DRUG FORUM AN EYE-OPENER

Dear Sir:

I attended the crystal meth forum at Ecole Pointe des Chenes in Ste
Anne on Thursday evening, March 9. Dale Ridley, a retired Winnipeg
Police Service drug unit officer who lives in the area, spoke
knowledgeably and gave us loads of useful information on his experiences.

He made us aware that drugs are everywhere. Roxanne Sarrasin from the
Addictions Foundation of Manitoba and our public health nurse,
Kathleen Messner, let us know where to go for help. Carole Johnson
amazed us with her strength and her passion when she told us the
story of "her Colleen" and about how drugs affect the whole family.

Cst. Brian Brunelle, who represented our local police force, was also
very informative and frank when discussing that drugs are easily
available in our community and that each one of us has a
responsibility to help fight this.

Hats off to everyone who participated in this eye-opening session,
for a job well done, including Pointe-des-Chenes school for supplying
the venue, to Nicole Massicotte and her parent committee for
organizing this event, to Dave for bravely giving us a testimony of
his experiences and also to our local caterer, Norm Desrochers, for
generously supplying snacks for everyone that evening.

Deanna Marriott

Ste Anne, MB