EMS holds D.A.R.E. graduation

For the sixth year in a row, Deputy Mike Donlan conducted the awards
ceremony marking the end of several weeks of D.A.R.E. instructions. Lt.
Tommy Gunn also represented the Sheriff's Office and helped present
certificates and prizes.

Ard's Closed Loop, Inc. was the sponsor for this year's D.A.R.E. program,
and provided the tee-shirts and materials for the lessons. They also
provided funds for the many frisbees, water bottles, soccer balls,
basketballs, and footballs awarded to each student. The support of local
businesses is very much appreciated by the school and the Sheriff's
department.

Each student completing the program has the requirement of writing an
essay about what they learned during the class sessions. A top winner is
selected from each of the fifth grade classrooms, and from those winners
one essay is selected as the best. The essay winners each received a
medallion for their efforts. Winners were Taylor Johannes/ Mrs. Rorie;
Amber Ray/ Mrs. Barber-Morris; Brittney Musgrave/ Mrs. Dillard; Destiny
Redd/ Mrs. Keyser; Danny Mullins/ Mrs. Poggio; and Elana Trimblade/ Mrs.
Silcox. Overall winner was Destiny Redd. Destiny also was presented with a
gift certificate and a special D.A.R.E. Director's Chair. Congratulations
to all of the students. Destiny's essay is at the end of this article.

The ceremony ending was bittersweet for Deputy Mike Donlan. After 6 years
of conducting the program for the school, Deputy Donlan announced that it
would be his last D.A.R.E. program, Donlan reminded the students that he
would still be a deputy with the SRSO, and that he has a long-term
commitment to each of the many students he has worked with over the last 6
years.

Winning D.A.R.E. Essay

by Destiny Redd

I learned a lot of important things that I never knew in D.A.R.E. Now I
know how to make healthy choices. It also helped me to make good decisions
in any situation. I learned how to get out of risky situations. I learned
about tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and other sorts of drugs that are bad
for the body.

Facts about tobacco; smoking causes breathing problems, smokers have more
colds and upper respiratory problems. Smoking causes heart disease and
smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer. Also a leading cause of
cancer of the mouth, throat, bladder and kidneys. Smokeless tobacco can
cause mouth cancer, tooth loss, or other health problems. Also there are
200 known poisons in cigarette smoke. So I learned a lot about tobacco
that I never knew.

Facts about marijuana: Smoking marijuana causes breathing problems,
Marijuana users have more colds and upper respiratory problems. Marijuana
gives you short term memory loss; loss of ability to concentrate. It slows
coordination and reflexes; affects your ability to judge distance, speed
and reaction time. These are important in sports or even riding a bike. I
wouldn't ever want to have all that trouble happening to me. Plus I love
playing sports and riding my bike, so I wouldn't want those types of
problems.

Facts about alcohol; Alcohol slows down the brain and body and that could
lead to coma or death. Alcohol goes directly into your bloodstream and can
increase your risk for a variety of diseases. It can also damage every
organ in your body. Some examples of this are loss of coordination, slowed
reflexes, loss of self control, poor judgment, memory lapses or slurred
speech. Why in the world would someone want those types of things to
happen to them. I wouldn't know.

Some facts about other drugs that are bad for your body; Cocaine addiction
causes pupil dilation, elevated blood pressure and heart rate, increased
body temperature and you could die from an overdose. Cocaine is a
powerfully addictive drug. Heavy use may produce hallucinations, paranoia,
aggression, insomnia and depression. Mushrooms; cause increased blood
pressure, sweating, nausea, and hallucinations. Many mushroom users
purchase hallucinogenic mushroom spores via mail order.

Facts about inhalants: Headaches, muscle weakening, abdominal pain, severe
mood swings, and violent behavior. Numbness and tingling of hands and
feet, decrease or loss of sense of smell, nosebleeds, and lots more
effects could happen. Hundreds of legal household products can be sniffed
or heuffed to get high. All inhalants can be toxic.

So all of these different types of drugs, I never would of thought that
they could do so much harmful things to your body. Especially the
inhalants because a little kid could sniff one of the inhalants and that
little kid could get high. I am so excited that I learned these facts
about tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and other drugs that hurt our body. But
if my friend ever tried to make me do something like all that stuff, I
would just tell them "If you are my friend you wouldn't try to make me do
something I don't wanna (sic) do." And I'd walk away. The kids and teens
that do tobacco, marijuana, alcohol and other bad drugs, they are not very
smart because they're messing up their life. I don't care if I'm cool or
not, but I think the people that do that stuff are the ones that are not
cool. I'm glad I learned about things. So I thank you D.A.R.E.