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Destin not giving up on blocking Narconon
New court rulings in South Florida may give Destin the power to stop Narconon Gulf Coast from opening a halfway house in a single-family neighborhood, City Councilor Dewey Destin says.
“Give the land-use attorney the chance to do his job,” Councilor Destin told the council Monday, after which the council voted unanimously to have Land-Use Attorney Scott Shirley study the Boca Raton cases in question.
The drug treatment program Narconon has been controversial because of its ties to Scientology, and became even more controversial when Destin residents learned the local branch wants to open a “community residential home” in Destin for recovering addicts, in addition to the larger treatment center Narconon already operates.
On June 2, Shirley told the council that under Florida law, the city couldn’t prevent Narconon from opening a state-licensed home, regardless of zoning. Councilor Destin said other cities had successfully blocked similar homes, but Shirley said local governments always lost if the cases went to court.
Monday, City Manager Greg Kisela said he’d already asked Shirley to look into the court decisions and report back: “It’s pretty hard to read those decisions and see what was decided and what was not.”
Also Monday:
•The council voted unanimously to cut the speed limit on Scenic Hwy. 98 to 25 mph within city limits. City Engineer Chuck Meister said new signs would be posted this week.
•Councilor Sam Seevers said city staff should study the island installed at the Kelly/Main Street intersection a few months ago, and see if there’s a way to stop drivers from running over it. She said she’d already been told that staff was working on that.
•The council unanimously appointed Current Planning Manager Ken Gallander as Community Development Director, replacing the outgoing Jerry Mucci.
Councilor Dewey Destin said it was an important job because the department is the face of the city for so many residents: “If you want to build anything from a large doghouse to a 500 unit condo, you have to go through community development.”
•The council voted to spend $66,740 to install new street lights on Emerald Coast Parkway between Airport Road and Two Trees Road. The lights will be on the south side, facing north to comply with turtle-lighting rules.
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| "Nondescript rehabilitation facility"? The article says, "controversial because of its ties to Scientology"
Narconon is a scam drug rehab treatment used to make money and recruit members for the religious cult Scientology. It preys on people with real problems, getting them to take toxic levels of vitamins and stay way too long in saunas and write up endless "success stories" for the program, before being badgered and given the 'hard sell' treatment on cult 'self-improvement' courses.
The program isn't supported by any legitimate scientific studies. It's a scam. Keep it out of Destin. |
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| Dave2 - Jun 24, 2008 09:50:31 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Narconon is bad news. There aren't any medical studies showing that it's effective. It's just a recruitment front group for the cult. They give toxic levels of niacin and have you spend way too long in a sauna, and then try to hard sell you on 'self-improvement' courses with the cult. |
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| Dave2 - Jun 21, 2008 05:46:11 AM | Remove Comment |
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| So the Destin City Council supports the Emerald Grand and thinks it’s good for Destin. But does not want a nondescript rehabilitation facility? Which one of these does more harm to the image and family atmosphere of Destin? |
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| Paul - Jun 20, 2008 10:50:48 PM | Remove Comment |
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| After working 12 months with Juvies in Walton Co, I can tell you we need to have a lot more rehab opportunities for our kids. These kids are not taking any advice or smokin a lil weed, they are hard core by the time they are 16. And they need more help than we presently offer them. I never thought I'd be pro-rehab, but now I know what we are up against and I know we need safe, sober places for they young people when they get cleaned up. Not all are criminal. Just good kids, from regular families who got hooked and now are serving time. If they had rehabs to handle them they would stay out of jail and not be trained to be real criminals there! In the long run rehab actually makes our neighborhoods safer. |
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| Kellerman - Jun 20, 2008 10:16:38 PM | Remove Comment |
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| To Anon that is not Anonymous, and Carolyn Davis. Have you not read about the Narconon organization? Their methods of getting people off drugs first involve you dropping down thousands of dollars and subjecting people to methods that have been thoroughly dismissed and debunked by numerous medical experts. One of them is to make the person ingest huge amounts of niacin, also known as Vitamin B3. This is not only ineffective, it has been proven to cause liver damage and can be fatal.
Google Stop Narconon and Narconon Exposed to find out the truth behind this deceptive and dangerous group. You do NOT want the COS, in any shape or form in you town. There are other more effective drug treatment centers out there. Ms. Davis, if Narconon had their way, they'd have taken a lot more than just you money, of which you would receive no refund when it proved their methods didn't work. They could have taken his mind, his sanity, or heaven forbid possibly even his life. |
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| A Watcher - Jun 20, 2008 05:25:28 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I hope they keep out Narconon. It's a scam drug rehab program run by Scientology to recruit people into the cult. It doesn't have any significant success at treating drug addiction -- the only people who use it are Scientologists, no independent medical authority recommends it -- and it uses toxic levels of vitamins. |
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| Dave2 - Jun 20, 2008 04:19:56 AM | Remove Comment |
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| When my son needed treatment 8 years ago we didn't have a facility here that could take him. After 4 years and 3 trips to rehab he is 4 years clean, but I would have like to have been bale to send him somewhere close to home. And have a halfway house or sober home where he could have gotten his sea legs here in Destin. I know 3 families that need help right now and am sure there are countless others. |
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| Carolyn Davis - Jun 19, 2008 07:07:33 PM | Remove Comment |
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| I know and go to church with the Ross family. They are good Christian people doing something to help people in the community. |
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| Anon - Jun 19, 2008 04:29:25 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Wait til you see whats coming. I heard there are two new projects being proposed that will again double the traffic at the beach. Just what we needed. The council needs to rethink its planning purpose for sure. Is it for the good of the residents or vacation traffic? Yes we need the revenue,but at the expense of those of us who live here all year? |
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| GeorgK - Jun 19, 2008 09:08:55 AM | Remove Comment |
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| The council just let the Emerald Grand slip in under their watch. They need to look again at the beach development issues and the transportation mess it has created by not having a strategic development plan. Over the years it has just gotten worse and worse. |
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| June - Jun 19, 2008 08:11:19 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I don't know whether Destin "needs more treatment options", but I know it doesn't need a scam drug treatment program used to recruit people with real problems into a dangerous cult.
Spending too long in a sauna, ingesting toxic levels of niacin, and being hassled into writing up success stories again and again is not a good way to beat drug addiction. And being sucked into a money-making scam of a cult doesn't help. |
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| Dave2 - Jun 19, 2008 01:30:52 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I think they will be able to find a good location for it. I'm not in favor of it in my neighborhood, but there are plenty of places they could put it. The drug problem here in Destin does get worse every year and we do need more treatment options. |
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| Angie - Jun 18, 2008 11:34:42 PM | Remove Comment |
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| beachman, the issue is NOT how 'neat and quiet' they supposedly keep their yard. The issue is that Narconon is one of many front groups for the 'Church' of Scientology and the fact that they rob people blind and 'treat' them with methods that have been medically proven, time and again, to not only be ineffective but can be fatal. |
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| A Watcher - Jun 18, 2008 09:45:50 PM | Remove Comment |
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| narCONon is an ineffective treatment facility with ties to a very controversial CULT. |
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| Spike Distance - Jun 18, 2008 03:58:31 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Narconon a good neighbor, what a joke, look at the 12 cars parked overnight on 98, dogs barking and chasing walkers, music playing loud, and a bunch of smoking people hanging out. Go figure, good neighbors. How they get away with 14 people in there is beyond me, you rent your place out to 14 people and see what happens. |
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| tj - Jun 18, 2008 03:57:19 PM | Remove Comment |
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| The Narconon center in Destin has been and is a great neighbor. In fact, the house and yard are always kept up and the facility is quiet and peaceful. I have had problems in the area with tourists who rent weekly. I have never had problems with Randy and Debbie Ross and their center. I wish more people in the neighborhood kept their house and yard as neat and were as quiet as the Narconon center. |
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| beachman - Jun 18, 2008 02:05:01 PM | Remove Comment |
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| Very good news, keep blocking this insiduous cult at every opportunity |
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| Anon54 - Jun 18, 2008 09:47:30 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I believe this is a good thing.
$cientology should really be banned from building any buildings anywhere.
Again, this is a good thing. |
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| Hank de Vries - Jun 18, 2008 08:25:45 AM | Remove Comment |
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| I think the $cientologists own enough of Florida, don't let them get their greedy hands on anymore of it please. |
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| fitch2000 - Jun 18, 2008 01:32:56 AM | Remove Comment |
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| Good to see these people have enough sense to block this gateway to the cult of $cientology. It's all a scam to try to recruit weak and suffering people with false promises. |
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| Angie - Jun 18, 2008 12:35:15 AM | Remove Comment |
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