FREE, RANDOM DRUG TESTING AVAILABLE FOR ST. ALBANS STUDENTS

The company that provides random drug testing for St. Albans city
employees is now offering free, random drug screenings for students
in St. Albans area schools.

The drug screenings are offered as part of a program provided by the
city's Drug Prevention Task Force. The task force formed in July,
months after two St. Albans High students died from apparent drug
overdoses.

Students can volunteer to be in a database from which their names
might be picked at random for a drug screening.

The program is not mandatory or required for any student, but some
students might be approached and asked to participate if their names
are referred to the task force or the school, St. Albans Principal
Tom Williams said.

The company will provide a screening only after receiving permission
from a student's parents or guardian.

"We're not going through the halls and saying, 'O.K., you, you and
you. You're all going to be drug tested today.' It's not like that,"
Williams said.

Almost a year ago, St. Albans High juniors Abby Young and Justin
Garner died of apparent drug overdoses. Young allegedly took four
morphine pills while at a party last Thanksgiving and died later that
night in her sleep. Just a few days later, Garner died after
allegedly ingesting a highly potent painkiller known as fentanyl.

Since then, St. Albans city officials, police officers, community
members, teachers and parents have worked together to form the Drug
Prevention Task Force. As part of the task force's master plan, a
drug counselor will be stationed at the high school and hotlines set
up for residents to report violations or speak to people about their
problems.

Also, as part of the plan, a community center would be built to house
a variety of safe, fun after-school activities for students.

Joe Boggs of Joe Boggs & Associates, the company that provides random
drug testing for city employees, contacted St. Albans Mayor Dick
Callaway soon after reading about the city's drug task force.

He decided to offer similar drug-testing services for students,
hoping it would help curb teenage drug problems.

"They just need a crutch, something to say, 'Oh, I better not, I'm in
this random program. I might get picked,' " Boggs said.

Each drug test is free of charge, unless it comes up positive and has
to be sent to an out-of-state laboratory for confirmation. Then there
is a $30 charge. If a student or parent requests a re-test, there
also is an additional charge.

But Boggs said that hasn't been an issue.

"We haven't sent off or seen one positive test yet," he
said.

As part of the drug-testing program, each student also is issued an
identification card that includes a Red Dragon logo, his or her name,
the last four digits of his or her social security number, the date
he or she signed up for the program and a brief mission statement.

"If they're in a situation where they're being pressured, they can
pull it out and say, 'Hey, look, I can't, I'm part of this program.'
It just gives them another way to say no," Callaway said.

Callaway said the card also could be presented to some local
merchants for discounts on certain products and services.

"I think the program is going pretty well. People are starting to
talk about it. More students are coming in. It's getting a really
good response here in the community," Boggs said.

In addition to the drug-free ID cards, students also receive red
rubber band bracelets, comparable to those worn for cancer awareness.
The bracelets are sold at the high school and worn by those students
who say they're committed to being drug free, Williams said.

As with the ID cards, students receive discounts at select local
businesses when they show the bracelets.

The high school has made progress since the task force formed, St.
Ablans officials said. The school recently hired a drug counselor
through the Prestera Center, with offers detoxification programs at
40 sites in an eight-county region that includes Putnam and Kanawha
counties. The counselor is expected to start at St. Albans High
School in January, and also will work with students at neighboring
Nitro High School.

The task force also has established three hotlines for community
members who want to talk confidentially and anonymously about drug
abuse.

"It's the only way we're going to be able to fight this," Callaway
said. "We can't do it unless everyone in the community has a hand in
it."