FIRST IN-SCHOOL SESSION FOCUSES ON SAFETY

Combating drug abuse problems and school safety took centre stage at
Pembina Hills latest school board meeting.

A discussion session involving teachers, police officers, counsellors,
parents and students was part of the last board meeting for Pembina
Hills Regional Division #7.

The noon-hour panel was part of the agenda for the first of eight
visits to schools in the division over the next few months.

Kendall Taylor, an area supervisor for Alberta Health Addiction
Services, opened up the discussion to the crowd of 30 people in
Barrhead Composite High School's drama theatre, speaking about his
organization's work with schools.

Alberta Health maintains a satellite office in Westlock, with the
majority of their bookings taking place out of the Barrhead main
office. Taylor's organization also travels to work in schools in Swan
Hills, Onoway, Thorhild, Westlock and Barrhead.

Last year, 255 families were admitted who were involved in drug and
alcohol abuse, as well as 83 other people affected by drug and alcohol
abuse. A third were youth or young adults, he said.

With six staff, Addiction Services's programs include group and
individual counselling, drug abuse programs, information sessions,
staff development initiatives, anger management programs and tobacco
reduction programs.

Community members using drugs, either at school or after hours, tend
to abuse tobacco, alcohol and marijuana, Taylor said

The abuse of harder drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy is less
frequent.

A prevalent problem Taylor's organization is facing in combating
illegal drug use is normalizing attitudes towards marijuana.

"There is a resentment among adult users that think that, 'If I use
marijuana, why should I be punished because people that drink alcohol
are legally safe, but I'm subject to a criminal charge for using
marijuana," Taylor said.

An issue in detecting use at school, Taylor explained, is the
less-observable effects of marijuana use versus heavy drinking. Taylor
was emphatic that drug use is occurring at schools in their area,
including Barrhead and Westlock. He said most students experiment with
either marijuana or alcohol by the time they reach Grade 12.

"It's more than school administration would like to admit and it's
probably far less than a jaded community would like to think," he told
the crowd.

For both school staff and the police, having school resource officer
Cst. Morroco Johnson has meant information and enforcement activities
have increased, said Cpl. Darryl Lutz of Barrhead's RCMP detachment.

With 10 files open since the beginning of the school year, Johnson has
been busy not just with speaking with students, but also investigating
crimes on school property.Finding someone in the early stages of an
RCMP career willing to work out of a school is tough, Lutz said.

"You're not out there everyday doing the police work that's out of the
detachment," Lutz explained. "At the same time, other doors open for
you."

With 60 per cent of officers in Alberta under three years of service,
many simply don't want to get out of the cruiser and work out of a
classroom.

Johnson is bringing Drug Abuse Resistance Program to Grade 6 students
in outlying schools. The program will expand to Barrhead schools after
Christmas. She maintains an office at the high school in Barrhead.

"What you want from her, what you need from her, certainly put it to
her," Lutz said, addressing the students in attendance . "If it
happens to be stuff you can't discuss or don't want to, in her office
right there in school, she can be tracked down to talk to at any time."

Rob McGarva, the director of student services for Pembina Hills told the
meeting that making schools safe is a goal written into the School Act: it's
the board's responsibility to ensure a safe environment.

McGarva's role is to encourage schools to make available counselling
and drug addiction services for students. Having someone to talk to is
very important, he said, using Heather Miller, a school counsellor, as
an example.

Miller has experience working in anti-bullying, anti-drug, suicide
prevention, students against drunk driving and other programs to
assist students.

Each of the speakers agreed that whether they don a police uniform or
stand in front of a class, making schools safer has a lot to do with
getting parents and their children to open up to each other.

Taylor said one of the best motivators of change happens when parents
and children listen to each other.

"Kids start talking, but the most important thing is that parents
start talking," he said. "As a facilitator, we just watch that whole
process happen. We throw in good information and they'll take it from
there."