RED RIBBON WEEK SPREADS DRUG-FREE MESSAGE

Twin Counties students got a chance to be a little out of the ordinary
last week.

Red Ribbon Week was celebrated throughout the week as a way to
highlight the importance of staying drug-free. The week of activities
was the students' way of proclaiming a drug-free lifestyle. They were
able to break some of the schools' everyday rules -- such as not
wearing hats -- for the sake of Red Ribbon Week.

"Usually, I'm telling the kids to take their hats off," said Lillie
Arrington, a teacher assistant at Swift Creek Elementary School. "Now,
I was telling them to put their hats on. All day I've been saying 'Put
your hat on, put your hat on!'"

Each day, students wore hats, sported their favorite shoes and socks,
dressed in their Sunday best, wore goofy sunglasses, showed off their
school colors and wore red to symbolize being drug-free.

"Doing something each day with a purpose behind it makes these
children aware," Arrington said. "The younger we educate them about
drugs, the better they can be able to make smarter decisions if
approached."

Red Ribbon Week, which runs from Oct. 23 to 31, is a national
anti-drug campaign that educates and encourages communities to stay
drug-free. The campaign started after drug traffickers in Mexico City
killed a federal drug enforcement agent in 1985.

"Others have died against the fight for drugs," said Mary Hinton, a
guidance counselor at Baskerville Elementary. "And this is a way for
the students here to stand up and proclaim they are drug free."

Hinton said during the week, Baskerville welcomed Rocky Mount police
Capt. John Manley, who spoke to the students about the dangers of
drugs. The school finished out the week with a Red Ribbon parade that
featured WRSV-Soul 92 and the Rocky Mount Senior High band.

"It's been really, really good," said Williford Elementary School
Principal Sandra Farmer. "We've had guest speakers and themes like, 'I
can put a cap on drugs.' The kids were so excited to see what things
they can do when they don't do drugs. I think it was very important,
especially with us being an inner-city school, to celebrate the week.
Most of the children have either seen or knew people who use drugs, so
it was important to them to say, 'I won't use drugs.'"

Coker-Wimberly Elementary School participated in the anti-drug week by
having daily activities and door decorating.

"One day we wore hats, one day the children wore their favorite shoes
and socks, which they decorated their classroom doors with the outline
of the shoes. One day they wore their shirts inside out, and all the
students wore red because that represents being drug-free," said
Principal Pam Lyons. "The earlier we can educate these kids, as they
get older and move to higher grades, they will know to say no to drugs."

High school students also joined in on Red Ribbon Week, donning red
ribbons on their shirts.

"Mainly we wore the ribbon," said Toney Suggs, driver vehicle
coordinator for Tarboro High School. "We've had speakers come in, too.
I thought the week was successful. It's our job to educate the
students and turn the students around one day at a time."

While schools were educated about the dangers of drug abuse, so was
Edgecombe County Public Schools' central office. Along with reading to
a child and talking to a class about not using drugs, school officials
also were given a quiz to test their knowledge about drugs.

"They gave us a quiz," said Diane LeFiles, executive director of
community relations. "Some of that stuff, I didn't even know."

The central office's activities were organized by Kim Gregory,
prevention specialist for student support services.

"It's important for the central office to be positive role models for
the entire school system," Gregory said. "We are letting them know
that we support a drug-free lifestyle, and being drug-free is the the
only way to be successful in life."