OFFICIALS HOPE ENTIRE COMMUNITY EMBRACES 'CHARACTER COUNTS WEEK'

Through a variety of events and a well-known speaker, those involved
with the annual Red Ribbon/Character Counts Week are hoping to get the
entire community involved.

At least that's the goal for this year, according to Pauline Akland,
chairman of the Yankton Chamber of Commerce Education Committee.

For the first time at this magnitude, organizers have decided to merge
the two weeks into one seven-day stretch in which the six pillars of
character and drug-free themes are instilled city-wide.

"That's been our focus this year: trying to get that message out in
the community, not just in the schools," Akland said. "We encourage
people to be practicing it everywhere, at work, at school or out in
public."

As part of Red Ribbon/Character Counts Week, which began Sunday and
continues through Saturday, children's author and songwriter Tom Frye
will deliver a speech on Wednesday night.

Frye's speech, entitled "Dragons Among Us," will be held at the
Yankton High School Main Theater at 7 p.m. Wednesday. There will be a
book signing before and after the event.

Prior to that, Frye will be speaking to students at Yankton Middle
School at 1:30 p.m., and will later hold a book signing session at the
Yankton Community Library from 3-5 p.m. on Wednesday.

"He'll definitely bring a unique way of discussing the pulls that kids
have; how they deal with peer pressure and resist the urge of alcohol
and drugs," Akland said. "It'll be all be tied together with the way
we can use the pillars of character.

"If you're practicing those, you'll have the strength within yourself
to ignore those pressures."

After spending the last 35 years running his own truancy program for
state wards and a mediator for at-risk youth, Frye now writes
children's books.

The author of more than a dozen works, Frye's message of maintaining a
drug-free and illegal-drug-free life will resonate even stronger
during the next week, according to Tracy Taylor, a member of the
Coalition for a Drug-Free Yankton.

"He has so much experience with kids that have dealt with drug and
alcohol problems, so I think he can really relate to high school-aged
kids," said Taylor, the Community Prevention Networker with Lewis and
Clark Behavioral Health Services. "I've always heard how much of an
inspiration he is and how his messages can really bring positive change."

Taylor, whose brother spent time with Frye while they were in Lincoln,
Neb., said Frye will use his "dragon" themes to provide realistic
stories for the audience, complete with a speech-ending anti-drug
ballad called "Carry On."

In coordination with Red Ribbon/Character Counts Week, students at
Yankton Middle School will hold a poster contest, and entries will be
judged prior to Frye's speech. Also during that time, winners from the
Yankton elementary schools' coloring contests will be awarded prizes.

Taylor said incorporating the work of the students with Frye's speech
is just another way the week is being expanded to a more
community-wide focus.

"It's so important to get the parents involved, because sometimes the
children won't bring the messages home and forget about them," she
said. "And this is a way to connect the entire family. We're really
hoping to get a large amount of people involved."

Akland said the groups involved with Red Ribbon/Character Counts Week
have been encouraging Yankton businesses to utilize the daily colors
of the six pillars of character - Trustworthiness/blue (Sunday),
Respect/yellow (Monday), Responsibility/green (Tuesday),
Fairness/orange (Wednesday), Citizenship/purple (Thursday) and
Caring/red (Friday).

One local business, Wal-Mart, is having its employees wear the
character colors each day throughout the week.

"It's something we'd like the entire community to do, to share in
recognizing the specific character traits for that day," Akland said.
"Let's promote these in our workplaces."

In honor of Red Ribbon Week, the oldest and largest drug prevention
campaign in the nation, red ribbons will be tied up across town.

These efforts are being done to raise awareness for a good cause,
Akland said.

According to figures provided for the week, last year saw 117 minors
on alcohol charges and 63 drug arrests in Yankton County.
Additionally, there were 29 people admitted to alcohol and drug
treatment facilities.

"You have so many generations of people who have been raised in vastly
different worlds," Akland said. "Now it's even more important to
enforce these characters."