ENOUGH DRUG DENIAL: USE TEEN'S DEATH TO REACH YOUNG PEOPLE

There are about 2,400 students at Manatee High School. Just eight days after
a highly publicized case in which one of those students made a decision to
experiment with drugs that proved fatal, only about 100 parents showed up at
the school Monday night for a forum that spotlighted teen drug abuse.

That says something about the problem this community faces in the wake of
the death of 16-year-old Kiley Bolduc, a MHS sophomore. Whether due to
apathy or denial, too many parents are closing their eyes to the problem of
drug and alcohol abuse among young people. Had they been at Monday night's
forum they might have been shaken out of their comfort zone by the chilling
facts provided by drug-treatment professionals and recovering addicts and
the heart-rending story of Kiley's grieving father, Raymond.

Just how severe is Manatee High's drug problem? There is no firm figure. The
estimates offered Monday night ranged from just 6 percent of students caught
up in the drug culture nationally to three out of five experimenting with
illegal substances to "everybody is doing it." Whatever the figure is, for
sure, it isn't just MHS's problem; other schools probably have a similar
incidence. That it could ensnare a girl like Kiley, by all accounts a model
student and model daughter from a stable, church-going family, indicates
there are no assurances for any parent that "my child wouldn't do drugs."

Such denial is one of the biggest problems authorities face in dealing with
teen drug abuse. The message Monday night was: Find out for sure. Talk to
your teens - and listen to them. Check up on them. Be suspicious of any
change in behavior. Check out their friends, and the parents of the friends.

Drug availability is so pervasive that no one can assume their child is
safe. As Raymond Bolduc said, "Once they cross your threshold they're in the
world and out of your control." And, sadly, reflecting the culture in which
we all live, in too many homes in neighborhoods all over this town, there
are parents who simply don't care what their teenagers are doing, who allow
unchaperoned parties in their homes where booze, drugs and sex are all too
available.

Perhaps Raymond and Joan Bolduc's greatest wish, after the impossible one
that this would turn out to be a horrible nightmare, is that Kiley's death
might prevent others from making the same mistake. He has set himself a
mission to warn other teens and their parents about the drug culture. We
applaud that goal and urge every parent, every school administrator, every
pastor and community leader to use the shock of this tragedy to tear down
the wall of apathy and denial. This should be a wake-up call for every high
school in Manatee County.

For parents, start your dialogue around the dinner table. Educate yourself
about drugs (there is plenty of literature available) and let your teens
know you care about what's going on in their lives. For school and community
leaders, set up forums similar to the one at Manatee High. Professionals
from Manatee Glens and the Bradenton Drug Treatment Center are glad to
participate. So are recovering addicts from Narcotics Anonymous, who know
all too well the price that drug abuse exacts on individuals and their
families.

As Kiley's father says, "Take a trip to Fogartyville Cemetery. Overall, it's
a lovely place. But that gravesite - it's the end of the road. It's all
over."