The small town of Hampden is in all respects a typical Maine town, friendly and safe, with few worries about violent crime. That is why the recent disappearance and death of a young Hampden Academy student sent shockwaves through the community and the surrounding area.
The details of the death of the student, Nathan Clark, are particularly disturbing.
Clark was reported missing after attending a party at the house of forty-four year old Michael Fortunato. Fortunato allegedly provided a group of teenagers with alcohol, marijuana, and prescription muscle relaxants. Fortunato was indicted in May on charges which may lead up to ten years in prison. One count was for furnishing illegal drugs, and the other count was for providing alcohol to a minor. Muscle relaxants are commonly used in the horseracing industry, which may make Hampden's proximity to Bangor a factor in the case.
After downing the alcohol and the muscle relaxant, Clark reportedly fled into the woods in a confused effort to save his life. When he failed to return home that night, his father reported him missing. Meanwhile, Clark had walked an agonizing five miles, from Old Kennebec Road to the gravel pit on Back Winterport Road severely weakened by the drugs. Five days later he was found dead in the gravel pit.
It took young Nate Clark's death to shake the apathy of the public regarding the drug subculture at the public schools. The effect has been like whacking a hornet's nest with a birch branch. Students at Hampden Academy acted much faster than school officials, and took action through the organization Students Against Destructive Decisions.
One can speculate that the students took the quick action because of the death of Clark, and the fact that drug dealing inside Hampden Academy had risen to a crisis level, which included open drug dealing in the hallways between classes.
In the most recent development, specially-trained K9 units were used by the State Police to search the parking lot of the school. The search resulted in the suspension of three students for drug possession, two for marijuana possession, and the third for an unspecified other drug.
The Maine Office of Substance Abuse has conducted a detailed biennial survey on drug use in the public schools since 1998 called the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS.) The statistics on drug use in the public schools are truly mind boggling.
According to the latest statistics, 47% of male seniors had participated in binge drinking in the month prior to the survey; 30% had used marijuana; 5% had used LSD; 4% had used cocaine; nearly 7% had taken Ecstasy pills; 10% had taken prescription drugs; another 11% had taken other unspecified drugs; and a little under 2% had injected heroin. Statewide, more than 6% of the students surveyed had sold illegal drugs.
The message that emerges from the drug abuse in Hampden is overwhelmingly clear. Not only are the public schools educating our precious young people in promiscuity and atheism - they are now functioning as drug supermarkets as well.
