DRUG NEEDLES FOUND OUTSIDE DAY CARE PROMPTS SAFETY ALERT

A warning sign has been posted on the door of the Busy Bee Pre-School
located on First Street West in Nipawin after four drug paraphernalia
needles were found in their parking lot.

The building is also home to the Nipawin Day Care Co-operative, who
originally found the needles.

"We found four needles and phoned the RCMP to come and pick them up,"
said Reagan Clarke, director at the daycare.

After the surprising find, the Nipawin RCMP said they would increase
patrol in that area and drive by more often.

It is unknown how long the needles have been there, as they may have
been uncovered as the snow began to melt.

Roseanne Kirkpatrick, director at Busy Bee Pre-School, said they put
a note on the door for people to keep an eye out as they bring their kids in.

"It's a safety concern for the kids and rather than give notes to the
parents, which sometimes they don't read anyway, we just thought we'd
put a big sign on the door and they'd see it and be reminded every
time they come in - it's just to watch out and have their kids by
their hand," said Kirkpatrick.

"Parents of the children attending the daycare have expressed concern
regarding the needles, but none of the children have come in contact
with the needles," said Clarke.

Neither the children at the daycare or the pre-school have been
outside playing this year, mainly due to the weather.

"I feel I should do a walk around before I take them out there. I'm
paranoid now to take them," said Kirkpatrick.

Also found by staff at the building have been broken beer bottles
behind the bushes and condoms.

"I've found stuff before and the police told me it was a bad area,"
said Kirkpatrick.

"These little guys that I have are three or four years old, they bend
down and grab something before you can even see what they're doing,"
explained Kirkpatrick.

Neither Kirkpatrick or Clarke were sure if the needles were placed
there as a prank or if they had actually been used, however needles
have been found in other areas around First Street West.

Also close to the daycare and pre-school is Wagner Elementary School,
which has Grades 4 to 6.

"We haven't had a single incident reported about needles, but if it's
a concern in the area and we'll bring it up at the next board
meeting," said Dr. Ivan Yackel, director of education at the North
East School Division.

Yackel said finding needles isn't uncommon in larger centres such as
Saskatoon or Regina, but he's never heard of that happening in a
smaller community.

If needles are found by anyone, they should not be touched or removed
from the area. Call the RCMP and they will remove and dispose of them
properly as used needles carry a high risk and are often associated
with the spread of disease.

The building the daycare and pre-school are located in is owned by
the Town of Nipawin. The town comes and rakes and does the clean up
and mows the lawn for them, however it hasn't been warm enough for
them to do that yet.

A call to the RCMP was not returned at press time.