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OPINIONS
Editorial: On tough drug laws, MU's Summer Institute and HOT's production
An effort to hold dealers accountable when the illicit drugs they peddle contributes to a death was on display this week in a Cabell County case.
Michelle Georgette Byars appeared in federal court this week, accused of distributing heroin leading to death. A grand jury charged her with the crime in connection with the death of her ex-husband, Patrick L. Byars, who died Sept. 23, 2007.
Patrick Byars' death was among 12 deaths in Cabell County that authorities have linked to heroin since April 2007. Ten of the deaths had occurred in a few-month period starting last September.
Federal law includes a specific charge that recognizes the linkage between heroin distribution and causing death. Adding that severity to the crime may act as a deterrent for some drug sellers.
It's too bad, though, that state legislation that would have imposed stiffer penalties against drug dealers if one of their customers died of an overdose stalled last year in the Legislature. The proposal, which Cabell County Prosecutor Chris Chiles helped write, called for a penalty of up to life in prison in such cases.
The Legislature should revisit the proposal again in 2009 and pass it, so that drug dealers are put on notice that local officials can charge them with a more serious crime when a death occurs.
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This week, Marshall University had some special guests: participants in the Health Sciences and Technology Academy Summer Institute.
The annual event serves as a culmination for high school students who participate in clubs at their high schools year round. The students -- ninth- and 10th-graders -- are exposed to learning experiences that they might not get in their traditional high school science classes.
The program, international in scope but based in communities, has many things going for it. It provides academic enrichment, of course, but another of its aims is to increase the number of underrepresented and minority students who continue their educations after college. Those include African-American students, students from low-income families and those who would be the first generation from their families to go to college.
The program also is a plus for Marshall because it exposes the students to a campus that they may one day attend as college students rather than high-school-age visitors.
Once again, action on the stage of the Ritter Park Amphitheater reminds us how fortunate the Tri-State is to have Huntington Outdoor Theatre.
Starting its 15th year, HOT, as it's known, is a regional theater group that offers much to the community. It gives area residents a chance to pursue their theatrical interests. It exposes children to theater and other performance arts through its "pre-shows" before each of its main shows. And, of course, it brings entertainment to the region.
Currently, H.O.T. is performing "Romeo and Juliet" in a production that offers a new take on the Shakespearean classic with '80s pop songs mixed in. Performances of that show continue tonight and Sunday, with a pre-show featuring children at 7 p.m. and the main show starting at 8:30 p.m.
The group will then perform "Anything Goes" at 8:30 p.m. July 25-27 and Aug. 1-3. Again, the pre-shows begin at 7 p.m., with gates opening at 6:30 p.m. for picnics.
The formation of H.O.T. in 1994 and its staying power since then is a labor or love involving many people. To appreciate it, head out to the Ritter Park Amphitheater on a performance night and see what it's all about, and show your support.
