THANKS FOR DARE

It was great to see the large number of law enforcement personnel in
Opelousas this week for the 11th annual DARE Training Conference.

"DARE: Our Weapon In Assuring America's Freedom," brought over 260
delegates and their families to Opelousas for the four-day event.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program was cut from the state
budget, but legislators passed a one-cent tax on tobacco in the last
session to help keep it afloat.

The DARE program in public schools is the most prominent and visible
attempt to educate young people to resist drug abuse.

According to their Web site, it reaches over 60 percent of elementary
school children in the United States, and is far and away the most
prevalent drug education program in use today.

This was the first time the annual conference was held in Opelousas,
and hopefully the group will plan to visit the area again soon.

It was a boost to the local hotels, restaurants and other businesses
as they enjoyed the local flavor.

The most important part of the conference was the officers were
learning how to help youths avoid the use of drugs.

DARE is also a good way for the children to meet a police officer in a
non-confrontational setting.

The program should attack the other drug risks toward children such as
alcohol and tobacco, which are legal drugs for adults.

The future of St. Landry Parish will one day soon be in the hands of
these youth.

While it is hard to measure how many youths DARE can keep off drugs or
out of gangs, if they change even one life, then they have helped.