DARE PROGRAM MARKS CLOSE OF ANOTHER YEAR

The efforts of the Marshall police force in conjunction with the nationally
recognized DARE program brought one woman in the audience Thursday evening
to tears and drew applause from dozens of others.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program has been in existence in
Marshall for over a decade, warning youngsters about the dangers of alcohol
and drug abuse.

Mark Henley, a local police officer since 1995 and the department's school
resource officer, explained the program is about much more than just
warning children about the dangers of alcohol and drugs.

"The DARE program is a wonderful program and a lot of people kind of
confuse it," Henley said. "They think it's just about saying no to drugs.
But there are so many different aspects of the DARE program. We talk about
self-esteem and saying no and giving them multiple ways of saying no. There
are so many different things the DARE program does besides talking about
drugs. We talk about violence prevention and just a plethora of things."

Henley said the "school resource officer" title has been predominantly used
in larger communities such as St. Louis and Kansas City, but over a decade
ago Police Chief Jim Simmerman and other city officials decided to bring
the program to Marshall.

"I think that the DARE program is kind of like a partnership between the
schools, law enforcement and the parents and it hits the kids from every
angle so they feel like they're surrounded at all times and they know they
can go to one of those sources for help if they need it," Henley said.

One audience member, Karla Jones, a longtime Marshall resident, was in
attendance with her husband Carl to support their daughter Melba, who is
enrolled in the program.

Jones, without going into too much detail, told of how her older daughter
became addicted to drugs before finally overcoming them through
perseverance. Jones said her past ordeal has been an eye-opening experience
and one that has changed her and her husband, who were both extremely
supportive of the police and the DARE program.

"We want people to know that the reason we're so happy for this program is
because it gives the children a line of protection to stand behind and it
teaches them everything that they need right now. Because even thought it's
a small word [no], it's very difficult to say," Jones said. "It's a
definite support for the children because [drug addiction] can hit you in
your own home. Children who experience this may even have parents or
brothers or sisters in the drug world. This helps them to know that even
though there was a wrong done, that there is help."

Jones' husband praised the officers and said he drove over 100 miles to be
present at the DARE graduation ceremony with his family.

"This is a great program. These guys go all out. Chief Simmerman has been
on the force for a long time and I'm just proud of them," he said. "These
guys are caring and we need more people like this."

Henley explained that the graduation ceremony was the culmination of his
fellow officers' hard work, not to mention the children involved in the
program.

"Everybody gets a DARE certificate, T-shirt and a ribbon. At the very end
of our last lesson, we have the kids write a one-page essay where they
write about what they've learned in the program," he said. They also make a
pledge about why they want to be drug free."

"A lot of times, police officers ... all we ever do is arrest people and we
deal with the negative side. In my job I get to deal with the positive
side," he said. "It seems like I'm always getting help instead of doing the
'bad' things that police officers have to deal with in their line of work."

Henley also commended his fellow officers who are involved in the DARE
program. "All of these guys that are in the DARE program have volunteered
to be DARE officers," he said. "Currently, we have seven DARE officers that
are certified to teach DARE. We have a bunch of officers that really love
this program and that really want to make a contribution to our community."