SCHOOLS CELEBRATE RED RIBBON WEEK

SOUTH POINT - The question was simple and innocent but the answer was
hopefully sobering.

Glancing at one of the stickers that had been passed out at the school
assembly, South Point Elementary School second grader My-thau Brown
asked "Do drugs really destroy your dreams?"

Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton's answer was frank: "Yes, drugs do
destroy your dreams."

Sexton, Lawrence County Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator Tim
Willis and members of the Lawrence County Pride Team are spending this
week taking that message to area schools as part of Red Ribbon Week.

Sexton and Willis urged the South Point youngsters Monday afternoon to
make a conscious decision now to live a safe, healthy life and avoid
abusing alcohol and drugs.

"The earlier they start making healthier decisions, the easier it will
be when they get older," Willis said. "The thing about prevention is
to get ahead of the problem before they get older and experience peer
pressure, so it will be easier for them to make more positive decisions."

Asked what she learned from the school assembly, second-grader Sarah
Sullivan replied: "I learned not to do drugs and stuff."

At her young age, Sarah already understands that a bad habit, once
started, is hard to break: she said her parents are both trying to
quit smoking.

The National Red Ribbon Week is aimed at promoting a drug free
lifestyle among young people. It was named in honor of the late
Enrique Camarena, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration agent
who was killed in the war on drugs.