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The next week on The Batavian

By Howard B. Owens

This afternoon Billie and I will board a plane headed to Los Angeles.

This is not a pleasant trip.

On Feb. 22, Charles Raymond Sutherland, Billie's youngest son, age 35, died following a heroin overdose in Ventura.

We will hold a memorial service for him in Ventura on Thursday.

In all, Billie and I will spend four days in Ventura before driving over to Bakersfield to visit my dad.

While we're away, we will receive help with the site from Mike Pettinella, Jim Burns, Steve Ognibene, Maria Pericozzi, Alecia Kaus, and our news partner WBTA. We will do our usual work that we can do remotely; however, honestly, we might not be as focused at times on this trip as we have been on previous trips.

Mardell Lamb

Billie and Howard,
I'm very sorry to hear this news. My thoughts and prayers go out to you both right now.

Mar 6, 2018, 10:56am Permalink
Scott Chismar

Howard, I am so sorry for your loss. So many familes are dealing with the same tragedy. Hats off to you for your openness. Hopefully the more people that get this awful topic out there front and center, the sooner we can find a solution to solve it. My thoughts are with you and the family.

Mar 6, 2018, 8:48pm Permalink
Howard B. Owens

Thank you so much for the kind comments.

We arrived in Ventura at 2 a.m. local time and are just getting our day started here.

One reason we decided to share about Charlie's death is it's time to lift the stigma society seems to associate with drug overdoses. Over the past two weeks, I've shared about his death personally with several people in our community. In every case, people had their own stories -- they've lost family members or friends or have a family member they are worried about. This truly in a national epidemic and when we don't talk openly about it, it just helps to sweep it under the rug. At least that's the way it feels to me.

Look in our obits. We're not the only local family who has lost a son or a daughter recently.

This epidemic is causing real loss, real pain, to so many families, not just in other parts of the country, but in our own community. We should talk more openly about it.

Mar 7, 2018, 2:14pm Permalink

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