HARD FACTS, NUMBERS AREN'T THE WHOLE STORY

I am writing in response to the June 16 editorial "Task force needs to find
the facts."

As I read this editorial, I was wondering where the author got his or her
information. How many teachers were interviewed? How many principals were
talked to? How many students gave their opinions? The author seems to think
that the only purpose of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is to
keep kids off drugs. DARE teaches far more than how to say no. It teaches
about decision-making, consequences and how to stay in control to avoid
resorting to violence.

Besides the lessons taught by the officers, DARE teaches our kids that
police officers are people. It shows that police are not only there to
punish, but also to help. DARE helps to tear down the wall between the
public and police.

The editorial attacked Sheriff William Kruziki for his stance on paying for
DARE whether or not the County Board approves funding for the program.
Perhaps the sheriff has attended so many DARE graduations and has heard so
much of the positive feedback that he is in a better position to judge the
success of DARE than the editorial's author.

I agree with the author on one thing: The county task force evaluating the
program needs to hear the evidence. My big concern is that the task force
won't hear the evidence from just the so-called hard facts and numbers. As
all intelligent adults know, numbers can be twisted and turned to make
almost anything appear to be true. I think numbers are evidence, but so are
anecdotes and stories.

I would like the editorial's author to think about hard numbers not only
for DARE, but other things also. Perhaps the hard numbers show that
driver's education doesn't work because we have motor vehicle accidents.
The number of arrests are up, so we should get rid of jails and prisons;
after all, they are not deterring crime. Oh, yes, let's not forget to get
rid of the police, as they are not solving 100% of the crimes.

Wow. If we listen to the hard numbers on everything, we could save the
taxpayers a lot of money. I don't know about you, but I don't want to live
in a "hard numbers" world. Just a world that's a little safer and more
caring about our kids.

Jeff Speaker, Past president, Wisconsin DARE officers association, Brookfield