Pubdate: Tue, 01 Oct 2002 Source: Rogers Hometown News, The (AR) Contact: http://www.nwanews.com/hometown/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2571 Author: Lynn Atkins, Staff Writer DRUG FREE ROGERS-LOWELL WORKS TO SOLVE DRUG PROBLEM Surveys show that 80 percent of the high school students in Arkansas have used drugs, crime in northwest Arkansas has increased by 10 percent in the past 10 years and drug related crimes have doubled. The agency that wants to help solve the drug problem is a Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce Committee, Drug Free Rogers-Lowell. The director of Drug Free Rogers-Lowell, Greg Hoggatt, told the coalition of business people, social service workers, law enforcement personnel and educators about a variety of programs at the luncheon. The keynote speaker was Bill Hardin, Arkansas state drug director. He presented even more statistics that he called "staggering." Seventy percent of the inmates in Department of Correction facilities in Arkansas have committed crimes related to drugs, he said. Thirteen percent of the state budget goes to pay some of the costs of drug abuse and addiction. Arkansas does a little better than other states. In Arkansas, 7 cents of every state dollar spent on drug problems go to prevention programs. By supporting Drug Free Rogers-Lowell, the community has made a commitment that only a few cities in the state can match, Hardin said. One of the earliest programs started by Drug Free Rogers, the Drug Free Workplace Program, still continues, chairman Guy Cable told the gathering. Since most drug offenders are employed, keeping drugs out of the workplace is an effective deterrent to drug use. Companies that participate in the program receive a reduction in their workman's compensation insurance. A grant that funds many of the programs under the Drug Free Rogers-Lowell umbrella was renewed earlier this year. One-hundred thousand dollars came from the Drug Free Community Support Grant Program and the Office of Juvenile Justice. The Next Step will provide a curriculum that will be used in Rogers seventh-grade classrooms, as well as a parent curriculum, according to Hoggatt. The coalition also supports a number of community programs, Hoggatt said. Because mentoring programs have been shown to be effective in preventing drug use, the coalition is working with Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide mentors in Grace Hill Elementary School. This year the program will expand to Eastside Elementary School. Drug Free Rogers-Lowell also helped build a ropes course at Northwest Arkansas Community College. Facilitators for the ropes course are being trained and the coalition will take 400 children from the Rogers School District to use the course each year. With Maloney and Associates, Drug Free Rogers-Lowell is developing a media campaign that will target young people. The Parent to Parent Network is a joint project of Drug Free Rogers-Lowell and the city PTA/PTO. Several schools in the district have already begun to form parent networks to encourage communications within each family, as well as between parents. The coalition also helped support the Genesis program at the Rogers Police Department last summer. The Genesis program gave 30 young people the chance to attend a day camp program run by police officers. A technology program for children in grades 6-8 also receives support from Drug Free Rogers-Lowell. The R3 Center had 82 participants in a technology day camp last summer and is now beginning a weekend project. Next summer the program will be expanded to serve more at risk young people, organizer Mickey Richardson said. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager