HEBRON LAUNCHES DRUG EDUCATION PROGRAM

Last year, Hebron Police Chief Steven Sibbrell decided that bringing
the internationally renowned Drug Abuse Resistance Education to the
fifth-graders of his town could only benefit the students.

"I noticed a drug problem in Hebron and the surrounding area, and I
wanted to get to the kids early and change their minds," he said.

Founded in Los Angeles in 1983, DARE is a weekly course that helps
students recognize and resist adolescent pressures that might tempt
them to experiment with drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Role-playing
situations provide an opportunity to practice decision-making.

Sibbrell was nominated to join the DARE program by, among others,
the Hebron school administration and the Crown Point DARE program,
which he avidly researched during his information-gathering process.
He then attended a two-week training session to
receive certification and ran his inaugural session with the Hebron
Elementary School fifth-graders in January.

"DARE teaches kids to make healthy decisions," Sibbrell said, adding
the program not only addresses addictive substances, but shows
students "how to build friendship foundations and ways to be in
charge of themselves in pressure situations."

"The acronym DARE has another meaning," he said. "It also stands for
Define, Assess, Respond and Evaluate."

Sibbrell encourages students to describe a problem they might be
facing, consider their choices, make a decision and examine the
outcome to see if they made the correct choice.

In 26 years, the program has steadily grown and adapted to changing
times, with it taking place in about 75 percent of U.S. school
districts, annually reaching about 26 million children here and an
10 million abroad.

Currently, Hebron is the only Porter County community that has a DARE program.

School resource officers in other towns primarily maintain a
presence at the schools, helping out when needed and making
themselves available to students who might want to talk or report a
problem. They are not there in a teaching capacity, which Sibbrell
feels is unfortunate.

"I hope that other communities will become interested once they see
our program," he said, mentioning he was impressed by the turnout he
observed in Crown Point when he was researching the DARE for Hebron.

With one full session under his belt, Sibbrell looks forward to
teaching DARE to a new group of fifth-graders in January.

"We had a lot of fun, and we all learned a lot of things," Sibbrell
said of his first group of graduates.

"I got a really positive response from the kids."

Hebron Elementary fifth-grade teacher Julie Stalbaum noted an
enthusiastic response in her students.

"They loved having the chief in the classroom and looked forward to
him coming every week," she said. "He came in uniform and shared his
stories and general experiences -- having him in the classroom as a
police officer had a great effect on them."

Sibbrell awards prizes each day of class and during each meeting,
children take turns caring for Daren, the DARE lion mascot.
Additionally, every student completed an essay about what each or
she learned. Prizes for the best compositions were awarded at a
graduation ceremony. As a surprise at the end of the last session,
essay winners were invited to read their entries in front of fellow
graduates and parents.

In a related endeavor, Sibbrell rescued a wrecked car that he
restored and enhanced to become an official Hebron DARE car.
Complete with a snazzy paint job, souped-up engine and MP3 and DVD
players, Sibbrell enters the auto in parades and car shows and lets
the local youngsters check it out regularly, while at the same time
encouraging their awareness of DARE.

"Kids come up to me all the time asking, 'Chief, where's the DARE
car? That car is so cool!"

Stalbaum agreed.

"The car seems to be a really good 'in' for the kids to become
interested in the program."

In addition to the 10-week fifth-grade curriculum, Sibbrell hopes to
eventually expand Hebron's program by adding courses for
kindergartners and eighth-graders.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Porter-Starke Services Inc.

http://www.porterstarke.org/

Parents: The Anti-Drug

http://www.theantidrug.com/

Kids Health

http://www.kidshealth.org/