NEW ALBANY HS PARENTS TO GET DRUG TESTING KITS

First Distribution Set For Be A Better Bulldog

FREE DRUG TESTING KITS

WHO: Parents of ninth-grade students at New Albany High
School

WHEN: 5:30 p.m., Monday

WHERE: NAHS

DETAILS: Learn about drug trends, signs of drug abuse and
more

PARENTS OF STUDENTS OUTSIDE NAHS

Each middle and high school will host its own distribution during
open house within the first two months of school.

Some dates are: Scribner Middle School, Sept. 2; Hazelwood Middle
School, Sept. 9.

The dates for Highland Hills Middle and Floyd Central High schools
were not available as of press time, but New Albany Police Officer
Steve Harris said those will be within August or September.

The New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated Schools Corp. will be hosting
programs that will give parents free drug testing kits at each of its
middle and high schools within the next two months during each of the
schools' open houses.

The first will be Monday at New Albany High School for Be a Better
Bulldog day.

School Resource Officer Steve Harris, with the New Albany Police
Department, said the programs will include information on drug trends,
terminology, photos of drugs and paraphernalia and tips for talking
with children about drugs.

"I think parents are really going to have an eye opening experience
with this," Harris said, referring to a quiz where parents will
identify what is candy and what is a drug.

He said parents tend to score a 50 percent on that quiz. He said many
drugs that are being promoted to kids look like popular candies, such
as Pop Rocks, Sweet Tarts and breath mints.

"The open houses are really geared toward the adults," Harris said.
"Most of the kids probably already know it [drug education], sadly
enough. As adults, we kind of fall behind on what's going on in pop
culture. This brings us up to speed on what's going on."

At those voluntary sessions, families will be allowed to take home one
free drug testing kit if they choose to.

Dave Rarick, director of communications for the school corporation,
said the tests do more than just check for illegal and prescription
drugs.

"If you take a test, you don't have to necessarily use it," he said.
"What it is, it is a reminder that it is not acceptable in that family
to use drugs."

He said it also gives the kids an excuse not to use that their peers
will understand. They can say they are afraid of getting tested when
they get home.

The testing kits are provided by Project 7th Grade, which is
fully-funded through notMYkid -- a non-profit organization -- and First
Check Diagnostics -- a home drug testing company. The NAPD, Floyd
County Sheriff's Department and NA-FC schools are working together to
provide the kits to those who want them. The kits are available for
families with children in sixth through ninth grades.

Harris said this not only helps the children, but also the
community.

"The whole community has a stake in this," Harris said. "About 75
percent of all crime is drug related, with everything from theft to
murder."

He added that the community then has to pay for the trial, treatment
and incarceration of those people.

"Anything we can do to knock a hole in the drug trade, we're going to
do it," he said.