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Watch Duty, a non-profit dedicated to mapping and tracking wildfires, has committed itself to being the first (and so far, only) 24/7 wildfire monitoring service – helping to curb the flame destruction that becomes more synonymous with California’s dry season each year.

Catching Fire

Wildfires are notoriously difficult to monitor, which limits the amount of forewarning that can be provided to those potentially affected. 

Watch Duty has identified that this is a critical issue and has centered its mission on delivering around-the-clock tracking by a team of fire professionals comprising radio-operators, firefighters, and engineers. It then disseminates this information to citizens via the Watch Duty app, which officially launched in August 2021. 

The app has garnered over a quarter of a million downloads as of June 2022, and it encourages non-affiliated or unofficial agencies and amateur “reporters” – locals, enthusiasts, and social media group moderators – to actively participate in the communication channels that Watch Duty utilizes to monitor a traveling blaze with as much precision as possible. Key features of the app include live, real-time wildfire updates for all of California’s 58 counties, maps, news, and projected travel path for active blazes.

Trailblazing Innovation

Prior to Watch Duty’s inception, residents of California’s most vulnerable areas could only rely on automated phone recordings and voicemail notifications via their county Sheriff’s department for the most up-to-date and accurate information regarding the spread of approaching wildfires in their vicinity. However, the issuance of these notifications oftentimes does not reach the recipients with enough advanced notice to allow them to properly prepare and implement safe evacuation procedures – leaving many of those impacted to either live in constant fear and neverending preparation, or the undying feeling of being perpetually behind-the-eight-ball when it comes to blaze updates. 

An even more concerning and dangerous byproduct from lack of information is the spawn of misinformation on social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Watch Duty aims to effectively eliminate any opportunity for hearsay by providing factual information that is as timely as it is accurate. The company website displays a strict code of conduct that pledges internal fact-checking on reporting as well as a series of principles that bars publishing any information based on speculation – all of Watch Duty’s information is confirmed in advance from a bonafide source such as a Sheriff’s Department, CALFIRE publication, radio scanner transmission, etc. prior to publication, and it is presented in real-time to give the listener optimal advance warning if a flame is approaching. Some of Watch Duty’s other core values include a promise to only deliver relevant data that is free from opinion or editorialization and the prioritization of information accuracy over notification speed.

Keeping the Flame Burning

Currently, Watch Duty’s services only cover the state of California, but the group is interested in expanding into neighboring states, such as Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona. The app also implements OpenStreetMap technology, which would allow Watch Duty to expand its service area to corners of the United States far beyond California. 

Following the surge of positive reception that Watch Duty’s app has obtained, there has been an outcry from some users to expand the app to track other types of natural disasters and emergencies, such as flash floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes. It seems, at least for the time being, that Watch Duty currently self-identifies solely as a wildfire-awareness entity, although it does appear that the sky’s the only limit for this growing organization.

INDIANA, PA. – In 2015, Indiana saw 242 drug-related hospital emergency room visits, according to usdrugtrends.com. Of those admissions, 69 were attributed to heroin usage. Xanax and cocaine were second and third most common, Xanax, a prescription medication used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, accounting for 35 visits and cocaine for 30. 

Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) Marketing senior John H. Jones, 21, said he does not believe there is a significant drug problem in Indiana, counting both the student and resident population together. 

“Where I’m originally from [Uniontown, Pa], there is a drug problem. When I go home, I consistently see drug users and drug-related arrests. If Indiana had a drug problem, the police force would crack down much more than they already do, because that’s how it is in my hometown,” Jones said. 

Jones, although not a drug dealer, is a casual drug-user himself, smokes marijuana habitually and has experimented with multiple drugs on multiple occasions in college, including cocaine, hallucinogens and the abuse of prescription medications. He said he has witnessed — and participated in on multiple occasions — the use of illegal drugs among IUP students. A few specific drugs remained off the list of those he was interested in experimenting with: 

“I’ve seen countless students abuse Percocet more times than I can count, and I’ve seen a few students [inject] heroin; neither of which I’m interested in trying,” Jones said. Excluding his daily use of marijuana, Jones said that he uses drugs approximately 9-11 times each month, mostly Thursday-Sunday. He said that he has noticed a very minuscule, negative change in his grade point average, attributed to his recreational use of drugs, but overall has not shown a significant change in his academic status as an IUP student. He believes that his consistent use of marijuana helps him to concentrate on academic responsibilities rather than hinder his ability to succeed, although he has noticed that it is not always that way for some students. 

“The heaviest drug users are the people that are not here anymore. I don’t consider myself to be a heavy user and I’m very responsible about my drug use,” Jones said. “I’ve noticed marijuana is different. “I’ve seen people who are stoners (habitual marijuana users) do awful in class; I consider myself a stoner and I do great in class. it just varies from person to person when it comes to marijuana.” 

As a college senior looking back at his freshman year at IUP, Jones said the popularity of drugs among students has shifted based on substance. 

“When I was a freshman, everybody was abusing prescription pill medication, and a lot of them became zombies and dropped out of school,” Jones said. “A lot of students are doing cocaine now, it seems. The easiest drug for students to get, though, is Adderall. Students can get Adderall easier than they can marijuana most of the time.” 

Ann Sesti, the assistant director of IUP’s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs department located within IUP’s Center for Health and Well-Being, said that it is difficult for the IUP campus administrators to successfully conduct a survey regarding student drug use and be confident in their results.

“Individual in-class surveys given to each student is ideal, but doesn’t happen,” Sesti said, referring to a recent survey regarding student drug usage administered exclusively to IUP students living in on-campus residence halls. “In the 2014-2015 academic year, approximately 550-680 students completed the survey, but the problem is that I’m not sure that the students who are doing the drugs are the same students who are taking the surveys.” [the variation between the aforementioned figures is because not all students that completed the survey answered all of the survey questions]. 

In IUP’s 2014-2015 academic year, out of all on-campus residence hall students who completed the survey: 

● 13.6% of students surveyed said that they have smoked marijuana since attending IUP.

● 1.1% of students surveyed said that they have consumed cocaine since attending IUP.

● 0.3% of students surveyed said that they have consumed heroin since attending IUP.

● 2.5% of students surveyed said that they have consumed Adderall since attending IUP. 

Sesti, who sat at her desk with exceptionally professional composure and stature, responded to the interviewers’ questions with a positive tone with every answer she gave. “I have not heard of a heroin overdose of a traditional, on-campus student in a long time,” said Sesti, a state-licensed professional counselor. “IUP is no different than any other community when it comes to issues like this.” 

Sesti, who has been the assistant director of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs branch of IUP’s health center for 25 years, received both her undergraduate in psychology and graduate degree in counseling psychology from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, located in Slippery Rock, Pa. 

According to the Pennsylvania State Coroner’s website, 30 percent of drug users in Indiana are aged between 20-30 years; 40 percent are between 41-50; 10 percent is attributed to individuals 31-40, with the remaining 20 percent are 51 and older. 

The state of Pennsylvania reported increasing numbers of drug usage and substance abuse. In 2012, Pennsylvania’s healthcare professionals dispensed more than 250 million prescriptions for painkillers, making it the 14th most popular state in the nation for prescription drug overdoses, according to a 2015 article on drugtreatment.com. Heroin was reported as the most common drug identified in toxicology test results in Indiana County for 2014. For the 58 counties that reported drug-related overdose deaths in 2014, heroin was identified the most in 48 counties. 

Last year, 242 drug-related hospital emergency room visits were reported in Indiana, Pa. The Indiana Gazette on March 24 described this as evidence of a local “drug scourge.”

To Get Involved: 

For more information about this story, or to get involved in the issues reported here, contact the following sources: 

The Open Door 

665 Philadelphia St. 

The Atrium, — 2nd floor 

Indiana, Pa. 15701 

Phone: 724-465-2605 

Crisis: 800-333-2470 

Fax: 724-465-2610 

Web: http://www.theopendoor.org 

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Program 

Center for Health and Well-Being 

Suites on Maple East, Suite G59 

901 Maple Street 

Indiana, Pa. 15705 

Phone: 724-357-1265 

Fax: 724-357-4457 

Email: atod-oasis@iup.edu 

Web: http://www.iup.edu/atod/ 

Armstrong-Indiana-Clarion Drug and Alcohol Commission 

Indiana Office 

665 Philadelphia St. 

Suite 007 

Indiana, Pa. 

Phone: 724-463-7860 

Fax: 724-801-8570 

Web: http://www.aidac.org/index.php 

The Counseling Center 

Suites on Maple East, G31 

901 Maple Street 

Indiana, PA 15705 

Phone: 724-357-2621 

Fax: 724-357-7728 

Web: http://www.iup.edu/counselingcenter/

Qualtrics Research Survey, Responses 

On April 20, a 15-question survey regarding student drug usage was emailed to 1000 undergraduate students at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The survey is still in progress, and the final results are still pending. The survey was displayed as follows: 

The survey below uses the phrase “illegal drugs” to mean substances that in Pennsylvania are illegal to possess or strictly regulated to consume. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse describes common illegal drugs to include marijuana, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and methamphetamines, and club drugs. Alcohol, consumed legally or underage, is not included among the illegal drugs referred to on this survey. 

Please specify your gender. 

Male 

Female 

I Prefer Not To Answer 

What is your current class standing? 

Freshman 

Sophomore 

Junior 

Senior 

Graduate Student 

Have you used illegal drugs prior to attending IUP? 

Yes 

No 

Have you used illegal drugs since attending IUP? 

Yes 

No 

How often do you use illegal drugs? 

Never 

1 to 5 times a month 

6 to 10 times a month 

More than 10 times a month 

Other (Please specify)

During your enrollment at IUP, have you consumed marijuana? 

Yes 

No 

During your enrollment at IUP, have you consumed hallucinogens (mushrooms, LSD, etc.)? Yes 

No 

During your enrollment at IUP, have you consumed cocaine? 

Yes 

No 

During your enrollment at IUP, have you consumed heroin? 

Yes 

No 

During your enrollment at IUP, have you consumed prescription medications without a prescription? 

Yes 

No 

Have you ever sold illegal drugs while at IUP? 

Yes 

No 

Do you know IUP students who have voluntarily or involuntarily withdrawn from IUP because of illegal drug use? 

Yes 

No 

Have you gone through a treatment program for drug use while attending IUP? Yes 

No 

Has drug use adversely affected your IUP grade point average? 

Yes 

No

Have you ever been charged with illegal drug use by authorities of the university or of the local police? 

Yes 

No 

If you have questions about this story or our investigation, please contact Professor Loomis at doloomis@iup.edu or phone the IUP Department of Journalism & Public Relations at 724-357-4411.

Editor’s Note: Patrick Crossan contributed to this report.

INDIANA, PA – Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s (IUP) Journalism and Public Relations Department hosted a free presentation of the film “Spotlight” on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in Room 225 of the Humanities and Social Sciences building. “Spotlight” is an Academy Award-winning film portraying investigative journalism and the child molestation charges brought on Boston Catholic Priests in 2001 and 2002.

The presentation of the film was followed by a panel discussion featuring IUP professors David O. Loomis from the journalism department, and Theresa Smith, who is also the Chairwoman of the Religious Studies Department.

Due to technical difficulties before the presentation began, “Spotlight” had an actual start time of 7:23 p.m. When the film ended after two hours and nine minutes, it left the audience in the large lecture hall, which was approximately half-full, shrouded in what seemed like solemn silence.

During the discussion panel portion of the event, Smith, wearing a black and white pinstripe vest, explained after the feature that child molestation cases involving priests are still surfacing today, even in areas of western Pennsylvania such as Pittsburgh, Altoona and Ebensburg.

Referring to a quote from the film, “If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse one,” Smith asked the audience, “Who will blow the whistle?”

“The police and the newspapers were complicit with the cover-up for decades,” Loomis said, referring to the film’s portrayal of the illegal relationship between police and media outlets and the Catholic Church in Boston at the time.

“[The film gave] great insight on what investigative journalism can do for us to shed light on atrocities,” said Ethan C. Brogan, 21, IUP senior and Vice President of IUP’s Society of Professional Journalists.

IUP Journalism and Public Relations professor and Chairwoman Michele R. Papakie also attended the presentation, and although it was the second time she had seen the film, she expressed that the film remained just as poignant to her as the first.

OBITUARY MINI: 

INDIANA, PA.— Daniel V. Delaney, former president of the Indiana County Chamber of Commerce, assistant district attorney, military Captain and law enforcement officer, died unexpectedly at the Indiana County Courthouse on Thursday at age 66. 

POLICE BROADCAST MINI: 

INDIANA, PA. — Police are searching for a masked man who robbed the Folger Dining Hall at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania for three-thousand dollars Monday morning. The manager, unharmed, was investigating a noise heard while preparing payroll when the man charged at him and ordered him to open the safe and give him the money. 

COURTROOM REPORT MINI: 

INDIANA, PA. – Borough Police Officer Leroy D. Anderson charged Raihoz C. Johnson, 21, of Monroeville, with possession of a small amount of marijuana and a summary traffic offense following a traffic stop along the 800 block of Maple Street at 1:51 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2015. 

A preliminary hearing occurred on Jan. 16, 2016 in front of Indiana Magisterial District Judge Guy B. Haberl, who continued the hearing and closed the case on Feb. 25, 2016 when Johnson pleaded guilty and was ultimately charged with disorderly conduct, according to court dockets issued on Dec. 1, 2015. Haberl issued that Johnson pay a total of $460.96 in court costs and fines. Johnson could not be reached for questioning regarding the case. 

“In any given week, I handle roughly 2-3 cases involving a small amount of marijuana. My clients are mostly males, with just as many white offenders as black, but I’ve noticed that the black offenders are additionally charged with resisting arrest at a higher rate than whites,” AnnMarie E. Everette, Attorney at Law, and Johnson’s public defender, said. 

Everette, composed very professionally in an all black pantsuit and upright posture, explained that she does believe that the local District Attorney is fair, and often does well at picking “color blind” jury pools, although because of the local demographics, racial diversity is seldom reflected in those same pools.