Pubdate: Sun, 10/03 1999 Source: Tampa Tribune (FL) Copyright: 1999, The Tribune Co. Contact: http://www.tampatrib.com/ Forum: http://tampabayonline.net/interact/welcome.htm THOUSANDS WALK FOR HEALTHY HEARTS AND DRUG-FREE KIDS TAMPA - The city plays host to two Saturday morning walks that raise awareness of their causes. At the University of South Florida, thousands of people walked three miles Saturday to raise awareness and research money for America's No. 1 killer, heart disease. Twelve miles south, in downtown Tampa, about 6,000 children and adults carrying banners and wearing ``Say No to Drugs''T-shirts marched along Morgan Street on their way to the Garrison Seaport for an anti-drug celebration. In the march against heart disease, an estimated 7,000 people, including walkers at the Carillon center in Pinellas County, raised $500,000 for research and education, said American Heart Association spokesman Bruce Inverso. It's a disease many of the walkers know intimately. Some have lost a loved one to it. Others have survived it. Jackie Creal's mind was on the war against drugs as she and six of her children strode through downtown as part of Hillsborough County's sixth annual ``Say No to Drugs'' walk. Creal's children, ages 8 to 12, had climbed out of their beds earlier in the morning without too much complaint. They knew their mother meant business. ``They asked me last night what it was about, why we were doing this,'' said Creal, 51, of Brandon. ``I told them whenever you're united you show solidarity.'' WHEN CREAL TELLS her children - she has seven at home - that illegal drugs destroy lives and families, she's not spouting rhetoric heard on a television commercial or something she read somewhere. She speaks from the heart with the sincerity of one who knows. She has watched a loved one grapple with drug addiction. And five of her six adopted children come from a family torn apart by drugs. ``Drugs are bad,'' Creal said. ``It affects everyone, not just poor people.'' The walk is a tiny part of what it takes to teach kids right from wrong, said Creal, who has the help of her husband, Patrick. She said so much more is involved, starting with love, hard work and prayer. Son Tyrone, 12, a seventh-grader at Burns Middle School, said the walk ``is cool.'' After all, there were police officers on horses and bicycles, Ronald McDonald with his orange hair and big shoes, and the Hamburglar. Ronald and Hamburglar autographed many of the freeT-shirts given to those at the walk. Other dignitaries included Tampa Mayor Dick Greco,d Hillsborough schools Superintendent Earl Lennard, Public Defender Julianne Holt, State Attorney Harry Lee Coe III and Commissioners Jan Platt and Thomas Scott. THE ANTI-DRUG WALK began at the County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd., and ended at Garrison Seaport, where there were games, dancing, music, magic acts and other entertainment throughout the afternoon. The Rough Riders, men who belong to a Tampa service organization named after Teddy Roosevelt's cavalry, gave out strands of colorful beads. National Guardsmen were on hand, and the police dive team gave a demonstration. An estimated 20,000 visited the ``Kidsfest'' after the walk, said Pat Marsicano of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance. ``It's a feel-good kind of thing,'' said Aidi Calderoni of Tampa, who was with her husband, Pat, a Rough Rider. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake