CENTRALIA RESIDENTS VOICE CONCERNS IN TOWN HALL MEETING

Residents of Centralia got a chance to address some of their concerns
about their community on Wednesday night.

A Town Hall meeting was held at Centralia High School to address the
problems of drugs in the community, especially pertaining to kids
according to the Mexico Ledger.

Local experts spoke at the meeting and addressed questions from the
community. Jill Angell, freshman health teacher, Tom Fair, the school
resource officer, Pete Schmersal, the drug court coordinator, and
Kevin McBee, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict attended to weigh
in on the issues.

"Illegal drugs affect our entire community, and it's not an issue of
good kids versus bad kids. It's about good kids making bad choices,
and no one is immune to that," said Ginny Zoellers, executive
director of the Centralia Chamber of Commerce, which helped organize the event.

Angell spoke about the health classes she teaches and the work she
does to help prevent drug use by her students. The students complete
projects about the dangers of drugs and hear speakers who help them
understand the issue.

"My job as an educator, I feel like, is to make the kids aware. It is
something that we talk about in a very comfortable atmosphere,"
explained Angell who said her curriculum begins with a discussion
about alcohol and then progresses to other drugs. "Alcohol is a
gateway drug. These kids that are doing drugs don't typically start
with crack cocaine. They start it with alcohol."

The next speaker on the panel was Fair, who explained he prefers his
job to be about helping rather than enforcing. He said he prefers to
hear about a problem before it gets into a law enforcement situation.
"My job here is not to drop the hammer. My job is to be here to help," he said.

Fair also talked about the programs he works with in the school. This
year, he will be teaching a program called G.R.E.A.T, instead of
D.A.R.E. It stands for gang resistance education and training. The
research based program focuses on life skills and begins in the sixth
grade. "If we can understand those life skills, it will make it
easier to make good decisions, make great decisions," he said.

Schmersal took time during the evening to talk about another outlook
on prevention. Since he works in the juvenile justice system, he has
seen first-hand the effects of drugs and the problems they cause. He
explained that drug court is an "alternative sentencing program" that
features at least one year of intensive treatment. "We are rethinking
how we deal with this," he said.

Schmersal advocated for parental involvement including drug testing.
"Test them. That is the only way to know for sure," said Schmersal,
who said everyone in the community needs to be involved in the
problem. "Do something. Be reactive, be proactive, be something, just
don't be silent."

The final speaker for the night was McBee, who began abusing drugs
and alcohol in high school. He spoke about his experiences as an
addict and his recovery through Alcoholics Anonymous, which has
helped to keep him sober during the past seven years.

"I believe in education of drug and alcohol abuse, but I think we've
got to get it at a young age," said McBee, who has spoken to health
classes throughout the area about his situation. "I wish I had the
magic answer. Unfortunately, it's hard work. That's what it takes."

An overall theme for the night was the importance of working together
as a community in order to combat the problem of drugs. "The problems
go beyond what parents, law enforcement, and the school can handle on
their own," said Zoellers. "But, if we work together, we can find
ways to prevent drug use and provide resources for intervention that
can help our kids be successful."