INVOLVEMENT A MUST IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE FIGHT

The efforts to fight substance abuse in Daviess County got a much needed
boost this week as a local group announced it was applying to be part of
the Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy.

KY-ASAP is a state-mandated program that will create a comprehensive
prevention strategy for the county. All 120 counties in Kentucky are
required to participate by 2003, and the legislature has set aside $5
million to implement the program.

Roger Stacy, president of Community Solutions for Substance Abuse, met with
representatives from the school systems, prevention agencies, local
government and social services agencies to gather input on how the program
will benefit Daviess County.

"I've talked to a lot of people, and there are a lot who want to work with
this community," Stacy said.

We've long said that it will take these types of efforts from grassroots
organizations, community leaders and concerned residents to fight substance
abuse in our community.

The battle against methamphetamine and other illegal drugs has been well
documented. But there are other factors that scream out a need for more
education and prevention strategies.

According to KY-ASAP: The annual cost of substance abuse in Kentucky in
$3.9 billion; tobacco accounts for 39 percent of preventable deaths; and,
on average, half of adolescents in state institutions admit to being under
the influence of drugs or alcohol while committing crimes.

Stacy and the Community Solutions group -- formerly known as Champions for
a Drug Free Owensboro-Daviess County -- should also be commended for their
efforts to meet immediate needs, such as raising awareness of the drug
problems in the area and establishing treatment for youths.

The group's focus has continually become sharper in the months since it
reformed, and the result has been a greater emphasis on community
involvement. A primary goal has been to determine what substance abuse
problems plague this area and then develop a strategic plan to combat those
problems.

"Community involvement is the next step in solving the problem," Stacy
said. "Drug abuse not only affects the person with the disease -- and it is
a disease -- but also the people and family around them."

The truth in that statement can be extended beyond the family. Substance
abuse that affects Daviess County will also eventually affect surrounding
counties. The one disappointment we hold in the decision to join KY-ASAP is
that all our regional counties could not find a way to work together on the
project.

Daviess, McLean and Ohio counties considered the idea of a combined board,
but turf battles foiled such efforts. Daviess County will receive $50,000
in KY-ASAP money, but the three-county board would have received $175,000.
The possibility still exists that Daviess and Hancock counties will join
forces, for which they would receive $110,000.

Some argue that individual boards will be better, but we're not convinced.
If Daviess County reduces its problems with substance abuse, but Hancock or
Ohio or any surrounding county does not, their problem will eventually
spill over into this county, and vice versa.

Still, preparation is half the battle, and the KY-ASAP program, as well as
the community involvement being promoted by Community Solutions, has placed
Daviess County in its best position in some time to tackle problems with
substance abuse.