacco products. Learn more
Bath Salts
“Bath Salts” refers to a class of dangerous synthetic stimulants designed to evade federal drug control laws. They may be purchased over the Internet or in convenience, novelty or drug paraphernalia stores known as “head shops.” They are sometimes sold as plant food, but no legitimate bath or plant products are sold by the milligram under names like “Purple Wave,” “Scarface” or “Hurricane Charlie” or promoted as legal and undetectable by urinalysis.
These stimulants are intended to give users a meth- or cocaine-like high. They are dangerous because they rely on substances that were never properly tested or approved for human use. Since their emergence in the U.S. just over two years ago, bath salt-related calls to poison control centers have reached thousands per year and emergency room visits have soared. Symptoms include extreme agitation, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, chest pains, anxiety, extreme paranoia, delusions and hallucinations. Several deaths have been attributed to bath salts from overdose, accidental injury or suicide.
For a quick look at key information, read the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Fact Sheet on bath salts. For more detailed information, read the PACE Coalition article “Bath Salts: combining the worst of meth, cocaine, LSD and Ecstasy.”
Spice
Another troubling designer drug is called spice. It arrived it the U.S. in 2008 and swept across the country. It is meant to produce a similar feeling to smoking marijuana. It too, has led to great increases in calls to poison Control Centers.
Several users were sickened in Casper, Wyo., last year, some with serious kidney problems attributed to Spice. Manufacturers spray synthetic cannabinoids on organic plant material to make it psychoactive. Because of lack of manufacturing controls, the level of chemicals in any given batch is inconsistent and buyers can't be sure how much of the drug they are ingesting or even what plants were used in the mix.
For Spice highlights, click here. For in-depth information, read PACE coalition's article, "Spice: A dangerous high."