RED RIBBON WEEK IS DECLARED

Local Police Hope That in the Coming Week, a Piece of Red Ribbon Will
Become a Symbol to Remind Local Children to Stay Free of Drugs.

On Thursday, Troy Mayor Jimmy Lunsford officially proclaimed Oct.
23-31 as Red Ribbon Week in Troy. Throughout the week the Troy Police
Department will be stopping at numerous area schools to spread the
messages of drug awareness and education.

"Officers with the Troy Police Department will be participating in
drug education and awareness programs in Troy schools during Red
Ribbon week," said TPD Chief Anthony Everage. "This year we would
like to make our children aware that staying healthy and drug free is
a positive choice they can make for themselves."

Public Information Officer Sgt. Benny Scarbrough said the department
will be making visits at schools every day next week. It's an
initiative department undertakes every year during read ribbon week,
and Scarbrough said the goal is to encourage children early on to
make the choice to be drug free.

And Scarbrough said officers can oftentimes see the results of their
efforts when they meet children they've spoken to years later.

"When you talk to kids in the second grade and then meet up with them
five or six years later and they say they can remember when you came
and spoke to their class, you realize that these massages stay with
kids for years," Scarbrough said.

Scarbrough said the department hopes the foundation laid during these
talks will help kids make smart decisions for years to come.

"If these kids can remember us having talked to them five or six
years later then that is a seed planted, and we hope that seed will
continue to grow" Scarbrough said.

According to information released by the TPD, observing Red Ribbon
Week during the last week of October has been a tradition in
thousands of schools in the U.S. since 1988, when the U.S. Congress
officially proclaimed the first Red Ribbon Week.

Red Ribbon Week is dedicated to the memory of fallen Federal drug
enforcement agent Enrique Camarena, who was killed in the line of
duty in 1985. What began as a memorial to a fallen officer has become
a nationwide campaign to promote better awareness of drug safety
amongst children.