STILLWATER COUNTY GETS 5-YEAR ANTI-DRUG GRANT

Each year for the next five years, Stillwater County will have $100,000 to
fight substance abuse, thanks to a Drug-Free Communities Support Program
Grant awarded last week.

Stillwater County was one of three Montana counties and 227 entities
nationwide to receive money through the program, said Robin Morris,
president of Morris and Morris, a private grant-writing corporation based
in Columbus. The other Montana counties were Gallatin and Richland Counties.

"Why in Stillwater County?" Morris said. "The drug rate in Stillwater
County is consistently higher than all of the state (Montana) averages."

Morris says substance abuse includes the misuse of alcohol, tobacco,
marijuana, inhalants and other drugs by youth or adults.

Stillwater County's application also received a boost from a drug
prevention effort initiated in 2000. The effort, which eventually fizzled
for lack of funding, resulted in the formation of the Stillwater Community
Coalition.

Morris, an experienced grant-writer, was also key, said Stillwater County
Commissioner Maureen Davey. Before moving to Columbus this year, Morris
twice secured funding from the same grant for the community of Havre.

Morris said the program in Stillwater County will take a multifaceted
approach to address family, school, community and individual or peer goals.
Many of the project goals will center on the introduction of after-school
programming. The funding will also allow the Stillwater County Coalition to
hire four part-time staff members to be located throughout the county.

To launch the drug-free campaign, organizers invite the public to attend a
community forum at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Columbus City Hall Courtroom. The
Drug-Free Communities Support Program is a collaborative effort between the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration and the Executive Office of the President.