Pubdate: Wed, 07 Nov 2001 Source: Daily Herald (NC) Copyright: 2001 Daily Herald Contact: http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=778 Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1490 Author: Brien T Boyce Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) CHALONER STUDENTS GET ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE ROANOKE RAPIDS - Hundreds of children packed into the gymnasium, police officers were present and bags full of drugs were laid on a table at Chaloner Middle School Wednesday morning. It was not a drug bust, but an anti-drug rally held by the school. Police took a more direct approach to informing students on the war on drugs. "Today concludes our Red Ribbon Week," said officer Jamal Bryant with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department and Chaloner's resource officer. "What we're doing is, we've invited guest speakers to come regarding the war on drugs." Detective Tommy Hathaway of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department, narcotics agents detective Scott Richardson and Lt. Eddie Buffaloe from the Halifax County Sheriff's Office and counselor Sharon Pair from Riverstone Counseling were the guest speakers who spoke to the children on Wednesday. "Basically we're just trying to do some drug education and awareness to make this a more popular event to educate kids on the illegal use of controlled substances," Buffaloe explained. Red Ribbon Week is in memory of former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes and dreams of making a difference. The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. He never made it to his wife. Five men surrounded Camarena and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been tortured to death. In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges. The National Family Partnership organized the first Red Ribbon Campaign in 1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children. In 1997, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse began committing resources to ensure the continuation of the Red Ribbon Campaign. Various law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, including Roanoke Rapids Police Department and the Halifax County Sheriff's Department, have carried on the tradition. At Wednesday's program, the different individuals took different approaches to teach the children how to abstain from drugs. Pair showed a short video on how to resist peer pressure and build self-esteem; Richardson and Buffaloe brought in a box full of marijuana and other paraphernalia; and Hathaway, using several students from the audience, explained how he sets up a drug deal. Pair explained the benefit of the program. "I think any type of community effort, in terms of education and prevention and talking with the students one-on-one is important in helping them get a total comprehensive idea of some of the choices they have out here." Bryant talked about the difference between the school's current anti-drug program and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), which the school no longer uses. "From what I understand, the DARE programs have been done away with. The DARE program is a one-hour class that they do during schooltime. Now, a lot of schools have implemented a program with having school resource officers in the school, and they're there (in schools) all day long. From what they've said and looking at the statistics, the school resource officer is making more of an impact on the students than the DARE officer, because the DARE officer is only there for one class." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk