Drug coalition moves forward
Carla Gwaltney Owens Sentinel Writer

Clay County School Superintendent D. Scott Penland invited fellow members of the Coalition for a Safe and Drug-free Clay County to the Clay County Board of Education meeting room for their monthly meeting on Monday. Penland and the school hosted the luncheon meeting to give coalition members the opportunity to question the five Hayesville High School students serving on the Coalition. Students were asked about the problems facing local students, what impact the coalition is having among students and what else they can do to help students make good, healthy choices.

Coalition members were also eager to hear whether or not students are beginning to see a difference in the local high school when it comes to the use of drugs and alcohol among their peers. Students agreed that they believe the message is definitely reaching others and that they feel certain the abuse of drugs like tobacco, marijuana and alcohol is being curtailed by the education efforts of the coalition. Specifically, students said, through the use of the Mendez "Too Good for Drugs" curriculum which has been used as part of drug education and awareness at Hayesville Middle School for the past two years.

"Mendez has really helped the kids coming into high school," one student representative said. "I think (the drug education) is helping. I have seen a consistent drop with new students." Several other students agreed, saying that they see less abuse among incoming freshman and believe the intense drug awareness program provided through Mendez is starting to have an effect.

The entire student panel agreed that middle school is the place to start with intense drug education.

"You should start talking to kids about cigarettes in the fifth grade," one panelist stated. "That's when the first temptations start."

"Middle school is hard in general…it is the most critical point and time of life…it is extremely stressful…you are trying to fit in and this is when kids first start experimenting with tobacco and alcohol," the student shared. A question about peer pressure faced by middle school students was posed by HMS Principal Mickey Noe, "What can we do to help them? What can we do to teach kids, when they are in that situation, to say 'No'?" The students agreed that a lot of the ability to say 'No' and make the right decisions in their own lives came from having a lot of support at home and parents who were involved. "It has a lot to do with who your parents let you hang-out with," one young man commented. "My parents always knew where I was and who I was with."

Another young man agreed, but said his parents were a little bit more relaxed though he knew right from wrong and they allowed him to make his own decisions. However, because he had the influence of good parents he made good decisions. "I always had an excuse…I had something I was involved in or somewhere else to be…if you have an excuse not to, it helps." He added that having the right friends around makes a big difference.

The other students agreed and said they believe that having positive influences in their lives has been one of the main factors in being able to make good choices. They said they see a direct correlation between choosing the right friends and being surrounded with good role models like parents and teachers and having the ability to say "No." One young man pointed to the positive influence of his older brother who he said made a tremendous impact on his life and to whom he gives a lot of credit for helping to steer him down the right path, and another student said the influence of her mother, who is a nurse, who openly talked about the illnesses and deaths she saw first hand which were related to drug and alcohol abuse, made a lasting impact.

These students all agreed and told coalition members that having a supportive, loving family makes a huge difference in the battle against teenage drug abuse. Coalition members then raised the question, "What about those students who don't have that kind of environment? What about those who don't have caring, involved parents?"

Members of the student panel posed this to the coalition: "What about starting a mentoring program for at-risk students?" The students said they would be willing to participate in a Big Brother/Big Sister type program where an older high school student is matched up with a middle school student who is going through that difficult transition time and needs a good, positive role model. Coalition members jumped on the suggestion and all agreed that a student-led initiative would be ideal to reach kids who need someone to talk to and be a positive influence as they navigate through the early teenage years.

Students told the coalition that although the Mendez curriculum is working, some students are in need of a little more intense help. "If they aren't getting the support they need at home, then they need it from a teacher or someone else. They need a positive role model and good friends."

"A mentoring program would be a really great thing for Clay County," one student, who has observed a mentoring program in a neighboring county, said of the most serious issue still facing students at HHS, the panel agreed that alcohol is the drug of choice among students, mostly because it is easy to get as many homes have it readily available. The perception among students, they said, seems to be that it is not really dangerous.

"Alcohol affects kids who go to church on Sunday," one student commented.

"Other than cigarettes, it is the easiest to get." And with many parents serving alcohol to minors, including not only their own children but their friends, too, students say the perception is that it's okay. Students said one way to curtail this problem is to start prosecuting parents who are caught providing alcohol to minors. "They need to increase the penalties for parents who serve alcohol…stricter enforcement and harsher penalties might help get the message across that this is not a joke."

"I think if you started prosecuting the adults who are providing the alcohol then you would see a decline…eventually people will get the message," the student stated.

The coalition thanked the students for their help in the fight against drugs and their willingness to serve on the coalition. Chairman Steve Hindsman and Coalition Coordinator Dawn Wilde thanked the students for their willingness to be open and honest and share their insights with other members of the coalition.

To comment on this article e-mail Carla at carlagowens@ hotmail.com.

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