NO TO DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

Three Fifth-Graders Win Bicycles As Part Of D.A.R.E. Essay Contest

FAIRMONT -- Three local fifth-grade graduates proudly wheeled brand
new bikes out of the Fairmont City Police Department headquarters
Monday as a reward in the academic D.A.R.E. program's annual essay
contest.

"We had some really good essays in there, but these guys surpassed,"
said county D.A.R.E. Officer Don Neal of the prize winners.

As part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program held each year
within area elementary schools, students were given a final assignment
to write an essay about what they learned in the course, how it was
helpful to them and why they plan to say no to drugs and alcohol in
the future. Then, these essays were evaluated by Neal, the Fairmont
City Police Chief and the F.O.P. president, and the best three were
chosen to receive brand new bikes as prizes.

This year, out of all of the D.A.R.E. students in the county, the
three student winners were Dunbar's Grant Holbert, Pleasant Valley's
Ashley Martin and East Dale's Jasmin Johnson.

"It was cool because I didn't think I would win," said Johnson as she
happily accepted her new 10-speed bike.

In Johnson's essay, she focused on the benefit of saying no to drugs
and alcohol to become a better athlete, which she was happy to be able
to share with others through her winning words.

"It's cool because you know that if you don't take drugs, you can be a
stronger athlete, and you know not to give into peer pressure," she
said.

Neal added that while all of the essays were phenomenal, he was
particularly impressed with Holbert's because he took the time to
include examples of scenarios that were discussed in class.

"I included them because we did them in class and it helps you
understand," said Holbert.

Adorned in red and black with the D.A.R.E. logo on the sides, the
bikes were provided by the F.O.P. and are one of the nicer contest
prizes that have been provided over the years, Neal said.

"We decided it would be a good thing, and when we mentioned it to the
kids, the response was pretty good," he said. "This is one of the
bigger, nicer prizes that D.A.R.E. sponsors."

Within the D.A.R.E. program, Neal said students are taught basic facts
about drug and alcohol abuse, peer pressure and personal pressure that
they will surely come across in their upcoming teen and pre-teen years.

"What we do with the D.A.R.E. program now is give them all of the
facts," he said. "This way they will hopefully make the right
decisions on their own."

This year was Neal's first as the officer of the D.A.R.E. program, and
he said as a whole, the experience was a good one.

"I enjoyed it tremendously," he said. "I got essays I thought I
wouldn't get and overall they were really good."

To make this giveaway possible for the D.A.R.E. program, Neal said a
handful of local businesses and organizations contributed, including
the Eagles Lodge, Wal-Mart, Joe's Cars, BB&T Bank, Fairmont Federal
Credit Union, the town of Monongah and, of course, the F.O.P.