RED DEER REBELS TALK DRUGS IN DIDSBURY

The Red Deer Rebels are coming to Didsbury to talk to your kids about drugs.

"Every detachment has a task to have a youth strategy or plan at their
unit," said Didsbury RCMP Sgt. Tonn. "In cooperation with our schools we
agree drugs are the biggest problem with our youth. We have come up with a
youth plan to target drugs."

Tonn said the way to do this was through education, and they needed to find
some dynamic speakers to talk to the students, without it sounding like a
lecture.

"We found out the Red Deer Rebels have a drug program called Keep
Straight," said Tonn.

The Rebels go around and talk to kids about drugs; a select few of them
even get to travel to Vancouver once a year to witness drug abuse first
hand on the Vancouver streets.

"They do this as a way of giving back to the communities around them," said
Tonn. "We have been fortunate enough to tap into this program," said Tonn.

The Rebels will visit the Cremona High School on Nov. 22nd, the Carstairs
High School on the 29th, and the Didsbury High School on the 30th, each day
from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

To really get the message out there about drug abuse Tonn said they have to
go beyond the youth, they need to educate the parents.

George McLeod from the Chinook's Edge School Division will be giving a
presentation and talking to parents about drug awareness, the same days as
the students, except at 7 p.m.

"We want to talk to as many students as possible, unfortunately we are not
able to," said Tonn.

In Didsbury the grade 9's and 10's, will hear the Rebels, in Carstairs the
grade 9's through 11, and the entire Cremona High School.

"We really feel that it is necessary to give kids a talk, and parents some
information about what to look for, signals of drug abuse such as grades
starting to fall," said Tonn. "We feel teaching the kids and the parents
together will hopefully result in some good choices. We realize we can't
change the whole picture, but maybe this will give some kids the strength
to say no."