PARENT PUSHES DISTRICT TO ALLOW DRUG DOG TO SEARCH
HUDSON SCHOOL

When Joann Auclair found a stash of pot in her teenage son's bedroom,
she immediately wanted to know where it came from. She didn't expect
her son to say that drugs are always available for sale at Alvirne
High School. Marijuana and illegal prescriptions are especially easy
to get, Auclair said the teenager confessed.

Alarmed by the news, Auclair said she sat down with a guidance
counselor to find out if the Hudson police drug dog could be used to
search the school. The counselor told her the idea had been
discussed, but administrators and the school board wouldn't have it,
she said.

School district officials say they don't recall having such conversations.

Now Auclair has made it her mission to tell other parents that kids
have easy access to drugs at Alvirne, and gather enough support to
convince the school district to allow the drug dog to search Alvirne
in the fall, she said. Her goal is weeding out the dealers.

"If I have to start a petition, I will. I'll go door generation
that's coming out of there. Are they all going to be drug addicts?"

If a canine officer has ever stepped foot inside Alvirne High School,
no one seems to know about it.

Assistant Superintendent Mary Ellen Ormond said Thursday that she
doesn't know whether the drug dog is used to search the school, and
suggested contacting Principal Bryan Lane. Lane was out of the office
Friday and could not be reached for comment.

Reached Friday, police Lt. Robert Tousignant said he couldn't think
of a time when the drug dog was used at Alvirne. Tousignant has been
with the department more than 25 years. He referred further questions
to Capt. Don Breault, who did not return a phone call.

The officer who handles the drug dog could not be reached for comment.

According to school board President David Alukonis, the issue has
never come up at a school board meeting. In fact, Alukonis said he
would support a drug dog being used to search Alvirne.

"That's something I'd personally like to see happen," Alukonis said.
"If that was the request from the police department, I would
certainly entertain that request."

It's unclear whether police have an interest in the idea.

Ormond also said the issue has never surfaced. If it were to come up,
she would have to weigh the pros and cons and talk to parents before
deciding to support it, Ormond said. As with any issue, it's likely
that some parents would favor the idea and others would not, she
said.

According to school arrest records provided by Hudson police, only 14
drug arrests have been made at Alvirne in the last five years. The
data reflect arrests made on school grounds from 2000 through 2005.

Auclair thinks that's because the drug dog hasn't been allowed inside
the building. She wants the school to take a tough stance on fighting
drugs and will do anything she can to help combat the problem, she
said, adding that Hudson's dog is sometimes used in other local high
schools.

"These towns are willing to let that drug dog in," she said. "Our own
school won't let it through the door."

Salem Deputy Police Chief Robert Larsen thinks his department has
used Hudson's dog when large searches have been conducted at the high
school. Salem has two of its own canine officers, but drug dogs are
only effective for a certain period of time – sometimes police
will request dogs from other departments when searching the whole
building, he said.

"It's kind of a mutual aid thing," Larsen said.

Auclair's biggest concern is that drug use is curbed while the kids
are still young. The school district isn't using all its resources to
make sure that happens, she said.

"They're going to let the kids go through the juvenile system and
become drug addicts rather than stopping it at the schools," she said.