DARE PROGRAM TO RETURN NEXT FALL

Grade 7 middle school students in the Central Okanagan may receive
another round of Drug Abuse Resistance Education beginning next fall.

DARE program coordinator Kerry Solinsky said the Kelowna RCMP are
looking to expand the program, although they must train more officers
before making the move.

"We need to expand our instructor base. So, I'm hoping for the new
school year," said Solinsky.

The DARE team numbers 11 officers--10 active--but the department is
losing two at the end of the year.

Two officers are training this month to teach the Grade 5-level
program and one office is already trained to teach the higher level.

Solinsky said transfers in and out of the department this summer
should determine whether expansion is feasible.

The Grade 7 program repeats the same messages as the Grade 5 program
but is geared to a higher level learner.

Central Okanagan Parent Advisory Council president Valerie Broman
said she has received nothing but praise from parents on the program.