COUNTY DARE PROGRAM IS RIGHT THING TO DO

I read with great interest the Oct. 3 article by Lisa Sink concerning
the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in the county.

I must admit it was very factual and well-written. I believe it
presented a balanced view of the issues surrounding the program.

I just want to point out, however, that the DARE program is not
"politically correct"; it is just the right thing to do. As I view it,
we have two choices. Do things the way we have, which is to wait until
a problem arises and then deal with it. That approach is fine with me,
since it will in all likelihood keep me employed.

On the other hand, we can take a more proactive approach. It is clear
to me that until the advent of the DARE program, we did little if
anything in dealing with this issue, until, of course, there was an
arrest and the person was ordered into treatment.

There are many agencies in our county that collect numbers and spread
statistics across grant applications but otherwise do little or
nothing to reach out to our youth and educate them as to the real
dangers of alcohol abuse and drug use.

It is very easy to rest on our behinds and say that DARE simply does
not work.

Many tend to measure success by how many of the kids who have gone
through the DARE program have been arrested for a drug offense. This
does not measure the effectiveness of DARE; it simply measures the
judgment of the person arrested.

Would we stop programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics
Anonymous simply because people who have gone through those programs
have been arrested for an alcohol or drug offense? Of course not.

DARE works. I have seen it, I have heard it and I have living proof of
it.

I will not wait. I have all the proof I need. I have seen the cost of
sitting back and waiting to deal with it later.

We can't afford it. I can't afford it. What do you think got us into
this mess to start with?

Paul E. Bucher