NEW ANTI-DRUG PROGRAM, REACT IS IN OCALA

OCALA -- Marion Sheriff's deputies have designed a plan to take "Just say
no" a step farther by reinforcing for children and teen-agers the dangers
of alcohol and illegal drugs.

With the REACT program - Resistance Education And Conflict Training -
deputies hope to continue the message given by the DARE, or Drug Abuse
Resistance Education, program. DARE is taught to fifth-graders, while REACT
will be taught to sixth-, eighth- and 10th-graders.

At the direction of Sheriff Ed Dean, deputies Pete Richter and Allan Brooks
worked during the summer to create the program, said Sheriff's Maj. Patti
Lumpkin, who oversees the Youth and Community Services Bureau.

"DARE teaches you how to 'just say no' to drugs," Lumpkin said. "But after
that, how do you handle it?"

The new program will help teach children how to handle issues like peer
pressure, Lumpkin said.

Officials plan to eventually have the program at every school in the county
outside of Ocala city limits. REACT materials also will be made available
to schools inside Ocala city limits, Lumpkin said.

Most schools should have the program by the end of the year, Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin said officials fear children are abusing alcohol and designer drugs
like Ecstasy and LSD. DARE is a "great program," she said, but
reinforcement is necessary from school resource officers.

REACT replaces a similar program that used to be taught to sixth- graders
at some schools. REACT will be taught at more schools and will add
education at the later grade levels.

The program is incorporated into health classes, Lumpkin said.

"It means we'll have better citizens tomorrow," she said. "The time kids
spend in school should be the best time in their lives."

In sixth grade, students learn about topics including society's rules and
laws, conflict resolution, peer pressure, substance abuse and cultural
diversity. In eighth grade, students also learn about topics like suicide
and club drugs. The tenth-grade program handles many of the same issues.

Richter said he believes schools have fewer students using tobacco and
alcohol. The number of children using drugs are holding steady or going
down, he said.

But problems persist, and the new program is necessary, Richter said.

"I try to tell them like it is," Richter said, who teaches the classes to
middle school students. "I present it to the kids on a level they'll
understand."

Dan Geer, safe and drug-free schools consultant for public schools, said
some of the worst problems with drugs is that they are out there and
children can get them. Some young people don't think of wine coolers as
alcohol or consider marijuana a drug, he said.

The program also may help to build students' trust in the school resource
officers, Geer said.

"I think it can be quite a resource for the schools," Geer said. "Every
little bit helps."