HUNTER, A BLACK LAB, WILL BE PATROLLING AT HOMESTEAD TO SNIFF OUT
DRUGS AND FIREARMS

There's a newcomer to Homestead High School, but he's 10 years
younger than most incoming freshmen. Still, he has a beard. And he's
going gray.

Hunter, a 4-year-old black Lab-rador retriever, starts his first day
of school Wednesday with the rest of Homestead. He's a police dog
patrolling for narcotics and firearms.

Homestead's Resource/Patrol Officer A.J. Pape presented the idea of
full-time police dog for the school to the Southwest Allen County
Schools board in March to supplement the district's No Alcohol No
Drugs campaign. He has spent the last three months training with
Hunter – a former hunting dog donated to the Allen County Sheriff's Department.

"The deterrent factor is the key," Pape said. "You're making these
kids think, 'Why would I bring firearms? Why would I bring narcotics
to school? The dog's going to be here every day.' "

Pape and Hunter will randomly search lockers, cars, trash cans and
bathrooms. Pape and Hunter also will be at extracurricular activities
and will search extracurricular buses leaving Homestead.

Pape is not allowed to pinpoint specific students, but if Hunter does
detect the scent of a narcotic or a firearm, Pape would tell school
administrators, who could then conduct a search.

The dog also will be used as an educational tool for middle- and
elementary-school students. He is not aggressive and is approachable
when not conducting searches. Even in social settings, though, Hunter
is capable of detecting the presence of an illegal substance without
Pape's command to search.

Homestead sophomore Alex DeFreeuw is a little skeptical of the
program. "Personally I think that's a little bit over the top, but
whatever the school wants to do, I guess."

Hunter lives with Pape as a house pet. His services cost the district
$700 annually. Local donors have covered the rest. The only cost the
sheriff's department incurred was in training Hunter.

As part of the No Alcohol No Drugs campaign, and at the urging of
parents, the district last year started testing, for drugs and
alcohol, Homestead students involved in extracurricular activities
and those who drive to school. During the school year, SACS received
a three-year, $480,000 federal grant allowing it to go from testing
10 students a week to 40 a week. The grant also allows the district
to test every seventh student for steroids and conduct another test
that detects enzymes from alcohol.

Last year, 10 of 545 testswere positive for an illegal substance,
which could have included alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, opiates
and cocaine. The district did not release more specific information.
After a first positive test, students are ineligible to participate
in extracurricular activities or drive to school for 45 days. Taking
rehabilitation classes at the school or entering a community program
could reduce that to 10 days. No student tested positive twice, and
SACS social worker Anita Gross said most students opted for rehabilitation.

SACS Superintendent Brian Smith was pleased with the first year of
the program and hopes the district can continue to test after the
grant expires, even if it's done on a smaller scale.

Though students in extracurricular activities and those who can drive
to school are the only students the district is legally allowed to
test, Smith said the program didn't deter students from participating
in extracurricular activities, noting that numbers increased for the
football team and marching band.

Junior Alex Tordi, a member of Class Royale, the school's show choir,
found out he would be tested during his fourth-period Spanish class.

"It was seven minutes till the bell rang, and I got a pass to go to
the office," Tordi said. "Once class got out, I went to the office. …
They gave me the cup and I went into the bathroom. I came out, and
then they took the information they needed, and then I left. I didn't mind it."

Tordi said the test "didn't burden me." He finished it in time to
make his next class.

He and his parents are supportive of the testing. "It shows that the
school cares about the students," Tordi said.

Though she wasn't tested last year, senior Ally Vaillancourt, also a
member of the show choir, supports the school's testing policy.

"I have nothing to hide," she said. "If you want to test me, go ahead
and test me. I don't have a problem with it."

Gross said the district this year plans to test 40 students at
Homestead and 15 students each at Summit and Woodside Middle Schools weekly.

By the numbers

SemesterStudents testedPositive tests
First1583
Second3877
Total54510

Note: A grant allowed the district to increase the number of students
tested during the second semester.

Source: Southwest Allen County Schools
Consequences for positive tests

First offense

45-day suspension from extracurricular activities

45-day driving permit suspension

Second offense

90-day extracurricular suspension

90-day driving suspension

Third offense

Permanent extracurricular suspension

Permanent driving suspension

Note: Students may choose to enter a diversion program, which calls
for them and their parents to sign a contract. The extracurricular
and driving suspensions are reduced to 10 days upon completion of the
program. No student tested positive more than once last year.