Editor's Corner

Are We Ready for the Talk on Drugs?

Drug Awareness will be the topic at Muskego High School, and the hope is that parents are ready to hear some hard truths.

After a week of sitting in court listening to testimony in a case where a 28-year-old Waukesha man faces up to 80 years in the overdose deaths of two people, one of whom was 24-year-old Jamie Hansen of Muskego, I'm worn out thinking of how all of our kids are just one bad decision away from death. However, it's nothing in comparison to what parents and other family members endure when they struggle to keep a loved one clean and sober and alive. Heroin use is truly a trip down the rabbit hole for everyone and while it doesn't always end in death, it always requires a herculean struggle to keep a family together. In January, I heard from brave people like Jenny Reidy, whose daughter Holly died after being found unresponsive in a drug house. …

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No Drug Problem in Muskego? Think Again

MPD, those who have lived through addiction, and those who have seen loss through it, say it's time to wake up to reality of the prevalence of drugs in the community, and offer hope.

  Julie Bendtsen turned 21 in October, and she was obviously proud to report she did so "in sobriety." The girl who spoke on stage in a somewhat matter-of-fact way about her new life in Prescott, AZ in a recovery community was a far cry from the girl who was addicted to drugs, wondering if there was any hope for girl she saw in the mirror. A group of more than 60 residents came to Muskego's Atonement Lutheran Church, and heard from Bentsen, whose family is a part of the congregation and suggested the Recovery Life presentation to begin discussing what drugs are doing to Muskego's children. "We need an event that is honest and frank and open," said Dave Dringenberg, who is an associate pastor for youth and family ministry at the church. …

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