PARENTS CAN TEST KIDS FOR DRUGS

Bartonville Police Offer Take-Home Kits

BARTONVILLE - Many parents will love it. And lots of kids will hate it,
though maybe they'll thank Mom and Dad later.

The Bartonville Police Department's latest effort in the war on drugs comes
just in time for the new school year: Parents can have access to free,
confidential drug and alcohol testing kits to administer in their own homes.

Starting Aug. 18, those with children attending Limestone Community High
School or Bartonville or Oak Grove grade schools can stop by the Police
Department between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and pick up one or more kits. The
tests look for the presence of alcohol, marijuana (THC), cocaine, opiates
or methamphetamine.

After the first 30 days of the program, the kits will cost between $5 and
$15. Those are bargain prices when compared to what a hospital might charge
for such a test, Police Chief Brian Fengel said.

But the cost isn't the only benefit.

"A lot of parents are at their wits' end and don't know where to go or what
to do. They suspect drug use and just want to get their child help," Fengel
said. "This is an approach to empower parents to use (the tests) as a tool
to get (their children) help before they get arrested."

The drug problem isn't really any different in Bartonville than in
surrounding communities, Fengel said.

According to recent National Institute on Drug Abuse statistics, 51 percent
of U.S. high school seniors have tried some type of illegal drug. Forty-six
percent have tried marijuana; 8 percent cocaine; 1.5 percent heroin; and 6
percent methamphetamine.

Bartonville is taking part in the nationwide Law Enforcement Against Drugs
(LEAD) program, which allows police departments to buy the kits at a
much-reduced rate. Fengel said he knows of no other community in the Peoria
area with a similar program. Money brought in will go into Bartonville's
drug-prevention fund.

Parents of Limestone freshmen received fliers on the new program at a
school orientation session Monday.

"Drugs are a concern for any parents nowadays," Superintendent Bill Beach
said. "I think this is another one of those programs that will really
impact the community and our schools."

Bartonville Mayor Jeff Zircher ran on a platform that included cracking
down on village drug use. He said the LEAD program gives parents an option.
In fact, he would like to see the schools take a more proactive position
and require students to drug test prior to enrolling for the school year.

Kathy Ashby, the Police Department's victim and senior advocate will meet
with parents or families and hand out the kits. "We're advertising this as
a parent tool to help drug problems from becoming more public," she said.

In fact, Ashby thinks some kids will actually appreciate the fact that they
could be randomly tested at home, as it gives them an "out" if pressured to
drink or do drugs.

"We don't want to say there is a drug problem. But we don't want to bury
our head in the sand and say there's not a drug problem," Ashby said.