SCHOOL TO PUSH AHEAD WITH DRUG DOG PLAN

Porter Creek Secondary School is planning to go ahead with its Canines
for Safer Schools Program with or without a canine.

"They think they need to push it forward," principal Kerry Huff said
this week of the committee overseeing the project.

The program, which would see a dog and its handler come into the
school daily, was promised $250,000 for a three-year pilot project
from the territorial government last year.

The program was put on hold though after a complaint was filed with
the Yukon Human Rights Commission by the parent of a student who has a
doctor's note stating the pupil has a life-threatening allergy to dogs.

"It's still out there," Huff said of the complaint.

The human rights issue is still being dealt with. However, the
committee opted to move forward to get the drug awareness co-ordinator
in place and working while they wait for the commission's decision on
having a dog in the school, Huff explained.

Already, the school has received 12 applications, which include two
from outside the territory. The deadline for the applications is this
coming Monday.

"That's about the only timeline we have right now," Huff said, adding
that a couple of the committee members are away right now.

A fairly rough outline for the work would see the committee meet at
the end of next week to review the applications and start the hiring
process. Ideally, a drug awareness co-ordinator would be in place by
the end of February, Huff said.

The committee would like to find a candidate who enjoys dealing with
students, has a background in drug awareness and can provide care to a
dog at all times, Huff noted. The salary for the position has been
advertised at $70,000 to $75,000 annually.

A complete information package is available at the
school.

The program was proposed by parents concerned about drug use happening
at their kids school. It's based on similar initiatives in Alberta
called Dogs for Drug Free Schools, where a police dog handler and the
dog go into schools every day.

While the dogs are trained to indicate where there may be certain
drugs by sitting next to the area they're detected, it's after that
indication that school officials determine whether they may want to do
a search.

Medicine Hat Police Service Sgt. Randy Youngman, who operates the
program in Medicine Hat, and former Edmonton police officer Doug
Green, who created the program visited the territory at different
points last year. They gave presentations on the positive impacts of
the program.

Both noted having the dog helped bridge the gap between officers and
students. It also helped keep drug dealers from coming into the
schools when they knew the dog was there, parents were told.

Youngman told a public meeting when he was here, that at one point
known drug dealers walked into the school where he works, saw him and
the dog, and quickly walked back out.

Parents and school officials were also informed by both Youngman and
Green that with most schools being cleaned every day, and by not
having the floors carpeted, allergies have not been a problem in their
regions, though there had been a concern.