John,

Helen is always wonderful to check things out like that.

Thanks for sharing Angel.

Vicki


----- Original Message -----
From: "John Schwery" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2005 6:16 AM
Subject: Re: [ECHURCH-USA] dust-off


> Angel, good job and information.  Thanks for sending.  Helen, our
> Internet sleuth, checked it out and Urbane Legends says it is true.
>
>
> earlier, Angel, wrote:
> >I would have sent this to Kathy personally but I didn't save her address.
> >Beside I think this is important enough for us all to know.  I live in
> >Cleveland as well so this message has a personal ring for me as I also
have
> >a 15 year old son.
> >----- Original Message -----
> >From: "Cornell Ligon" <[log in to unmask]>
> >To: <[log in to unmask]>
> >Sent: Monday, July 25, 2005 9:26 PM
> >Subject: Re: [blcompusers] off topic dust-off
> >
> >
> > > HI All,
> > > I work in both areas mentioned, but more so in Lake County where the
city
> >of
> > > residence is located. I also work in Crises situations and I just
recently
> > > prepared a report for my boss in that exact topic, so I forwarded the
> > > officer's statement to her, because she has more direct knowledge of
the
> > > situation than I do. I cannot go into details, but that exact story is
the
> > > reason why the topic was researched for our past July meeting.
> > > I also worked in Cleveland with the children of that city directly,
and
> >he's
> > > right, you would think of 'drug' problems to be more acute there, but
it
> > > does exists everywhere and kids unfortunately will find a means of
getting
> > > high.
> > >
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Cornell
> >
> > >    Dust Off- A Serious Fatal Hazard
> > >    First IM going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name
is
> > > Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for
its
> > > crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2
in
> > > the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named
Thor .
> >He
> > > was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old
because
> > > he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still
train
> >with
> > > him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way
to
> > > bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on
you.
> >The
> > > reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have
> > > taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once
a
> > > week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won't.
> > >
> > >    I like building computers occasionally and started building a new
one
> >in
> > > February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers. They
were
> > > full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3
pack
> > > of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a
> > > computer. A few weeks later when I went to use them they were all
used. I
> > > talked to my kids and my 2 sons both said they had used them on their
> > > computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting
the 10
> > > dollars I paid for them. On February 28 I went back to the computer
store.
> > > They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a
> >single
> > > jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer.
> > >
> > >    On March 1st I left for work at 10 PM. At 11 PM my wife went down
and
> > > kissed Kyle goodnight. At 530 AM the next morning Kathy went
downstairs to
> > > wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was sitting up
in
> >bed
> > > with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a
few
> > > times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease her like
this
> >and
> > > pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to get up. She went in
and
> > > shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from
the
> > > Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off
in
> >his
> > > hands. Kyle was dead.
> > >
> > >    I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a
nurse
> > > and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner,
> >after
> > > the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in
his
> > > system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 Am.
> > >
> > >    I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9
> > > through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take
off
> > > from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10
seconds.
> >It
> > > makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle
how
> >to
> > > do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it
was
> > > cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed air. It can't hurt
> >you.
> > > His best friend said no.
> > >
> > >    Kyle's death
> > >    Kyle was wrong. It's not just compresses air. It also contains a
> > > propellant. I think its R2. It's a refrigerant like what is used in
your
> > > refrigerator. It is a heavy gas.-Heavier than air. When you inhale it,
it
> > > fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out. That's why
you
> > > feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your
heart.
> > > Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. The horrible part
about
> > > this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's
not
> > > cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong.
Roll
> >the
> > > dice and if your number comes up you die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE. It's
> >Russian
> > > roulette. You don't die later. Or not feel good and say I've had too
much.
> > > You usually die as your breathing it in. If not you die within 2
seconds
> >of
> > > finishing "the hit." That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth
when
> >he
> > > died. Why his eyes were still open.
> > >
> > >    The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its
> > > huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it
doesn't
> >fit
> > > here. And that's why it's more accepted. There is no chemical
reaction. no
> > > strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a
few
> > > days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The
propellant
> > > causes frostbite. If I had only known.
> > >
> > >    It's easy to say hay, it's my life and I'll do what I want. But it
> >isn't.
> > > Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family's
life. I
> > > have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The pain is
so
> > > immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all
the
> > > time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't
really
> > > care. My kids are messed up. One won't talk about it. The other will
only
> > > sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can't even describe how bad
she
> > > is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we
were
> > > safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.
> > >
> > >    After Kyle died another story came out. A Probation Officer went to
the
> > > school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he
found a
> > > student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about
> >another
> > > student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent
school
> > > system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They
> >don't
> > > even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone
about
> > > this "new" way of getting high they found, they hid it. The probation
> > > officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the school, then
> > > admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I
had
> > > heard, it wouldn't have been in my house.
> > >
> > >    We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs.
> > >
> > >    Using Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It
> >just
> > > isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They know about it.
> > >
> > >    April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been
his
> >15th
> > > birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting on the living room
> >couch
> > > at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I
know
> >Kyle
> > > is in heaven but I can't help but wonder If I died and went to Hell.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >    Commentary:
> > >    Sadly, the information outlined in this email forward is true. On
the
> >2nd
> > > March 2005, 14-year-old Kyle Williams of Painesville Township, Ohio
died
> > > after inhaling Dust-Off. As outlined in the email, Dust-Off is a
product
> > > that contains a compressed gas used for removing the dust from
computers.
> > > Kyle's father, Jeff is indeed a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio.
> > >
> > >    Unfortunately, many consumers are under the mistaken impression
that
> > > Dust-Off and similar products contain a seemingly harmless product -
> > > compressed air. In fact, such products are commonly referred to as
"canned
> > > air". However, the products actually contain a compressed gas, NOT
> > > compressed air. Because of this misconception, parents and children
may
> >not
> > > realize how dangerous inhaling them can be. This is an important
issue, as
> > > such seemingly trivial misconceptions can have a quite powerful
influence
> >on
> > > the way consumers conceive of and use a product. In fact, a
representative
> > > from Falcon, the company that manufactures Dust-Off, has contacted me
> >after
> > > reading an earlier version of this article. He states that:
> > >
> > >      We are hoping you can help clarify a misconception about our
product.
> > > As you noted, most people refer to our product as "canned air", when
in
> > > reality the product is filled with a compressed-gas. Our company makes
it
> >a
> > > practice to never refer to the product in such a manner as it is
> >misleading
> > > to consumers. We believe that referring to our product as "canned air"
> >gives
> > > individuals a false sense of comfort and, therefore, they believe it
to be
> > > harmless if directly inhaled.
> > >
>
> John
>