HOOVER'S ANTI-DRUG COALITION, MAYOR WILL HEADLINE D.C. EVENT

Hoover's anti-drug coalition is being singled out again today in Washington
D.C. as a model coalition that fights substance abuse.

Mayor Barbara McCollum, who has been a key part of Hoover's anti-drug
efforts for 15 years, is set to speak this afternoon at a press
conference in a room just off the floor of the U.S. Senate.

The press conference is being held to announce the awarding of $70
million in federal grants to 713 community anti-drug coalitions across
the country, said Sam Whitfield, a spokesman for the Office of
National Drug Control Policy.

The Hoover Coalition Promoting a Safe and Healthy Community was given
a $100,000 grant two years ago. The grant now will be renewed for a
third year, Whitfield said. Hoover can apply for renewal two more
times before it has to submit a new application, he said.

Hoover is one of three coalitions that is being recognized today as a
model coalition, but McCollum is the only coalition representative who
will speak at the press conference, Whitfield said. The other
coalitions being recognized are from Maryland and Tennessee.

The federal agency this year has added 226 anti-drug coalitions to its
list of grant recipients and will renew grants to 487 other
coalitions, Whitfield said. Two Alabama coalitions will be among the
new grantees, but Whitfield said he could not identify them until today.

The Hoover anti-drug coalition is a partnership of parents, teachers,
young people, law enforcement, health providers, religious leaders,
business and civic leaders, elected officials and other concerned citizens.

In January, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Community
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, recognized McCollum and the Hoover
coalition as an outstanding example of the power of community coalitions.

He cited the group's success at significantly reducing the percentage
of high school students who reported smoking marijuana. The percentage
of ninth-graders in Hoover schools who reported marijuana use in the
previous three months dropped from 27 percent in 1989 to 11.4 percent
in 2001 and 12.4 percent in 2003, according to a school system study.

Carissa Anthony is the coordinator of Hoover's coalition.
janderson@bhamnews.com