0 4 . 0 6 . 1 7 / / F R E E E V E RY T H U R S D AY
Missouri is the only state that doesn’t monitor the opioids patients receive. Soon, the legislature will either pass or kill a bill that could curb the deadly epidemic.
RUNNING OUT
OF
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OUT OF THIS WORLD
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As Columbia grows, so does the business of parking
Missouri’s STARflyerFEST is landing at Cafe Berlin
IN THIS ISSUE
ONLINE
APRIL 6, 2017 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 12 | PUBLISHED BY THE COLUMBIA MISSOURIAN
FEATURE Every state in the U.S. has a prescription drug monitoring program — except Missouri. Opioid addiction is a growing problem across the nation, and the state legislature is debating bills that would help stem the flow of these highly addictive drugs that Missourians are overdosing on every day. PAGE 6 NEWS & INSIGHT As Columbia’s downtown grows, so do its parking rates. Take a look at how CoMo is getting more money from spaces and tickets, and see how it compares to other college towns. PAGE 4 THE SCENE Three local food Instagrammers share healthy yet delicious meals. Learn what goes into the pictures that make us hungry. PAGE 5 MUSIC Cafe Berlin is about to rock out all night long. Experience genres such as dream pop and space rock. Join fellow fans this Saturday at STARflyerFEST. PAGE 16
FASHION ROYALTY IN COMO British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes spoke at Stephens College on Tuesday as part of the Jeannene Booher Fashion Lecture Series. Learn what “the Princess of Punk” had to share about dressing the stars. DESIGNER DUPE Goodwill is the new Gucci. Buying clothes secondhand can be the best way to freshen up your collection. Read how thrifting can make your style stand out from the crowd and help the fashion industry. TO BELIEVE OR NOT TO BELIEVE Characters in your favorite books might not be telling you the whole story. The unreliable narrator is a literary device that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Decide what or who to believe in these much-loved novels.
EDITOR’S LETTER
ARTS & BOOKS Local author Jill Orr will release her newest novel this month. In anticipation, she shared her favorite book recommendations for readers looking to pick up something new this spring. PAGE 17 Q&A Bet you didn’t know The Candy Factory ships chocolate nationwide. The store’s co-owner Amy Atkinson dishes on her business, her favorites and, of course, her chocolate bunnies. PAGE 18
COVER DESIGN: JULIA TERBROCK COVER PHOTO: ERIN ACHENBACH CHRISTINE JACKSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
320 LEE HILLS HALL COLUMBIA MO 65211 EDITORIAL: 573-884-6432 vox@missouri.edu ADVERTISING: 573-882-5714 CIRCULATION: 573-882-5700 TO SUBMIT A CALENDAR EVENT: email vox@missouri.edu or submit via online form at voxmagazine.com TO RECEIVE VOX IN YOUR INBOX: sign up for email newsletter at voxmagazine.com
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My sister and I have built up a large collection of medical supplies. We’ve gathered boots, crutches, braces, stabilizers and yards of Ace wraps over the years. A combination of contact sports, competitiveness and not-great decision making does that. But no matter how we’d managed to injure ourselves, when we got to the hospital, our mom always turned down the pain meds for us. It didn’t matter if I’d dislocated a knee getting tackled during a flag football game or if Katie had taken a softball to the eye socket; we weren’t taking anything stronger than Advil. At the time, I was annoyed. Why couldn’t I have whatever else the doctors offered? I was in pain, after all. Having read this week’s feature (Page 6) several times now, I’m starting to understand my mom’s aversion to painkillers. Opioid addiction is an epidemic, and Missouri is the only state in the country that isn’t monitoring the distribution of these drugs that can turn patients into addicts. Jim Marshall, who lost his son to an overdose, wants to change that. He’s not alone. State legislators from both sides of the aisle are in favor of a drug-monitoring law, including one state senator who, Tuesday evening, decided to change his stance after five years of blocking opioid-monitoring bills. Writer Rick Morgan has spent months unraveling the issue, and now we’re five weeks away from the end of the current state legislative session. By May 12, we’ll either have a law that could help curb the epidemic or have to wait until next year for a new chance. Before that happens, read up on how opioids are affecting Missourians and how the state could make a change.
VOX STAFF Editor: Christine Jackson Deputy Editor: Dan Roe Managing Editor: Madison Fleck Creative Director: Madalyne Bird Digital Managing Editor: Abby Holman Art Directors: Mary Hilleren, Elizabeth Sawey Photo Editor: Annaliese Nurnberg Online Editor: Lea Konczal Multimedia Editor: Mitchel Summers News & Insight Editors: Madelyne Maag, Elaina Steingard, Jing Yang The Scene Editors: Lauren Kelliher, Alyssa Salela, Danielle Zoellner Music Editors: John Heniff, Taylor Ysteboe Arts & Books Editors: Claudia Guthrie, Renee Molner, Zachary Van Epps Contributing Writers: Corin Cesaric, Gerard Edic, Emily Hannemann, Max Havey, Lis Joyce, Meghan Lally, Rick Morgan, Rachel Phillips, Jessica Rendall, Karlee Renkoski, Tyler Schneider, Kelsie Schrader, Erika Stark, Samantha Stokes, Catherine Wheeler Editorial Director: Heather Lamb Executive Editor: Jennifer Rowe Digital Director: Sara Shipley Hiles Writing Coach: Berkley Hudson Office Manager: Kim Townlain
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PHOTOS BY ERIN ACHENBACH, KATIE HOGSETT
RADAR
Vox’s take on the talk of the week
HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY, TONY!
Today, the Tony Awards will celebrate its 70th anniversary. Here are some things you might not know about the prestigious theater awards.
1) The Tony Awards were named for Antoinette Perry. Perry was an actress, director and producer who established the American Theatre Wing in 1940.
2) The first Tony Award show was held in New York City at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1947. It was first broadcast nationwide 20 years later.
3) In 1949, the United Scenic Artists
4) Several Missourians have taken home Tony Awards, including T.S. Eliot, Best Play (1950); Tennessee Williams, Best Play (1951); and Norbert Leo Butz, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (2005 and 2011).
held a contest to design the official Tony award. Herman Rosse created a two-sided medallion with the comedy and tragedy masks and a picture of Antoinette Perry.
Explaining the rainbow
102 3 BXR .
WHERE
MUSIC MATTERS
Jazzin’ it up April is Jazz Appreciation Month. It was created in 2002 by the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. We love jazz, but we’re the first to admit we couldn’t tell you what separates the beginners from the experts. Here are a few local spots where you can get educated: Murry’s, 3107 Green Meadows Way, 442-4969 Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen, 217 N. Stadium Blvd, 443-5299 The Industry at the Tiger Hotel, 23 S. 8th St, 875-8888 ‘We Always Swing’ Jazz Series, 21 N. 10th St, 449-3009
LGBTQ activist Gilbert Baker, who created the rainbow flag, died March 30. Since its creation in 1978, the flag has gone from six stripes to eight by adding pink and turquoise. Here’s what each color represents:
Pink - sex Red - life Orange - healing Yellow - sun Green - nature Turquoise - magic Blue - peace Purple - spirit
GET THE OFFICIAL BXR APP
WWW.
BXR .COM
/102.3BXR
@1023BXR
Written by: John Heniff, Renee Molner, Taylor Ysteboe PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY OR COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, APIMAGES, FREEPIK, MADALYNE BIRD
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NEWS & INSIGHT
‘Change’ing gears Local officials revamp Columbia’s parking
BY ANNABEL AMES
Although Columbia is known for its small-town vibe, quirky shops and arts dedication, the downtown landscape now resembles that of a bigger city. Parking is always a hot topic, and it will become more concerning with additional downtown apartment complexes.
Parking Supervisor Tanner Morrell and Shay Jasper, a community relations marketing specialist, provide data to show the changes that have happened in the downtown parking system over the last six years and help you become aware of potential parking changes.
WHAT HAS CHANGED IN RECENT YEARS? 2016
6 MONTHS TO 3 YEARS
1,119
How long you could be stuck on a waiting list for a permit parking space in one of the city’s parking garages.
Number of spots added to the existing 3,400 parking places after two parking garages, the Fifth and Walnut Street Garage and the Short Street Garage, were built six years ago.
$4,154,260
Amount of revenue the city collected from parking last year, which has increased from $1,657,637 in 2006 and $2,688,403 in 2012.
= $1,000,000
Prices increased
40 cents at meters
= $20,000
$1,285,983 Money collected by the city from parking tickets last year. That’s quite a stretch from the $809,522 paid just four years earlier. You must have contributed to it when you find a yellow envelope neatly tucked under your windshield wiper.
south of Locust Street. Parking now costs $1 per hour instead of 60 cents since 2013. The rate has increased 10 cents — from 50 to 60 cents — since 2011 at meters north of Locust Street, which might have led to fewer coins in your console.
PARKING FROM COMO TO OTHER COLLEGE TOWNS
Ann Arbor, MI Population: 117,000 Public meters are $1.60 per hour. There are about 8,176 parking spaces owned by the city, according to Ann Arbor’s Parking Management division.
Bloomington, IN Population: 84,000 Parking for one hour costs 50 cents in garages, $1 at downtown meters and 50 cents to $1 in lots.
Fayetteville, AR Population: 83,000 Free parking after 6 p.m. Twenty-five cents per hour for short-term, 25 cents per 100 minutes for long-term (10+ hours) parking. The city has about 2,386 parking spaces, according to its Parking Management division.
March 10-11, Missouri Theatre
Annie 7 p.m. April 6, Jesse Auditorium National Symphony of Ukraine 7 p.m. March 12, Jesse Auditorium
RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles 7 p.m. March 14, Jesse Auditorium MOMIX: Opus Cactus 7 p.m. April 13, Jesse Auditorium
Kris Kristofferson 7 p.m. April 4, Missouri Theatre Russian National Ballet: Swan Lake 7 p.m. May 1, Jesse Auditorium
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
7 p.m. March 21, Missouri Theatre
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ICONS COURTESY OF FLATICON.COM
THE SCENE
Insta-delicious
Behind the filters, these foodies are hard at work creating tasty foodstagrams for your feeds
MICHELLE HOEING
CAITLIN JOHNSON
HANNAH TURNBULL
REGISTERED DIETITIAN NUTRITIONIST, LICENSED DIETITIAN
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES STUDENT AT MU GRADUATING IN MAY
DIETETIC INTERN, GRADUATING IN MAY WITH MASTER’S IN DIETETICS
HANDLE: @NUTCHELLE.NUTRITION FAVORITE INSTA TOOL: CLARENDON
HANDLES: @NOMMMASTE AND @CAITLINJOHNSO FAVORITE INSTA TOOL: FACETUNE
HANDLE: @HEALTHYHANNY FAVORITE INSTA TOOL: VIGNETTE
BY LILY ZHAO It’s lunchtime, and our mouths water as we scroll through pictures of one-pot pastas, colorful acai bowls and mounds of cheesy deliciousness. Behind the appetizing photos are people preparing meals days in advance and snapping shots of their concoctions from multiple angles. Columbia residents, in order of pictures, Caitlin Johnson, Hannah Turnbull and Michelle Hoeing took Vox through a typical day for a foodstagrammer.
BREAKFAST
It takes Johnson five to 10 minutes to plate her breakfast and snap about 10 photos with her DSLR camera. If she doesn’t have time to post the photo, she’ll download the picture and Instagram it the next day. Her typical breakfast is oatmeal with almond milk, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. She’ll drizzle almond butter and cookie butter on top and finish the look with hemp seeds and a sliced banana. A typical Insta-worthy breakfast for Turnbull takes four minutes. She makes some toast, cracks eggs on the stove and slices an avocado. She doesn’t always plate her food but takes a photo if it looks good.
SNACK
Smoothies are a go-to snack for Johnson. She’ll pour the smoothie into a mason jar for an artistic look and use bright straws to add color. She might even add edible flowers. If Turnbull has a busy day, she uses the Instagram story feature to share her foodie life more regularly. With stories, she can show the steps she takes to prepare a meal or new products.
LUNCH
Lunch is usually pre-prepared but posted as if it were current because of these Instagrammers’ busy lives. It takes Johnson about 20 minutes to edit one photo. “Sometimes I spend too much time,” she says. “It’s more fun to eat something that’s presentable.” Hoeing often eats salads because they’re easy to prepare. “I spend about an hour just putting together my meals for the morning,” she says. She will plate her lunch and snap a photo before dumping it in a Tupperware container. Turnbull tries to post her photos around noon. For her pictures, she goes around her house to find the best lighting. “Sometimes it means going outside, but my pictures aren’t super fancy,” she says. As she approaches graduation and prepares to earn a master’s degree in dietetics from MU, Turnbull plans to buy a nice camera as one of her first post-graduation purchases. She says she hopes to use it to begin a food blog. Her blog would be educational because she would be uploading her recipes instead of just photos.
DINNER
Hoeing gets home from work around 6 or 7 p.m. and begins her meal prep. She pulls everything out of the fridge, thinking of protein and vegetable combinations. It takes about an hour and a half for her to make a meal and post photos. She typically uses her wooden cutting board or a white plate to make the
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MICHELLE HOEING, CAITLIN JOHNSON AND HANNAH TURNBULL
colors of the ingredients stand out. “When I’m posting on Instagram, more than likely I’ve taken the picture the night before,” she says. As a dietitian, Hoeing tries to show there are easy options for people trying to eating healthy. “Everybody is looking for simple, easy meals,” she says. “It doesn’t take crazy recipes to eat healthy.” Turnbull agrees. As a future dietitian,
she wants to show people it is okay to eat a variety of food and give people ideas for meals. Johnson says it is about the “good vibes and good food.” By showing her followers she can make these meals and eat healthfully, it makes it a little easier for them to do the same.
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MISSOURI’S
OPIOID Almost every day, a Missourian dies from a heroin overdose. Missouri is the only state that doesn’t monitor prescription opioid painkillers.
EPIDEMIC Changing the law isn’t just politics. It’s personal. BY
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RICK MORGAN
CODY MARSHALL is at your house for dinner.
He has dark hair with sideburns and a big smile. Your mom cooks pizza and burns it. His response? “Mrs. Smith, that was the best pizza I’ve ever had.” This is how Jim Marshall, Cody’s father, describes his son to strangers. “He was a people pleaser,” Marshall says. “I think maybe that was part of the undoing of his life, that he trusted people he shouldn’t.” Cody’s demise reflects a story that has become tragically common in America. He was a nice kid who was known to go out of his way to befriend students with disabilities. Marshall, who coached track and cross country at Jefferson City High School for 25 years, has been around kids long enough to know the divisive nature of cliques. He says Cody never had a problem being friends with anyone. “He was just a happy-go-lucky kid, but he wasn’t happy about not being in college,” Marshall says. Cody didn’t follow his friends to college. Learning deficiencies hurt his grades. He lived at home and worked temporary jobs in Jefferson City to save money for technical college. The loneliness led to depression, which led to Xanax, which led to heroin. On Sept. 25, 2011, Marshall found his son on the living room floor. Cody wasn’t breathing and didn’t have a pulse. He had overdosed on a mixture of heroin and Xanax. Marshall recovered a pulse in his son, but Cody died in the hospital two days later. He was 20 years old. Cody’s addiction didn’t begin with powder or a bent spoon in a back alley. It began with prescription Xanax that Marshall believes came from a friend or a coworker. On May 3, 2012, state legislators tried enacting a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). This program would allow doctors and pharmacists to monitor a patient’s medical history in an attempt to prevent prescription drug abuse. Family physician and State Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, blocked the bill with an eight-hour filibuster. He’s found ways to stop subsequent attempts at passing similar bills every year since, on the principle argument that such programs are an invasion of privacy. “If they overdose and kill themselves, it just removes them from the gene pool,” Schaaf said during the filibuster in 2012. Almost five years later, every state in the nation now has a program to monitor opioid prescriptions— except Missouri. On Tuesday night, the same day a drug monitoring bill from State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, passed a House vote, Schaaf suddenly voiced his support. Whatever Schaaf’s motives are, the fight to get a law passed will be over by May 12, when the state legislature closes. Will pills remain unchecked in Missouri for at least another year? How many more sons and daughters will be lost to drug addiction?
PHOTO BY ERIN ACHENBACH
how did we get here? The term “opioids” once referred to synthetic painkillers, such as Vicodin, but now describes all opium-derived drugs, including heroin. Drug overdoses kill 91 people in the U.S. every day and killed 52,404 in 2015 (car accidents killed 38,300). Of those overdose deaths, 20,101 were from prescription painkillers, and 12,990 were from heroin. Heather Harlan, who works as an adolescent counselor and prevention specialist at Phoenix Health Programs in Columbia, says these spikes in drug use are nothing new. She cites the ecstasy craze in the early 2000s and the methamphetamine rise after that, both of which received far less attention than opioids do now. But this is the first time a drug this deadly has become so popular. “It’s the same bowl, but a different cereal,” Harlan says. This particular brand of cereal is the addiction of about 2.6 million people in the U.S., according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine. The most recent Missouri statistics reveal 338 heroin-involved deaths in 2014. There were 18 in 2001. University Hospital paramedics Geoffrey Heavin and Jake Waller see the epidemic firsthand. They have treated overdoses everywhere, including a Taco Bell bathroom and a $2 million house. Although Heavin doesn’t know if his experience is indicative of paramedics throughout the area, he estimates his crew alone sees an average of one or two overdoses a week. 8
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“We’re getting (overdoses) from teenagers, college kids, older adults,” Heavin says. “You can’t put ‘overdose person’ in the dictionary and have one picture. You would have to put a picture of the globe.” Since his son’s death, Marshall has spent his time crusading against addiction. He speaks at schools, advocates in the state legislature and advises parents with children who struggle with addiction. He wants to stop other people from going through the same pain he went through. Marshall says he believes many parents turn a blind eye to a child’s addiction because they don’t want to believe their kid fits a preconceived stereotype. “All types of kids are doing this,” Marshall says. “It’s 4.0, it’s med students, it’s kids who struggle, it’s kids of different color, different cities. You can’t just stereotype it like that anymore. I think when we break these stereotypes down, parents will quit being naïve — that ‘my kid will never try this.’” The shocking number of deaths goes hand-in-hand with a spike in prescription painkiller sales. From 1999 to 2015, prescription opioid sales quadrupled. Doctors prescribed 240 million bottles of opioids in 2014, almost enough for every American adult to have their own bottle. Painkillers weren’t nearly this popular before the ’70s and ’80s. Many studies funded by pharmaceutical companies suggested that doctors should prioritize treating pain. The studies downplayed the risk of addiction. Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin flooded the market after these studies. Purdue Pharma, the
ABOVE: Jim Marshall holds a framed photo of his son, Cody Marshall, in his living room. The photo was taken when Marshall was a senior in high school, the year before he died of a heroin overdose. RIGHT: Jim Marshall’s son died of a heroin overdose in 2011. Today, Marshall runs a lecture series called “Cody’s Gift,” teaching teens about the mental health problems related to addiction.
“All types of kids are doing this. It’s 4.0, it’s med students, it’s kids who struggle, it’s kids of different color, different cities. You can’t just stereotype it.” — JIM MARSHALL DRUG MONITORING PROPONENT
PHOTOS BY DAVIS WINBORNE
THE FACES BEHIND THE ISSUE Meet seven influential lawmakers and citizens involved in stopping the opioid epidemic eric greitens missouri governor relation: heroin killed a relative
“We can get this (prevention policies) done.”
heather harlan adolescent counselor and prevention specialist, phoenix health programs
manufacturer of OxyContin, initiated a full-court advertising campaign in 1998. Part of the campaign stressed the time-release formula of the drug, which marketers claimed made the risk of addiction almost nonexistent. The next year, opioid prescriptions increased by 11 million people.
the fight David Stoecker, of Springfield, is no stranger to addiction. He battled with his own for more than 20 years. After an abusive childhood, Stoecker turned to drinking and smoking the summer before seventh grade. He moved on to crystal meth, dropped out of high school and found himself in jail on his 21st birthday. Ironically, after years of obtaining his chemical coping mechanisms illegally, his most harmful addiction began with a doctor. After a brutal car accident at age 22, Stoecker began suffering from migraines. A doctor prescribed him painkillers for six months until the opioids were deemed no longer necessary. When he was abruptly taken off the drugs, Stoecker experienced withdrawal. He knew he needed more opioids to function. He decided to obtain them illegally, which wasn’t difficult. Stoecker already dealt meth, and he found cancer patients who were happy to trade their prescription painkillers for it. Stoecker began using Dilaudid, which is another opioid pain medication, and morphine intravenously. A few passes through rehab didn’t take. Stoecker was found clinically dead by paramedics, who were able to revive him, three times between 2000 and 2001. He doesn’t remember much from that year, so his knowledge of the overdoses comes from his sister, who visited him in the intensive care unit each time. Stoecker moved back in with his mom in Springfield. She gave him one last chance to turn his life around. “I was at a point where I knew I had to do it or I was going to die,” Stoecker says. Living with his mom helped keep Stoecker away from old temptations, but the struggle was agonizing. He describes detox as suffering through the worst flu imaginable for over a month, but with cramps. Once off opioids, he decided to continue his education and earned two bachelor’s degrees, in psychology and sociology, and a master’s degree in social work at Missouri State University. After nine ILLUSTRATIONS BY MADALYNE BIRD
relation: helps people fight addiction
“This is a chemical traumatic brain injury.”
jim marshall williams woods university cross country/ track and field coach relation: activist against addiction after son’s death
“This is how I cope with my grief. This is my Xanax, helping others.”
holly rehder
state representative, r-sikeston relation: sponsor of drug monitoring bill
“We need to address the root of this problem.”
rob schaaf
state senator, r-st. joseph relation: longtime drug monitoring opponent
“It’s always been about privacy.”
dave schatz
state senator, r-sullivan relation: sponsor of drug monitoring bill
“We’ve been trying to work with Sen. Schaaf on some compromise language.”
david stoecker recovery education and advocacy outreach coordinator, missouri recovery network relation: fought his own addiction for decades, now helps others
“I went from dealing dope to dealing hope, and I like dealing hope a lot better.” 04.06.17
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“You’ve got a buddy that’s hurt and he’s like, ‘Man, you know what? When I found out I was really hurt, and I took two of these, it knocked my socks off. Here, you’ve got to try this.’” —DAVID STOECKER, RECOVERY EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY OUTREACH COORDINATOR years as a therapist for the Green County Drug Court, he now works for the Missouri Recovery Network as the recovery education and advocacy outreach coordinator for the state. Stoecker has seen all sorts of addiction in both his life before recovery and now as an advocate. He says he believes that a major problem is how readily available opioids have become. Stoecker says this is especially a problem among youths. “That’s how they’re getting the pain medication that they use, is from people who are overprescribed a lot of the time,” Stoecker says. “You’ve got a buddy that’s hurt and he’s like, ‘Man, you know what? When I found out I was really hurt, and I took two of these, it knocked my socks off. Here, you’ve got to try this.’” Statistics agree. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 35 percent of people prescribed a month’s supply of painkillers become hooked for at least a year. For every five new heroin users, four of them started with prescription opioids. “Kids don’t think anything of taking a pill because we’ve grown up in a pill-numb culture,” Marshall says. “By the time they’re 20, when they start having some issues they’ve never had like anxiety or depression or they stay up all night or stress, well what do you go back to? You go back to the pills.” So how do we get fewer pills floating around? Prescription drug monitoring programs have a fairly simple purpose: to track a patient’s opioid drug history in order to prevent prescription abuse. In other states, the programs give doctors access to a patient’s medical history to help notice early signs of addiction. The programs stop patients from getting too many pills and doctors from giving out too many pills. They also prevent “doctor shopping,” or drug addicts going from doctor to doctor until they get the pills they want. At first glance, it’s difficult to understand the nuances of these different bills, the frustrations of
the people involved and the likely outcome. It gets so complicated, in fact, that many Missourians don’t pay attention to this important legislation. So here’s the breakdown.
the possibilities When the dust settles at the end of this legislative session on May 12, there are a few different ways this could play out. Schaaf is the goal-line defense who has steamrolled all previous monitoring programs in Missouri. He said on Tuesday he would support a statewide program if all doctors were required to use it, but the implications of the stance are unclear. Through filibusters (or even the threat of a filibuster), he has stopped monitoring programs for years. Schaaf has even proposed his own version of a prescription drug monitoring program, Senate Bill 74. This version is weaker and restricts doctors much more than the programs do in other states. He calls it a compromise, but his opponents call it an attempt to prevent a traditional prescription drug monitoring program. When a patient sees a doctor under Schaaf’s bill, the doctor will only be able to see if that patient has been to another doctor. If the patient has been somewhere else, doctors will go through the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to determine if a patient is abusing. This would help with doctor shopping, but that’s only part of the problem. Any patient can accidentally become an addict. Marshall has a daughter who works in oncology in Jefferson City, and she sees cancer patients who view their deadly disease as a “blessing” because they can get painkillers. A doctor without a patient’s full history might accidentally overprescribe or give something that conflicts with a different medication.
Schaaf’s opponents are doing their best not to let his bill become law. State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, and State Sen. Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, are pushing a traditional program to give Missouri doctors the same access as every other state. They are each sponsoring their own bill, but the two bills are the same (House Bill 90 and Senate Bill 231). If there are two bills going through the process, there is a better chance one will make it through the rigmarole before the session ends. In this future scenario, any doctor who suspects drug abuse can see a patient’s full medical history, regardless of whether that patient has been anywhere else. Rehder says she believes this would help curtail doctor shopping and make it easier for medical professionals to spot early signs of addiction. Doctors can already access a patient’s history by calling other doctors and emergency rooms, but doing so takes an unreasonable amount of time and requires doctors to become private investigators. The Rehder and Schatz bills would give doctors this information at the tip of their fingers. Patient information is covered by HIPAA law, which should safeguard information from anyone who is not a doctor. Right now, Schaaf’s bill is through the Senate, and Rehder’s bill is through the House. All bills need to go through both the House and the Senate. In the Senate, Rehder’s bill will face Schaaf’s Tuesday night stipulation requiring doctors and pharmacists to utilize the database, a requirement that 11 states currently have (21 states require only doctors to use it), and Rehder has only said that she’ll consider the compromise. When the House and Senate cannot agree, a conference committee, which consists of joint leaders in the House and Senate, comes together to debate the legislation. Still confused? To paint a simple picture, there are two potential paths to a prescription program
A NATION HOOKED A brief history of opioids in America
1840s 1600s
1820s
Frontier physicians regularly use opium to alleviate pain, a practice that continues through the American Revolution.
Thomas Jefferson uses an opium and alcohol tincture called laudanum to treat his chronic diarrhea. He even grows his own opium poppy at Monticello.
1600s 10
1700s
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Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, a mixture of alcohol and morphine, is developed to calm teething children.
1860s U.S. Civil War veterans use opium for pain and often become heavily addicted.
1800s PHOTOS COURTESY OF PIXABAY, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, DOUGLAS HEALEY/AP
1898
Bayer C is supp addicti The dru
Cody Marshall wrote this note to his dad, Jim, after Jim retired from coaching in Jefferson City. Cody died of a heroin overdose in 2011.
becoming law this session. The legislature will either vote on Schaaf’s or Rehder’s amended versions. These bills will take time to push through, and there is a very realistic chance the legislators will not agree on a final product. If it appears on the floor late in the session, the bill could run out of time once again. With limited time this spring to get important legislative work done, state lawmakers can’t afford to sit through bickering. They might just throw the bill out, regardless of their stance on a prescription drug program. Let’s say nothing passes this spring. Many cities and counties that are frustrated by at the inaction in the capital, have taken matters into their own hands. Jackson County, St. Charles County, St. Louis County and St. Louis City, which comprise a large portion of
Co. creates what posed to be a less ive form of morphine. ug is called heroin.
1918
1920s
New York becomes the first state to enact a prescription drug monitoring program.
Doctors become aware of the dangers of addiction and are hesitant to prescribe opioids.
1900s PHOTO BY DAVIS WINBORNE
the state’s population, have all voted to begin their own monitoring programs. If the state adopts either Schaaf or Rehder’s proposal, however, it will most likely override any city or county programs. The X factor in all of this? Missouri Governor Eric Greitens. Heroin killed a relative of Greitens’ in 2016, and he is in favor of stronger opioid regulation. Even if Schaaf gets his diluted program through the legislature amendment-free, Greitens could refuse to sign it.
making it happen The epidemic hasn’t spared Schaaf’s hometown. The pleasant town square of St. Joseph features the Brioche Coffee Shop, law offices and the House of
Rock. But a few blocks away, the Missouri Job Center building has a “for sale” sign in the window. Another old building with white paint on the side reads in faded lettering, “America has the best buys” and underneath, “Jewelry, Loans, Guns.” An appliance rental store advertises stereos and VCRs. A 2016 St. Joseph NewsPress article claims a behavioral health center treated seven heroin abusers in one quarter alone in 2015. In the previous fiscal year, that same center treated six people total. So why did the family practice doctor fight so hard in the name of privacy against a vital program? Perhaps was where Schaaf wanted to leave his mark. He made a name for himself opposing this legislation, and he was dedicated to his cause. The
1998 1924
1970s & ‘80s
The Heroin Act is passed to ban all manufacturing, importation and possession of the drug.
A series of studies (many funded by pharmaceutical companies) suggest doctors prioritize treating pain. Opioids become mainstream.
Purdue Pharma creates an aggressive advertising campaign. A pillar of the campaign is that OxyContin has a low risk of addiction, which has since proven to be false.
2017 2007 Purdue Pharma executives are accused of false advertising and settle with the U.S. government for $635 million. Meanwhile, by 2010, OxyContin earns the company $3 billion.
2000s
Three bills are currently going through state legislature to get a prescription drug monitoring program in Missouri.
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FAST FACTS The lowdown on the prescription drug problem PRESCRIPTION DRUG MONITORING PROGRAM, OR PDMP: a program that would allow doctors to monitor a patient’s medical history in an attempt to prevent prescription drug abuse. OPIOIDS: Once referred to synthetic painkillers, such as Vicodin, but now describes all opium-derived drugs, including heroin. Opioids kill
“If we don’t start addressing addiction in its early stages, we’re never going to make a dent in this epidemic.” —HOLLY REHDER, MISSOURI STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Drug overdoses killed
91
52,404
people in the U.S. every day.
people in the U.S. in 2015 (car accidents killed 38,300)
Of those overdose deaths
20,101
12,990
were from prescription painkillers
The most recent statistics from Missouri reveal
338
were from heroin
deaths caused by heroin in 2014
From 1999 to 2015, prescription opioid sales
QUADRUPLED Doctors prescribed
There were
18
in 2001
240 MILLION
bottles of opioids in 2014
About
2.6 million
people are addicted to prescription painkillers and/or heroin according to the American Society of Addiction Medicine in 2016
Four of every five new heroin users started with prescription opioids in 2015
About
35 percent
of people who were prescribed a month’s supply of painkillers become hooked for at least a year between 2006-2015
SENATE BILL 74: This drug monitoring plan doesn’t give doctors as much access to info as House Bill 90 and Senate Bill 231 and PDMPs in other states. It is sponsored by state Sen. Robert Schaaf. HOUSE BILL 90 AND SENATE BILL 231: a traditional program to give Missouri doctors the same access as every other state. The two bills are the same but are both being pushed to extend chances of one passing.They are sponsored by state Sen. Dave Schatz and state Rep. Holly Rehder. Sources: The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Safety Council, American Society of Addiction Medicine, U.S. Census Bureau, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, house.mo.gov
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overwhelming number of news stories containing his name focus on Missouri being the only state without this program. Spend any amount of time talking to the senator, and he will tell you that he thinks Missourians would actually take pride in being the only state without this program. Schaaf feels that, left to a popular vote, Missouri would remain the outlier. As a chairman of the board, treasurer and secretary of malpractice insurance company MoDocs and opponent of Medicaid expansion, Schaaf is deeply ingrained in medical legislation. When Missouri looked to privatize Medicaid in 2016, Schaaf had the guts to speak against it amid majority opposition. He has no problem being a lone wolf. Schaaf’s gripe is very straightforward. “It’s all about privacy,” Schaaf says. “It’s always been about privacy. Always.” His last legislative year is in 2018, and he’s aware that this might become law at some point sooner or later. When arguing his position, Schaaf quotes Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Schaaf fears medical history falling into the wrong hands is dangerous. Access would require a password and a username, which could result in security breaches. The Washington Post reported on a breach in the database for the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program in 2009, with hackers demanding a ransom for the information. Rehder says she’s concerned about personal privacy, and doesn’t think her bill is dangerous. “The people that he’s trying to keep from being able to see these medical records are our medical professionals,” Rehder says. “I just don’t know anyone who is concerned about their doctors seeing their own medication history.” Schaaf’s other complaint is that he doesn’t think this law would effectively curb the opioid crisis. People will still lie about their pain, get pills and sell them on the street, he says. If they don’t get prescription drugs, they will turn to cheap, illegal drugs such as heroin. Nationwide, opioid overdoses were up in 2015 according to the PDMP Training and Technical Assistance Center. In a 2016 Vanderbilt University study, though, average deaths went down by 1.12 people per 100,000 one year after the 35 states studied implemented PDMP laws from 1999-2013. The study estimated that if Missouri had implemented the program in 2016 and if other states had beefed up their programs, the U.S. would have two fewer fatal overdoses each day. Doctors in states such as Florida, Virginia and Ohio saw a decrease in doctor shopping since implementation, and, in states such as Oklahoma, doctors were more likely to refer drug-seeking patients to treatment programs. Rehder’s bill doesn’t currently require all doctors to use the program, and Schaaf thinks it should. “As a physician, I myself will commit that I am personally willing to be required to use it,” Schaaf said in a surprise press conference Tuesday evening. At press time, Rehder says she’s cautiously optimistic that her compromise with Schaaf will pass, although the doctor and pharmacist mandate worries her. “No state has passed the mandate with the program,” Rehder says in a text message. The surprise mandate could invite criticism from medical professionals who may feel blindsided by the proposed change. “You get the program running well and then
Jim Marshall shows a back tattoo that depicts his son, Cody Marshall, skateboarding. It was one of Marshall’s favorite activities before his 2011 heroin overdose.
add that in.” That’s how the other 11 states with the mandate have implemented it. Marshall has his reservations as well: He says Schaaf could be effectively filibustering the bill with the amendment, or that someone else could filibuster in his place. Marshall says the appearance of now supporting drug monitoring could aid Schaaf’s future ambitions. Schaaf has long supported other means of stopping the opioid crisis. He says he aims to prevent overprescribing through better education for doctors on the CDC protocols. Doctors need appropriate education before doling out possibly deadly drugs. In the findings of a 2016 British Medical Journal study, physicians prescribing oral anticoagulants and non-insulin diabetes drugs were shown to prescribe a pharmaceutical company’s products more frequently when given gifts from the company. The Portland Press Herald reported in December 2016 that Purdue Pharma has paid individual doctors more than $7,000 for speaking engagements and training. Rehder thinks Schaaf simply doesn’t understand addiction. “Physicians need this just to make safe clinical decisions,” Rehder says. “If we don’t start addressing addiction in its early stages, we’re never going to make a dent in this epidemic.” Rehder says Schaaf’s original bill might help with doctor shopping, but it won’t allow physicians to notice a patient’s initial decline into addiction. She equates it to putting a Band-Aid on the problem. Marshall agrees. “I call it a toothless PDMP,” he says. “It’s like watching a lion with no teeth chew up a giraffe. It’s really going to be hard to do anything.” PHOTO BY DAVIS WINBORNE
Wal-Mart, and other pharmacies, monitor cold medicine more closely than Missouri monitors opioids. Stoecker once bought Sudafed at Wal-Mart for a cold he had while attending a conference in Kansas City, but he forgot to bring the medicine home with him. When he stopped by a Wal-Mart in Springfield, he wasn’t allowed to buy more. Pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in Sudafed, can be used to make meth. Marshall says, “Why wouldn’t we want every doctor to have that information before they give us another dose of pills? When you’re combining pills, that’s a Molotov cocktail.”
the bigger picture Cody Marshall wasn’t alone when he overdosed. He was with “friends,” and none of them bothered to call 911 when Cody was in serious danger. This is a problem with overdoses in Missouri. If an addict is with a friend who overdoses, the addict is often hesitant to call an ambulance because he or she is afraid of getting in trouble with the law. There is currently no Good Samaritan law in Missouri that would ensure an addict’s legal impunity when calling 911. What makes the situation even more frustrating is that Missouri allows pharmacies to dispense and individuals to possess Narcan, a drug used to stop an opioid overdose, but you are legally obligated to call 911 after administering it. The lack of a Good Samaritan law takes a lot of the punch out of the Narcan legislation. Addicts are afraid to use the life-saving drug because they know they are supposed
to call 911 right afterward, and they don’t want to go to jail for having narcotics. Marshall is advocating for a Good Samaritan law, which has failed to make it through the state legislature for years. The bill has been renamed “Bailey and Cody’s Law,” in an attempt to emphasize the human importance. Bailey Wages was a teenage girl from Belton who overdosed in 2015 while friends failed to call 911; her mother is also advocating for this bill. Marshall doesn’t know if a Good Samaritan law would have saved his son. “Maybe, I’ll just say maybe,” he says. “It’s hard to read people’s minds, but maybe. He would have had a better chance than without one.” Marshall will throw himself into the issue if he knows it might stop one more person from enduring his pain. “Here’s a kid who was left to die, and here’s a kid who transitioned from a pill to heroin,” Marshall says about his son. “I think his story and then my background, the combination wasn’t an accident. Some things you just think were meant to happen. This wasn’t a guy that was going to go grieve and not talk about it. This was a guy who was going to try and turn a negative to a positive like he’s been trying to teach kids for 37 years. I tell kids and parents, ‘This is my coping mechanism. This is how I cope with my grief. This is my Xanax, helping others.’” All the major players in this issue seem to be supportive of a Good Samaritan law. Schaaf, despite his past tendency to filibuster, says he believes there shouldn’t be a repercussion for calling 911. Rehder agrees. Stoecker is adamant in his defense of a Good Samaritan law. 04.06.17
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“A lady who I’ve become friends with through what I do, her son died,” Stoecker says. “His friends stood around him for 45 minutes, freaked out, not knowing what to do after he OD’d because they were afraid to call. If we had a Good Sam law, her son would still be here.” Prescription monitoring and a Good Samaritan law would help curtail the crisis, but real improvement will come when people change how opioid addiction is addressed. Despite the American Medical Association labeling addiction as a medical illness, people tend to treat it like a moral shortcoming. Drug addiction is not a choice people make when they’re looking for a good time. “I have great issue with the whole ‘enabling’ argument,” Rehder says. “I get so tired of hearing these things. These people have gotten down the wrong path. If we can give them one more chance to live, extend that olive branch one more time, isn’t that what God conditioned us to do?” Rehder has good reason to care deeply about this legislation. Her daughter dealt with addiction. If it weren’t for positive people in her daughter’s life, Rehder believes her daughter would still be an addict, or worse. Harlan deals with addiction on a regular basis through her work with Phoenix Health Programs, and she says she believes people suffering opioid addiction have no control over their problem. She calls the affliction a “chemical traumatic brain injury.” Until addiction stops being regarded as a choice, all the legislation in the world won’t stop the current epidemic. Stoecker’s work has helped him turn around the lives of many people who went through what he did. He stresses treating opioid addiction like the disease that it is and breaking down the stigmas. He argues that most people addicted to opioids don’t know the better life that awaits them if and when they get help. “I went from dealing dope to dealing hope, and I like dealing hope a lot better,” Stoecker says. “I love going up to people and talking to them about the amazing things that can happen in their life, and then showing them how much better their life can be.” Marshall now lives in Columbia and coaches cross-country and track and field at William Woods University in Fulton. His living room looks exactly like you would expect for a distinguished coach. A custom Wheaties box features Marshall on the cover and his Jefferson City milestones on the back — a gift from the school for his 25 years coaching there. He jokes about the goatee he had back then. There are St. Louis Cardinals memorabilia hats on the mantle. Marshall wears an NAIA Cross Country Championships vest, and his gray and white cat, Ozzie, lounges on the couch next to him. There is a peaceful feel to the place, a far cry from the tragedy he discovered in his old living room almost six years ago. Marshall knows the legislation he is fighting so hard for won’t stop the opioid crisis, but it will help prevent pills from falling into the wrong hands. It can stop kids like Cody from starting down the wrong path. Cody Marshall wasn’t a bad person. He didn’t choose to get addicted to heroin. He was a nice kid, just 20 years old, who was going through a rough patch of life. He saw an easy way to cope, and he took it. He became hopelessly addicted to the point where his actions were no longer his own. He deserved better from the state of Missouri.
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He deserved better from the state of Missouri.
VIES EVENTS MUSIC DINING NEW ENTSMUSIC DINING NEWS MOVI USIC DINING NEWS MOVIES EVEN NING NEWS MOVIES EVENTS MUS WS MOVIES EVENTS MUSIC DININ
Free Every Thursday
MUSIC
Meet the stars of STARflyerFEST The space-rock music festival brings in 12 bands who jam out to new-wave genres BY CHLOE WILT Em Downing, a talent buyer and booking agent Driving down the highway in the middle of a at Cafe Berlin, says she is excited to work with the two-week tour with his band, Cantalouper, Levi artists and build relationships with them. Dolan had an idea. Dolan and the rest of his band “(Cafe Berlin) is a great venue for this festival wanted a way to get people to Columbia and present because we love working with people in a specific branch of rock ’n’ roll, our local community to make their visions the “pretty, but noisy rock ’n’ roll” STARflyerFEST come to life,” Downing says. “Twelve Dolan says. Thus, STARflyerFEST Cafe Berlin bands for $10 is an insane deal.” was born. April 8, 5 p.m., $10 The festival is meant for students The music festival features cafeberlincomo.com and locals who are fans of the genres or subgenres, such as shoegaze, space 441-0400 anyone who’s interested in growing and rock and new wave, that feature both supporting the arts in Columbia. experimental and catchy melodies “I hope it’s a good introduction if it’s not the coupled with atmospheric noise. Four local bands kind of music you’re familiar with,” Dolan says. He and eight out-of-towners will perform throughout hopes to satisfy dedicated fans of the genres, too. the night. They will play back-to-back at Cafe Meet three of the Missouri bands that will be Berlin on the indoor stage and outdoor patio stage. rocking the second annual fest. At only $10 a ticket, it’s less than a dollar per show.
CANTALOUPER Cantalouper, a band influenced by ‘90s indie rock, has toured throughout the Midwest for the past five years. Its second LP, Reproduction, came out in May 2015 after being recorded in various, somewhat random, environments: a shed, a theater, an aquarium and outdoor settings around Columbia. “I record all of our stuff myself, and I like trying to incorporate some textural elements to what we’re doing,” Levi Dolan says. “It’s important for me to reflect that we’re from the Midwest.” The band has released three EPs and one record in addition to Reproduction. The members include vocalist and guitarist Dolan, Chuck Parzych III on drums, brother Andrew Dolan on the keyboard and Josh Reid on bass.
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ENEMY AIRSHIP Enemy Airship is Columbia’s self-described “dream-pop mopers” and consists of guitarist and vocalist Zach Biri, drummer Logan Epps and bassist Michael Hopkins. The band members have played together since high school and have known one another almost their entire lives. The three are from Farmington and have officially been a band since 2011. “Having played together for almost 10 years, it’s almost a telepathic thing,” Biri says. Playing in the STARflyerFEST last year was one of the highlights of Biri’s year. He says he made plenty of friends and connections through the experience. The trio has released two five-track EPs: The Slow Suggestive in 2012 and Smithereens in 2015. It has also put out two singles, “False Economy” and “Sockhops.” All of the group’s music can be found on Bandcamp.
SEASHINE Seashine, a St. Louis-based band, started when Demi Haynes, the vocalist and guitarist, wanted to branch out from a solo project she had been working on to form a band. Along with her boyfriend and bassist, Paul Rieger, Haynes took to Craigslist to search for potential bandmates. Since then, they have worked with several drummers and brought on guitarist Kate Hayes. Some of the band’s influences include The Cure and Beach House, and the members often compare themselves to English rock band Slowdive. “When I write, I just record immediately so I can put the parts together and hear it as one piece,” Haynes says. The band released a self-titled demo EP of four recordings last year on Soundcloud.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLATICON, LEVI DOLAN AND DEMI HAYNES
ARTS & BOOKS
What’s on Jill Orr’s nightstand? The local author offers new and old favorite reads BY MARY SALATINO The marriage between serious topics and lighthearted entertainment fascinates author Jill Orr. With her blog, parenting column for COMO Living and her first novel, The Good Byline, Orr does a little bit of everything. She has a knack for mystery and enjoys a good laugh. Even with The Good Byline set to release April 11, Orr still finds time to indulge in recreational reading. “I’m reading five different books right now,” she says. If you’re looking for a few enticing reads to help you escape the monotony of the real world, check out Orr’s thoughtful recommendations.
Favorite classic book
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Orr’s top classic read is a book you probably read in school. The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
A P R I L :
mixes humor with serious issues of racial inequality and injustice through the eyes of Scout Finch, a 6-year-old with a surprisingly mature point of view. Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who defends a black man while teaching his two children valuable life lessons.
Favorite contemporary book
Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
This mystery novel focuses on the mother-daughter relationship between Bernadette and her 15-year-old daughter, Bee. Once Bernadette goes missing, Bee finds herself taking on the role of an investigator as she tries to piece together her mother’s disappearance. The compelling story is told through emails, letters and FBI documents. “It’s so funny and so original,” Orr says. “Up until the last 10 pages, I didn’t even know what to expect.”
6 - 9
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Books she’s reading now
and a multitude of obstacles while she tries to figure out what truly makes life meaningful.
Set in 1915 and based on true events, this historical mystery follows the life of Constance Kopp, the first woman hired as a deputy sheriff in Bergen County, New Jersey. With its fast-paced nature and entertaining comic relief, this story explores the themes of women’s independence and breaking free from social constructions.
Book she couldn’t put down
Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
This chilling mystery by another Columbia author follows Lucy Dane through several losses. Her mother vanished after she was born and her friend Cheri is found murdered. Lucy and her friend Daniel begin to investigate Cheri’s murder, only to discover secrets about her mother’s disappearance. The novel explores the meaning of family and the distance one will go to protect those who hold a special place in his or her heart. “I love nothing more than a book where I can’t wait to figure out the ending,” Orr says.
My not so Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella Katie Brenner longs to live a dazzling, perfect, Instagrammable life like the many people around her seem to. Although getting fired from her job does not align with her ideal existence, Katie copes with this
1 3 - 1 5
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Read a review of The Good Byline at VOXMAGAZINE.COM
2 0 - 2 3
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2 0 1 7
“When you get to the end of the road you can either turn around and go back the way you came — or you can make a new path.”
by Daniel MacIvor
Adults Students Seniors
12 $ 10 $ 10
$
1800 Nelwood Drive; Columbia, MO | 573.474.3699 | www.cectheatre.org PHOTOS BY OR COURTESY OF HARPER PRENNIAL MODERN CLASSICS, BACK BAY BOOKS, MARINER BOOKS, PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE U.K., SPIEGAL & GRAU
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KOPN 89.5fm...Where Else? Monday thru Friday National Programming Line-up...
Step into a world of pure imagination at The Candy Factory with co-owner AMY ATKINSON
Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman 8-9am and Noon-1pm
The Diane Rehm Show 9-11am
Fresh Air with Terry Gross 11am-Noon On your radio dial at 89.5 fm or live streaming at kopn.org
Get the story on Columbia’s latest showings. MOVIE REVIEWS VoxMagazine.com
T
he Candy Factory isn’t your run-of-the-mill sweets shop. The scent of chocolate fills the air as you gaze open-mouthed over the decadent treats. Colors straight out of Candy Land splash the walls of the stairs leading to the viewing room. There, you can watch as the chocolate and other sweets are made from scratch. Amy Atkinson and her husband, Mike Atkinson, have owned and operated the downtown shop for the past 12 years. The Candy Factory produces and packages its own products in the second floor candy kitchen and ships its treats nationwide. After buying the business piece-by-piece from Mike’s parents over the course of a decade, the couple took complete ownership last July, 30 years after Mike’s parents originally purchased it. Amy and Mike thought long and hard before deciding to give running the business a shot. This endeavor has panned out well for them, and they’ve been able to adapt to the needs of the business. “Sometimes problems arise that we haven’t previously encountered, and I think Amy does a great job of finding creative solutions,” says Randi Meyer, an employee of the store for the past two years. Vox caught up with Amy to find out what it’s like to run one of the sweetest businesses in town. Which items at The Candy Factory are your favorites? Other than chocolate-covered strawberries, my other favorite thing is our cashew-covered Katys. It is a layer of cashews, a layer of our homemade caramel and a layer of chocolate. It’s named after the trail because it’s the perfect treat to take with you while you’re walking the Katy Trail.
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How do you prepare for the Easter rush? We make all of our chocolate bunnies here. We offer close to 40 different bunnies. All of our bunnies are solid chocolate. You’ll never find a hollow bunny. This takes a long time to prepare. Right after Valentine’s, we begin our preparations making bunnies and hand-packaging them. We also make Easter baskets and all different kinds of eggs. There are so many candy products at Easter that much of our time is simply making all the specialty Easter candy. What is your favorite holiday as a chocolatier? My favorite is Valentine’s Day because it’s a sweet holiday. We have a lot of cute customers who come in and tell us who they’re buying for and sweet stories about themselves. For instance, a little old man who’s been buying the same thing for his wife from The Candy Factory for 40 or 50 years, and he will say for us to put her name on it, but it’s like a nickname. There are some people at Valentine’s who have never been in our store before, and others are like, “Oh, I do this every year. I’ve been doing it for 40 years.” It’s really cute. What is the best advice you have ever been given? I think the best business advice is just never put off tomorrow what you can do today. Tomorrow will bring so many things of its own. There are not enough hours in the day. —BY TARYN PARKER PHOTO COURTESY OF RANDI MEYER
THE TO-DO LIST
this week in Columbia
ARTS & CULTURE Annie
A much-loved musical returns to the Columbia stage. Directed by original lyricist and director Martin Charnin and choreographed by Liza Gennaro, this production of Annie will be a brand-new incarnation of the original. Tonight, 7 p.m., Jesse Auditorium, $30–50, 882-3781
Rainbow House Masquerade Ball Book your seats at a table now for dinner, games and auctions to help raise money for hundreds of children. The Rainbow House works to provide emergency shelter and other programs to mid-Missouri kids. Saturday, 6–11 p.m., Holiday Inn Executive Center, $125, 474-6600
Chancellor’s Arts Showcase
The annual Chancellor’s Arts Showcase features a collaboration of arts from across the MU campus, including the School of Music, the Art and Theatre departments, Mizzou Botanic Garden and more. Monday, 7 p.m., Missouri Theatre, $10–15, 882-3781
CIVIC Dog Easter Egg Hunt
Hunting for eggs this Easter isn’t merely a human activity. Bring your canine companion to Lizzi & Rocco’s first-ever pet
egg extravaganza. There will be 1,500 eggs filled with treats and prizes, and proceeds will benefit the Central Missouri Humane Society. Saturday, 1 p.m., Lizzi & Rocco’s Natural Pet Market Business Loop 70 location, $5, 447-7398
Local Food for Local People Food Drive
Be a part of a cycle of community good in Columbia. Step one: donate cash. Step two: local farmers take those donations to grow and gather food. Step three: fresh, locally grown food is given to the Central Missouri and Tiger pantries. Monday, 10 a.m., Speakers Circle, Free, 882-3780
Pollinator Camp
Get closer to nature with the Mizzou Botanic Garden pollinator camp. The exhibit will be touring MU’s Gustin Golf Course and Eckles Butterfly Garden. See bats, bees and butterflies galore. Saturday, 9 a.m., various locations, Free, 630-383-1122
FOOD & DRINK Pride Month Dessert Social
Celebrate pride month with LGBTQ students, faculty and staff. There will be tons of desserts, conversation and games for the whole family. Bring your favorite dish and join in on the fun. Tonight, 6 p.m., MU LGBTQ Resource Center, Free, 884-7750
MUSIC
Raw (R)
Magic City Hippies
The one-man-band-turned-trio from Miami has taken the music scene by storm. Magic City Hippies describes its indie-funk sound as “dusted with a taste of hip hop, and baked in an oven of soul.” Tuesday, 8 p.m., Rose Music Hall, $10, 874-1944
Arturo O’Farrill
The “We Always Swing” Jazz Series is pleased to welcome back pianist Arturo O’Farrill, a soloist performing in a recital hall setting. This is a rare opportunity to hear this accomplished pianist in an unfettered manner. Wednesday, 7–10 p.m., Whitmore Recital Hall, $15–37, 449-3009
Three older men (Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin) take revenge on the corporation that stole their pensions. To get what they deserve, they rob a bank. R RUNTIME = 1:36
Kedi
Stray cats are common in Istanbul. Director Ceyda Torun follows seven cats through their neighborhoods and their lives. RT RUNTIME = 1:20
Smurfs: The Lost Village (PG)
Your favorite blue animated characters are back on the big screen. This time, they travel through a Forbidden Forest to seek other Smurfs. R RUNTIME = 1:30
Wilson (R)
An erratic loner (Woody Harrelson) reunites with his wife and tries to connect with the teenage daughter he never knew he had. RT RUNTIME = 1:34
Still playing
SCREEN Going in Style (PG-13)
A vegetarian went to school to become a vet. In a horrible hazing ritual gone sideways, she adopts a cannibalistic diet. RT RUNTIME = 1:39
Beauty and the Beast (PG) F, R The Boss Baby (PG) F, R Get Out (R) R Ghost in the Shell (PG-13) F, R Kong: Skull Island (PG-13) F, R The Last Word (R) RT Life (R) F, R Logan (R) R Power Rangers (PG-13) F, R The Shack (PG-13) R The Zookeeper’s Wife (PG-13) RT Theaters F = Forum R = Regal
04.06.17
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RT = Ragtag = available in 3D
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Late Night
Happy Hour 10pm to Midnight
Kitchen open until Midnight (11pm Sundays) • CHECK OUT OUR ROOF-TOP PATIO •www.theheidelberg.com
$4
Long Island Pitchers
HAPPY HOUR
Sun-Fri: 3-7pm & 9pm-close Saturday 11am-4pm $7.95 Apps $5.95 LIT's Pitchers $4 House Wines $3 and $4 Draft Beer Specials
home
of the seven day weekend
1/2 Price ALL Day $5 Bottles Happy Margaritas Wine Tues & Hour and Mojitos Thurs
open
Tue-Wed-Thu: 5pm-Close Fri-Sat: 5pm–1:30am
drink
specials every day
Join our email club! Ask your server for details!
cool
new food menu
Cupcakes • Wedding Cakes • Starbucks Coffee • Specialty Treats Daily Cupcake Specials • Custom Orders • Lattes Now offering Sandwiches, Soups and Salads. 23 S. 8th St • Columbia MO • 573.875.8888 HOURS: 6:30 am - 10:00 pm (7 days a week)
20
And..Stop in for our Outstanding Made-To-Order Hot Breakfast (Omelettes, Belgian Waffles, etc).
VOXMAGAZINE.COM | 04.06.17