Winning Hair Battle  At Least For Now

Accountants Give Schools More For Money 
Five School Districts In Luzerne County Use The Albert B. Melone Co. In Lieu
Of A Business Manager.

By MARK GUYDISH markg@leader.net
 Saturday, December 01, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE - It was designed to look like a monk's hood, or an upside
down ``V'' that someday would be inverted for victory. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It symbolizes something originally called ``H-TL3,'' then ``GRID.'' This
year, there are 350,000 locally. Yet the more ubiquitous they've become, the
more indifferent people seem about what they represent. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's that little red AIDS ribbon, distributed throughout the region to
commemorate World AIDS Day today. And those close to the disease warn against
a growing complacency this year, its 20th anniversary. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Despite new drugs that dramatically extend the lives of those who contract
it, AIDS is still 100 percent fatal and 100 percent preventable. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We lost three people in Wilkes-Barre this year,'' said Andrew Buleza,
chairman of the local red ribbon campaign and president of We Care HIV/AIDS
Support Network. ``They slip through the cracks. No one wants to deal with it. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I think it's just that we're all so busy in the world doing daily things,
we forget the problems that are still there,'' said Buleza, who has AIDS. ``We
think AIDS is under control because people don't talk about it.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 AIDS and the virus that causes it - HIV - entered the American psyche in
1981 when scientists gave it the abstract name H-TL3. They later redubbed it
GRID, for ``Gay Related Immunodeficiency Disease,'' exposing a prejudice that
haunts the disease still. People often shun it as a gay man's disease. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It's not. Buleza points out that HIV knows no boundaries, and statistics
prove it. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of women
contracting the virus through heterosexual contact, said Dr. Cindy McCrone, an
infectious disease specialist with Geisinger Health System. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's also growing among young people, those less than 20,'' McCrone said.
``I don't think we've made as major an impact in terms of prevention as we
have in terms of treatment.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Buleza and McCrone said education has to start in seventh or eighth grade
because the virus can lurk in the body for up to 10 years before symptoms
develop, and the carrier can spread the disease during that time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But talking about a sexually transmitted disease in high school or grade
school is politically unpopular. And that's where the disparity between
``education'' and ``awareness'' comes in. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The local growth of the red ribbon campaign exemplifies this. Buleza said
the campaign started in 1995 with a few AIDS activists helped by some senior
citizens making ribbons. The ribbons were distributed to hospital staffs, but
few wore them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the last year or two, school students, church organizations and scout
groups have volunteered to make ribbons, Buleza said, spawning huge growth. In
1998, 130,000 ribbons were made. Last year, there were 275,000, while this
year, there are 350,000. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yet attempts to get AIDS education - which includes frank talk about
condoms and intravenous drug use - into those churches and schools can provoke
strong opposition. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It is often difficult to target programs to groups you really need to get
to,'' McCrone said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Sept. 11 attacks and the war on terrorism also have pushed AIDS into
the background, with worldwide impact. Donations to the United Nations' Global
Fund to Fight AIDS have slowed sharply. The U.S. government has dismayed AIDS
activists with a contribution far below expectations - about $200 million this
year, when $1.2 billion was sought. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed a war chest of $7 billion to
$10 billion annually to combat AIDS. But contributions to the U.N. fund, which
becomes operational Dec. 15, stalled after reaching $1.5 billion in August. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Activists look to a silver lining, hoping the United States will emerge
from the global effort against terrorism with a broader international outlook,
more eager to work with poorer nations against scourges such as AIDS. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An equal change in attitude is needed locally, Buleza and McCrone said.
People need to realize that AIDS victims might live longer now, but they pay a
steep price, including heavy drug regimens with significant side effects and
frequent discrimination by a misinformed public. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The red ribbon, Buleza always points out, might remind people that AIDS is
still here, but it doesn't prevent the spread of HIV, it doesn't pay for
research and treatment, and it doesn't find a cure. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The ribbons don't even raise money. Buleza stresses that they are never
meant to be sold. Locally, the ribbon is donated by Berwick Industries,
Berwick, and the pins are provided by Prym Dritz, America's Notion Company of
Spartansburg, S.C. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Introduced in 1985, the ribbon was designed to be turned upside down -
forming a V for victory - when a cure is found, Buleza said. He should know,
he has talked with one of the designers, who also mentioned the resemblance to
a monk's hood - a symbol of serenity and celibacy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But McCrone said researchers suspect that victory will never come. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``The most disappointing part of the research has been that a cure or
preventative vaccine are probably not going to be possible because of the way
the virus constantly mutates and evades the immune system,'' McCrone said. ``A
cure is not likely, but researchers now feel that with the effectiveness of
new medications, people can live a normal life expectancy.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The lack of a cure leaves only one defense: prevention. Buleza and McCrone
said AIDS has evoked different reactions throughout the past two decades, from
confusion to hysteria to ignorance and now complacency. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``What can we do to change it? That's a tough question,'' McCrone said.
``More education. People think it can't happen to them and it can happen to
them.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Guydish, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7161. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Associated Press contributed to this story. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

World Aids Day 
Complacency Viewed As Best Friend Of Disease 
Despite Better Drugs, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Remains Fatal,
Preventable, And Is Spreading At An Alarming Pace.

World Aids Day Complacency Viewed As Best Friend Of Disease Despite Better Drugs, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Remains Fatal, Preventable, And Is Spreading At An Alarming Pace.