ANTI-DRUG MARCH A SUCCESS

Lacombe Globe -- Minutes before the Anti-Drug March was scheduled to start
on April 16, organizers Greg Baldeo and Ted Deer looked around the empty
parking lot at Terrace Ridge School and felt panic sink in.

After putting hours of work into organizing the event, a poorly attended
march was Baldeo's greatest fear.

"When we saw no one, we grew very timid," he said. "We were actually shaking."

Fortunately, Baldeo's fears were unfounded as hundreds of proactive
citizens soon joined forces with Canadian University College's (CUC)
Theology Club and the Red Deer Royals Marching Band, united in the fight
against drugs.

The throng marched south on C&E Trail in Lacombe from Terrace Ridge School
to the Lacombe Memorial Centre (LMC), where more joined in.

Baldeo said, "It brought tears to my eyes" to see involvement from all
sections of the community, including schools, businesses, politicians and
churches.

"We came together in one cause," he said. "There were people among the
group because they knew someone on drugs."

Among the supporters was 81-year-old Ruth Brucks, who hadn't planned on
marching, but got caught up in the crowd's enthusiasm. She marched from her
home in Royal Oaks Manor to the LMC. The trek left her feeling pretty good,
she said.

"I found it very exciting. The whole thing was very well done. If it helped
just a few of the kids, that'd be great."

The LMC itinerary following the march included testimonials from recovering
drug addicts, Patty Hanson of Lacombe, and Mathew Feeley, a religious
studies student at CUC and Theology Club member.

The pair retold the devastation that drugs created in their lives to an
assemblage of about 400 people.

"I succumbed, and I compromised what I stood for," said Feeley, 23, who was
heavily involved in the Toronto rave scene as a teen. "Intellectually, I
was a dropout and a failure I was void."

Hanson warned young people, teens in particular, about falling into a
similar trap, describing addiction as a permanent condition.

"It's an ongoing process--I don't believe I'll ever be healed," she said.
"Give yourselves a break to stand up for what you believe in."

Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Ray Prins congratulated the Theology Club for organizing
the march, and cheered the crowd for their enthusiasm.

"It's great when a group of young people take on a challenge and take
ownership of these issues," he said.

Prins added the Province remains dedicated to fighting drug and alcohol
abuse, citing a law recently passed in the legislature that allows parents
of drug-addicted teens to force their children into detox programs.

"This is an amazing problem," said Prins, who was alarmed by the growth of
crystal meth use in rural Alberta. "It's having a devastating effect in
many areas."

Lacombe Mayor Judy Gordon said she was impressed by the turnout for the
march and hoped the rally would become an annual event, something
organizers are already considering.

"Definitely," said Baldeo. "We think this is one of the ways that CUC can
benefit the whole community in a positive sense."

He thanked every organization that supported the Anti-Drug March to make it
such a success.

"We accomplished what we set out to do and more."