HELICOPTER BRINGS ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE BACK DOWN TO EARTH

LITTLE EGG HARBOR -- For a little while, there was much more than
excitement in the air yesterday for the hundreds of students standing
on the girl's soccer field at Pinelands Regional Senior High School.
As the students looked on, a OH-58 Kiowa helicopter descended onto the
grass nearby.

The chopper came courtesy of the New Jersey National Guard Counterdrug
Task Force as part of a program organized by the Eagleswood, Little
Egg Harbor and Tuckerton Municipal Alliance and the school district
with one goal in mind -- preventing unhealthy behavior.

"It's all about making good decisions for yourself," said Sue Raylman,
student-assistance counselor at Pinelands Regional Junior High School.

Eighth-graders from the junior high were joined at the program by
sixth-graders from Bass River, Eagleswood and Tuckerton. For about an
hour, the students moved from one presentation to another on the
soccer field, with each presentation addressing different aspects of
substance abuse.

At one end, students donned goggles that mimicked the effects of heavy
drinking and tried to walk the chalk lines on the field. Many of them
failed.

"It was very difficult," said eighth-grader Jim Kelly, 14. "It was,
like, curvy."

"It was really hard," added eighth-grader Stephanie Michaelson, 13,
saying that she would never drive with her senses impaired that way.
"I'd probably die. I'd probably crash into a tree."

Elsewhere, students were walked through the dangers of alcohol and
other drugs such as heroin and marijuana. Alice Miller, municipal
alliance coordinator, said the event was intended to serve as the
culmination of their observance of Red Ribbon Week, which is not over
until the end of the week.

According to the Web site of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, Red
Ribbon Week was created to commemorate the life of DEA Special Agent
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by
Mexican drug traffickers in 1985. It is observed by schools nationwide.

At one station, students got to look at a fake lung, blackened by
heavy cigarette smoking. Mixing medical facts with an anti-drug
message made the program all the more powerful, said Pinelands
Regional Superintendent of Schools Detlef Kern.

"I think that sometimes that is worth more than just saying don't do
it," he said.