Cory Murphy is a happy exception to a very grim rule: Few heroin addicts ever kick their habit.

Murphy, a Butler native, remembers the last time he did any kind of drug — Dec. 18, 2004, a date he celebrated.

Now age 31 and living in Cincinnati, Murphy is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati and is in GE Aviation's Operations Management Leadership Program. Scholarships enabled him to study abroad. His story appeared on the cover of last week's Sunday Butler Eagle.

Murphy is one of us — a native son, our classmate, our teammate, a friend of ours or a former playmate and confidante of our children.

His story reminds us that no one is immune to the ravages of heroin. For addicts, the compulsion is all-consuming. At the height of Cory's addiction, when he was attending Butler County Community College, “The only thing I would eat all day was a bottle of Lipton sweet iced tea,” he said, supplemented with a few items from McDonalds every couple of days.

Virtually every heroin addiction become a soul-stealing march into despair. That's why Cory Murphy's story offers so much hope. He overcame the despair — and if he could do it, maybe others can too. He also has shattered the clutches of shame. He talks freely about the depths of his addiction so we can celebrate his recovery and rebound.

We should be making efforts as a society to turn Murphy's exception into the rule. We need to continue studying what works and modeling our heroin recovery programs on the success of those who beat this evil drug.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania still must make strides to implement a statewide registry of pharmaceuticals and prescriptions, since prescription opiates and other painkillers continue to lead many patients to cheaper illegal drugs like heroin.

Say what you will about Donald Trump — liberals and political cartoonists certainly aren't holding back — but the multibillionaire presidential candidate struck a nerve with his strident remarks against illegal immigration.The likes of Edward Jacinto are the reason why.Jacinto, 25, has been in the Butler County Prison since July 7 after Butler Township police arrested him for drunken driving. Four years ago he was deported to his native Guatemala after being convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in Nebraska in 2009.Despite his conviction and deportation — and laws requiring him to register as a sexual offender — Jacinto apparently had little problem getting back across the border sometime last year, getting a job with a gas drilling company in the Butler area, getting a local motel room and driving — occasionally driving drunk, police say — without a license.Is Jacinto a menace?Ask the woman who saw his car weaving all over Route 68 when she called 911.Ask the teenage rape victim in Nebraska.Ask the unemployed American whose job Jacinto took away. Ask the jobless guy's family.Sadly, Jacinto is not an isolated case. There are more than 8 million unauthorized immigrants either working or looking for work in the United States — about 5.1 percent of the work force which, oddly enough, is about the same as the national jobless rate.And to those who argue that immigrants like Jacinto make better workers, isn't he a convicted sex offender and drunken driver? Do you really want him working for you?The Office of Immigration Statistics reported that of the 188,382 deportations of illegal aliens in 2011, 23 percent had committed criminal traffic offenses, primarily driving under the influence. Congressman Steve King, R-Iowa, estimates illegal immigrant drunk drivers kill 13 Americans every day — that's a death toll of 4,745 per year.According to the Center for Immigration Studies, another 23 percent, more than 43,000 illegal aliens, were convicted of drug offenses and 12 percent more were convicted of violent crimes — assault, robbery, sexual assault and domestic violence.Federal official have informed police that they plan to deport Jacinto again. Big deal, if he's that easily able to return.Criticize The Donald all you want. Take away his TV deals and promotions. He'll manage.After all, Trump raises a valid point.

The second-best quote of the week comes from Bill Wharton.The resident of St. Barnabas Homes in Gibsonia celebrated his recent 90th birthday by tandem-jump skydiving from 14,000 feet.Wharton jumped on July 7 along with his daughter-in-law Kathy and two of his grandchildren. They did it in Minnesota where his son Bob lives. Bob watched from the plane.The first 8,000 feet were free-fall, Wharton said. He called it thrilling.“It's been on my bucket list for a long time.” Wharton said. “I figured 90 years was about the time I was going to do it if I was going to do it at all.”That was the second-best quote. Here's the best one:“Some of my friends are telling me I'm crazy. I told them that senility takes on different forms.”Simply beautiful.