DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS ARE A RIGHT: PARENT

Tanya Mickey wants to keep drugs out of her son's school and believes
the Dogs for Drug Free Schools program could be the right step toward
that.

"This ain't going away," she told the Porter Creek Secondary School
Council at its meeting Tuesday night after proposing the program.

The council opted to invite Sgt. Randy Youngman of the Medicine Hat
(Alta.) Police Service to the territory to discuss the program with
school, Department of Education, RCMP and other community
organizations which could be involved.

Youngman heads up the program as the officer in charge of the
community resource unit in Medicine Hat.

Mickey has written letters in favour of bringing a dog into the
schools to search for drugs.

However, the Department of Education and school council replied in
writing that random searches can't be done due to federal laws around
privacy issues.

If a principal has reasonable grounds to suspect an individual has
illegal drugs, a search can be conducted, but it must be reasonable
and done with a witness present.

The RCMP can be contacted to assist with a search.

"My child has a right to go to school in a drug-free environment,"
Mickey said at Tuesday's meeting.

Since writing a letter to the Star about the drug problem at Porter
Creek Secondary, Mickey has had numerous people call her or stop her
in the street to say they're happy someone is getting the problem out
in the open. Some said they didn't know drugs are a problem at the
24-year-old school.

"We can talk education but it's not working," said
Mickey.

No illegal act would be committed by adopting the Dogs for Drug Free
School program, she said. When a dog indicates there could be drugs
somewhere like a locker or backpack, they simply sit in front of it.

The chocolate Labrador dogs are raised in the school with the school
liaison officer bringing the animal to work everyday.

While the canines are trained to detect drugs, the program has also
served as a means to bridge the gap between cops and students when the
students initially approach the dogs to pet them and end up talking to
the police handler, said Mickey.

"It opens avenues," she said.

The program in Medicine Hat also involves other community groups and
businesses sponsoring the initiative, something Mickey believes could
happen here.

As a member of the business community herself, she's willing to donate
to the program getting started at Porter Creek Secondary.

"One Lab puppy is $800. I'll write you guys a cheque tomorrow," she
told the school council.

Porter Creek Secondary principal Kerry Huff then suggested the first
step in looking at the program could be inviting Youngman, who had
told Mickey he was more than willing to visit, to the territory to
look at the program.

Both Huff and another parent noted that would give the community a
chance to ask questions about the program and how they dealt with
issues like dog allergies and community support in getting the program
started.

This morning Lee Kubica, the Dept. of Education's assistant deputy
minister, said he has yet to receive a formal request to bring
Youngman up, but would like to look into the program. "We're quite
willing to look at any program that moves in that direction," he said.