SOSS LOOKS AT TEEN DRUG AND ALCOHOL PROBLEM

If you think crystal meth, crack cocaine and other dangerous drugs have
stayed safely ensconced in the needle-strewn, skid-row alleys of our major
cities, think again. The gleaming halls of local schools are reflecting
some heavy footprints of their own, placed there by young kids who are only
beginning their travels down a long, dark tunnel.

Within the region that encompasses School District #53, (Okanagan Falls,
Oliver, Osoyoos and Cawston-Keremeos) school board trustees, teachers,
administrators, parents and the RCMP, to name a few, are well-aware of the
problem. But until recently they worked with their knowledge independently;
now they have joined forces to tackle the problem head-on.

At the December 8 meeting of the board of school trustees, District #53
superintendent, Vern Berg said that trustees were aware of drug use and
very concerned about it, but he wanted to note as a measure of reassurance
that it wasn't more prevalent here "than anywhere else."

However, having any instance of drug and alcohol use is of concern, and
Berg told trustees, "We need to look at what we are doing and look at what
we need to do. Certainly we need the cooperation of agencies in the community."

This is where drug and alcohol forums come in. Developed to bring all
levels of people together, the first forum was held on November 24, and
Berg says principals, vice-principals, counsellors, parent advisory
committee members, trustees, band members and the RCMP all attended.

"We looked at Summerland as an example. They recognized that there was a
problem a few years ago and put programs in place. Now they are doing much
better."

There was also a presentation on crystal meth to help teachers, parents and
all forum participants know the effects this drug has on users, but it can
be tricky to recognize the signs of someone who is using. And while some
may want to down play the role of this highly addictive drug in the
schools, SOSS principal Marty Lewis says this is a mistake. He points out
that while they haven't suspended anyone specifically for using crystal
meth, it is becoming "more and more popular" among those who use drugs.

He says it is important to know everything is relative, "we are talking
about a small percentage of students that use drugs and alcohol in the
school and any figures refer to this population only."

Berg says that out of the three high schools in the district, Oliver and
Similkameen Elementary Secondary School have the worst statistics when it
comes to the number of disciplinary actions taken against students for
using drugs or alcohol at school. "Most of the suspensions are due to
marijuana use," he said, but pointed out that crystal meth use is a growing
problem.

Lewis acknowledges that SOSS has had an increase in suspensions. He feels
that there is a higher level of drug and alcohol abuse now but adds it
tends to go in cycles. "We need to be working on preventative strategies,
suspensions are merely reactive," he says. "We need to do everything we
possibly can" regarding the problem and feels the forums will go a long way
toward helping everyone involved.

Berg explains the forum as a four-part entity that looks at prevention
(through education), intervention (through counseling), discipline and
school safety (through creating a drug free environment in schools).

Staff Sergeant Walter Makepeace, who also attended the forum, says an
increased police presence at the schools is one way to help although he
says most of the discipline is handled in-house and is dealt with more
effectively, "most of the time the infractions involve minor amounts of
marijuana."

But he notes that through the forum, every infraction will be reported to
the RCMP so they have an increased awareness of who is involved with drugs.
He makes an important point that "using drugs is usually just a symptom of
a deeper problem," and thus education and mental health workers are
essential to helping out these kids.

Makepeace agrees that crack cocaine and crystal meth are a growing problem,
"they are cheap, which is attractive to kids."

He says regrettably it often takes a tragedy like the triple homicide that
happened recently in Penticton for the problem of drugs to really hit home.
"It involved youth who had lived in Oliver and sadly it is too late for them."

The police will be "committing to responding to any report of drug
trafficking on or around school property and locating the individual
responsible." But he says members of the forum were unanimous in
recognizing that there have to be more counselors, that there needs to be a
big push to have mental health people work with the kids."

Lewis says, "We definitely need to do more of this. SESS has a drug and
alcohol worker; in Oliver there is a Pathways counselor available and
mental health will get involved on a self-referral basis. But we need to
have more school-based workers. And we are looking to seriously pursue this."

District principal of special services Terry Collis says that in a survey
of the Okanagan region, 22 per cent of drug and alcohol users said that
they first used in Grade 7 or 8. That is a 12 or 13 year-old child.