DARE YOUTH TO MAKE WISE DECISIONS

In an effort to educate young people about the dangers of drug abuse,
the Hannibal Police Department participates in the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education (DARE) program in conjunction with local schools.
This week, fifth-graders at Oakwood Elementary School, Holy Family
School and Veterans Elementary were honored at DARE graduation
ceremonies. These students, along with their cohorts at Mark Twain
Elementary, Eugene Field Elementary, Stowell Elementary and St. John
Lutheran schools, have been participating in an awareness program that
hopefully will help them make sensible decisions and resist peer
pressure as they approach their teen years.

The fifth-graders discuss the consequences of bad decisions and how
these decisions can affect their own futures. Cpl. Darrin DeLaPorte,
the DARE officer, explains to the youth how one bad decision can
affect the outcome of their entire lives.

The bottom line is that as individuals, life offers us many choices.
Some are good, and others are bad. How we address these choices points
us in the direction of our own individual future.

In a world filled with temptation, it is a comfort to know that there
are positive influences reaching out into our children's lives to help
counteract the negative which exists within our environment.

We encourage our youth to listen and learn about the consequences of
inappropriate behavior, and to keep these lessons in mind when
temptation calls. Remember, your future is in your hands. Use your
resources wisely. Don't waste your opportunities. These are the
lessons of life.