Pubdate: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 Source: Sherwood Park News (CN AB) Copyright: 2002 Sherwood Park News Contact: http://www.bowesnet.com/spnews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1730 Author: Kevin Crush TAKE THE DARE, URGES WELLER County council has to step in and do something about the DARE program fiasco, says councillor Bob Weller. "I don't think we can duck away from it," he said. "I guess that we could make enough excuses that it's not our program and not in our buildings. But I think it's something that we need to be involved in discussions." Several schools in this municipality are not getting the Grade 6 Drug Abuse and Resistance Education program because a lack of resources meant the Park's top cop had to pull the uniformed DARE instructors out of classes and on to the streets. Insp. Brian McLeod had warned county council in December that without dedicated funding for the program it would be cut. He's hopeful the schools will see DARE again. "DARE is going to remain in some form, but its capacity to deliver will be assessed according to funding, which has yet to be finalized," said McLeod. "I'm optimistic we can work with all of our partners, and that includes the municipality and the schools." The county must be a partner in funding discussions, says Weller, right alongside the RCMP, school boards, and businesses. "I'm not prepared to lay it on anybody in particular, I'm laying it on the whole community and the key actors are going to have to get together." The funding has to be there for the cops to run the DARE program, he says, so that nothing is taken away from the regular duties of the police. "With the demands upon the protection of people and property, which is their (the RCMP) main objective, they're being taxed as it is." How the funding gets to the program doesn't matter at this point, says the Ward 5 councillor. Whether it means funding from the county or corporate sponsorship (such as what is occurring in Fort Saskatchewan with Dow Chemicals), Weller wants to keep the options open just so long as DARE is restored to schools. "In a day and age when we're really concerned about young people, their confidence level and their ability to cope with such things as drugs and alcohol, here's a program that's doing it. I'm just concerned about being able to hang on to it," said Weller. "Of all the things that happen in the schools, this is as important or more important than a lot of the day to day curriculum in terms of what it's doing for young people and equipping them for later years in adult life." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D