Substance Abuse

Charles White of the Los Angeles Rams, the NFL's leading rusher last season, and a pair of Chicago Bears, star defensive end Richard Dent and running back Calvin Thomas, were suspended by the league for 30 days yesterday for violating its substance-abuse policy. All three must stay out of their teams' training facilities until Oct. 7, a league spokesman said. In all, 17 players have been suspended this year for violating the league's policy. Rams coach John Robinson said the substance found in White's test was alcohol.

The Pennsauken Board of Education has decided to begin a Student Assistance Program to provide counseling for students with drug- or alcohol-abuse problems. Starting in September, students will be able to seek help, on a confidential basis for the first time, from counselors at the schools. The high school will have a walk-in office set up specifically to deal with student problems. The board unanimously endorsed the program at a work session last night. Marsha Mark, a school social worker, will become coordinator of the program.

Prevention is the goal of the Rancocas Community Aligned for Substance Awareness (R-CASA) - a municipal alliance that will target various age groups during the coming year in a fight against alcohol and drug abuse, according to Anne Moore, chairwoman of the group. The townships of Mount Holly and Westampton have agreed to join forces and funding in the alliance to "make the group have a bigger impact on these efforts in the area," Moore said. The alliance is hoping to attract participation from other municipalities, Moore said.

The overhaul of New Jersey's child-welfare system includes far-reaching improvements in health care, according to a draft of the state's plan. Under part of the plan, obtained yesterday by The Inquirer, the number of families getting substance-abuse treatment would triple, the number of nurses on staff would more than double, and children living in adoptive and foster homes would be enrolled in HMOs. Funding for programs dealing with substance abuse - suspected to play a role in as many as four of every five Division of Youth and Family Services cases - would triple to almost $90 million a year.

The Cherry Hill Board of Education on Monday approved a staff program on drug and alchohol abuse. The five-hour seminar, to be held sometime in March, is designed to heighten district employees' awareness of substance abuse in the schools. Robert W. Ferris, assistant superintendent of schools, said the session was part of a program started in 1984. "In the summer of 1984 we developed a pilot project to assist with the development of substance-abuse services," Ferris said.

Taking the stance that any degree of substance abuse is unacceptable, the Upper Dublin Select Joint Committee on Teenage Alcohol Abuse has outlined a series of recommendations to combat the growing problem. The committee presented the results of its summer-long study of teen substance abuse in Upper Dublin to the township commissioners and school board Thursday night. About 30 members of the public attended. "There is a serious and growing problem, and it is not only teen alcohol abuse, but substance abuse," said Leonard Ross, chairman of the committee.

Incidents of violence, vandalism and substance abuse are down in Cherry Hill's public schools, according to a report released by the district yesterday. For the 2003-04 school year, there were 87 reported episodes, a 16 percent drop from the previous year's 104. "The report is somewhat encouraging," said Michael Nuzzo, the district's director of security. The drop in violence and vandalism comes despite a steadily growing student population. Cherry Hill has about 11,700 students this school year.

On Monday, Philadelphia public school students will have a day off while their teachers, principals and parents discuss one of the most disheartening and pervasive problems facing students and schools - substance abuse. The all-day program is the third annual "instructional review day," inaugurated in 1987 for teachers and administrators in each school to get together and brainstorm for a day on a crucial issue. This year, for the first time, parents have been invited as well.

After a three-month investigation, Haverford officials met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss whether disciplinary action should be taken against Charles T. Held, director of the Department of Codes Enforcement, who has been accused of being drunk when he participated in a Planning Commission meeting in February. "A decision was made. That's my statement. Nothing more," township manager Thomas J. Banner said after the meeting of the Board of Commissioners. Neither Banner nor other officials would say what the decision was. Held could not be reached for comment.

CHICAGO - It has been 60 years since doctors concluded that addiction was a disease that could be treated, but today the condition still dwells on the fringes of the medical community. Only one cent of every health-care dollar in the United States goes to addiction, and few alcoholics and drug addicts get care. One huge barrier, say many experts, has been a lack of health insurance. But that barrier crumbles in less than a year. In a major break with the past, 3 million to 5 million people with drug and alcohol problems - from homeless drug addicts to working moms who drink too much - suddenly will become eligible for insurance coverage under the new health-care overhaul.

At 1 a.m. on May 7, 1991, a drunken Lenny Dykstra sped along winding Darby-Paoli Road in Radnor Township and slammed his red Mercedes sports car into a tree. The Phillies centerfielder escaped with fractured ribs, a broken collarbone and cheekbone, and second-degree burns. Twenty-two years later, that car crash remains an apt metaphor for Dykstra's life. Laws and limits aren't made for him. Dykstra is a self-powered machine bound for self-destruction. He races through life headfirst, heedless of others, an irresistible force in search of immovable objects.

GALLOWAY, N.J. - The stigma surrounding mental health issues is exacerbated in a massive trauma such as Sandy, Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman who has publicly acknowledged his own battles with depression and substance abuse, cautioned Friday. "My heart is in making sure [my son] can grow up in a world that is loving, and caring, and supportive," the 45-year-old Brigantine resident told a gathering of mental health professionals. "These are times that are reminders that we are interdependent.

A Delaware man Wednesday sued the Boy Scouts of America and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints over childhood sexual abuse committed by the scoutmaster at his church-sponsored troop. Melvin Novak filed the lawsuit in state court in Philadelphia, charging that newly released Boy Scout "perversion files" support his claim that the organization hid abuse complaints for years. "They knew about this conduct, they knew what was going on, and they covered it up in the most despicable way," attorney Stewart J. Eisenberg said at a news conference attended by Novak and his father.

LOS ANGELES - Lenny Dykstra played in the major leagues for 12 years and afterward appeared to be on a solid post-career path, writing a stock-picking column and heading several privately held companies. But he hasn't been able to hold it together since buying a mansion five years ago for more than $18 million. The 49-year-old Dykstra has battled substance abuse, allegations of sexual misconduct, and had a host of legal problems. Today, the player once known as "Nails" is scheduled to be sentenced by a federal judge for hiding and selling sports memorabilia and other items that were supposed to be part of his bankruptcy filing.

Thursday's "SideShow" wrongly described the singer Jon Bon Jovi, who has never had any history of substance abuse. A story Thursday about a Camden waterfront project by the Cooper's Ferry Partnership incorrectly identified two of the group's officers. Dave Foster is president, and Jake Gordon is vice president. The Inquirer wants its news report to be fair and correct in every respect, and regrets when it is not. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, contact assistant managing editor David Sullivan (215-854-2357)

BY NOW, the issue of substance abuse is familiar enough that we know to look for warning signs. Like waking up under a freeway on an abandoned couch. That's where schoolteacher Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself one less-than-fine morning, after a night of karaoke and beer and shots leads to a midnight drive with a passenger who pays her fare by offering free crack. When she wakes up, Kate has no idea where she is, where her car is. All she knows is that sometime the night before, they both sustained significant damage (a sense of fear, confusion and dislocation nicely suggested by director James Ponsoldt, who has a knack for vivid context)

Lead guy Billy Joe Armstrong of art-punkers Green Day went into an onstage rampage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Friday. He smashed his axe, ran around, and uttered unnice utterances. Rumor: The band was pressed to curtail its set to leave more time for following acts Rihanna and Usher . Festival host Clear Channel denies it. Now BJA's rep says he's checked into rehab for "substance abuse. " He landed in hospital earlier this month after returning from Italy. Local Emmy winners Give it up, yo, for local heroes who scored Emmys Sunday night at the 30th Annual Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards at the Society Hill Sheraton on Saturday!