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PARENTS, "ARE YOU IN THE KNOW?"

Are the parents of Elk County "In The Know" about sex, drugs and alcohol, 'rents' and raves? Most parents don't even know what 'rents' and raves are, because children don't ask their parents ( 'rents' for short ) if they can go to a rave on Saturday night, and they don't know that a rave will go on for hours, and even for days.

Last night, at the fire hall in Johnsonburg, parents, grandparents, teachers, law enforcement personnel, and concerned citizens gathered for the sole purpose of better understanding the drug and alcohol problems in Elk County.  Elaine Surma, Senior Narcotics Agent with the Drug Demand Unit in Erie, and Gary Cappello, Senior Consumer Protection Agent with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General presented a powerful and informative program to audience.

"You are all here for a reason," Representative Dan Surra said.  "Drugs are happening in our communities here in Elk County.  We must communicate with our kids before it is too late.  The problem affects every family and every community in one way or another.

"I was told there are only two ways to get off of heroin, overdose or suicide.  This is serious and we all need to address it."

Surma started the program by stating that children are no different than they were 30 years ago, but the environment is very different.  A child's world is very complicated today.

"It is shocking and sad to hear that, but we need to know what our children face today," Surma said.

By age 18, one in four girls and one in six boys, will have been sexually assaulted.  Children under the age of 12 are having sexual intercourse, and by age 15, 33 percent of the girls and 45 percent of the boys, have been sexually active.

"This is tragic news," Surma said.  "There are four million teens who report Sexual Transmitted Disease ( STD ) every year, one million teenage girls are pregnant and unmarried, and one in eight girls experience date violence in high school.  We need to start early to prevent these things from happening."

Surma reported that tobacco, inhalants, and alcohol are considered gateway drugs, and yet parents are relieved that their teens just use tobacco and alcohol, not "real" drugs, and yet there is more alcohol abuse by teens in NW Pennsylvania than anywhere else in the state.

In Elk County, kids as young as the fourth grade are being pressured to drink, and nearly 50 percent of the students have tried alcohol by the sixth grade, while only 32 percent have tried alcohol across the state.  It is reported that 72 percent of all Elk County students in grades 6-12 have tried alcohol, compared to 61 percent statewide, and 41 percent of local students in those grades use alcohol on a regular basis.

Elk County currently has the highest death rate overall for children age 14-19 in the state, and it rates second in the state for the highest number of alcohol related motor vehicle deaths under the age of 20.

Elk County students who tried methamphetaines, cocaine, and heroin exceeds the national average.

Parents need to talk to their kids early and be clear of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.  The parents attitude about alcohol plays an important role in how their kids view alcohol use and whether they will drink.  If youth get the message from their parents that underage drinking is OK, they are more likely to do it.  Alcohol is a drug and it can cause serious addiction.

"The worst part of law enforcement is the knock on the door with a death call," Surma said.

Surma said that after the kids use the gateway drugs, the next step is club drugs, followed by hard-core drugs.  This leads to sorrow, violence, crimes and death.