Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2003 Source: Green Bay Press-Gazette (WI) Copyright: 2003 Green Bay Press-Gazette Contact: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/879 Author: Officer Kevin Vanden Heuvel, 2003 Wisconsin DARE officer of the year Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.) Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n676/a03.html DARE REMAINS A VALUABLE TOOL GREEN BAY - I'm responding to Matt LeBeau's May 4 Forum letter, "DARE message falls on deaf ears." I'd like to clear up some misunderstandings about the program. DARE puts a uniformed police officer in front of young students, to act as a positive role model and teach healthy life choices. I believe DARE officers have played an important role in reducing the drug-abuse problem by getting young students to think about these topics before they face them in middle school. This program creates dialogue between parents and children about drugs and alcohol. To say DARE only provides students with sugarcoated "Drugs are bad" or "You shouldn't do drugs" messages is false. Those who believe this either haven't participated in DARE or are the deaf ears our message sometimes falls upon. Having former junkies talk to students about drug use may make for more interesting stories in high school, but it would be irresponsible to put that type of person in front of our fifth and sixth graders. DARE is not a cure-all for society's problems. It is, however, a valuable tool that makes a difference in our community. Officer Kevin Vanden Heuvel, 2003 Wisconsin DARE officer of the year - --- MAP posted-by: Josh