DRUG, ALCOHOL TEST KITS LET PARENTS KEEP TABS

STONE COUNTY - Parents who wonder if their kids are using drugs or
alcohol can find out with low-cost test kits available from the Stone
County Sheriff's Department.

Operation Peace of Mind begins Friday, when the test kits become
available from the Sheriff's Office at 1420 Industrial Park Road in
Wiggins. The kits are cheaper than those in pharmacies, and the tests
may be performed at home, said Sheriff Mike Ballard.

Drug test kits costs $7.50 each and alcohol tests are $2
each.

"You can teach your children right from wrong and pray for them every
day, but you can't watch them 24-7," Ballard said. "They're subject to
outside elements and peer pressure.

"About 80 percent of crime comes from drug or alcohol problems, and
it's prevalent in schools across the country. Once your kids get
hooked, they'll do whatever it takes to get money."

Parents don't have to report test results to law enforcement, said
Ballard, who recommends counseling or rehabilitation programs for
those who test positive. Several businesses donated the money to buy
the initial 50 drug kits and 50 alcohol kits from a wholesale company.

The drug kit detects the presence of six types of drugs in a urine
sample within five minutes.

The alcohol kit has a test tube with crystals that detect alcohol from
breathing into the tube. Results are available in two minutes.

You don't have to be a resident of Stone County to buy the kits, he
said. Money from sales will be used to buy more test kits.

"It can be embarrassing to take your child to a clinic and ask to have
a test," said Bobby Regan of Star Chevrolet, one of the companies that
paid for the test kits.

"At least parents will know whether they need to take the next step,"
Regan said.

By the numbers

Officials in Stone County say they believe that most Youth Court cases
involve drug problems that show up in arrests for burglaries and other
crimes tracked as juvenile delinquencies.

The total number of cases and the number involving
delinquencies:

January-June 2003: 85 cases, 76 delinquents.

2002: 111 cases, 80 delinquents.

2001: 117 cases, 76 delinquents.