STUDENTS COMPLETE SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION PROGRAM

A group of 10 Magnolia Middle School students graduated from a program
Tuesday designed to show them they must care for themselves just like they
must care for the environment.

Weems Community Mental Health Center created Project Trail, a pilot summer
substance abuse prevention program. Separate groups of boys and girls met
twice a week for six weeks at Bonita Lakes.

Kyra Wilson, a prevention specialist at Weems, said the nature-based
program is meant to foster each child's relationship with the environment.

"We discussed the dangers of drugs and alcohol but a lot of what we
concentrated on was nature," Wilson said. "They learned about plants,
endangered animals and how to be a good steward of the earth. We did some
pollution testing and learned about the water cycle."

Rayford Parnell, 12, attended the combination cookout and graduation
ceremony Tuesday at Bonita Lakes with his parents, Gail and James Parnell.
He said he learned a lot about drug awareness, the environment and health.

"I liked it when we went hiking and took pictures," Parnell said.

Like Parnell, Zandreya Fowler, 12, will be in the seventh grade when school
starts Thursday. She also was with her parents, Bridget and Reginald
Fowler, at Bonita Lakes.

Fowler said she enjoyed the physical fitness part of the program most.

"We had a lot of fun. We ran and we exercised and we were around our
friends doing things besides school. It was a lot of fun," Fowler said.

Reginald Fowler said it was clear at home that his daughter was having a
good time.

"She learned a lot of things about wildlife, and life itself," he said. "It
was a good educational program for her to learn a lot of things about
society and her environment."

Bridget Fowler said the program also was a good self-esteem builder for her
daughter.

Lauderdale County Sheriff's Deputy Ricardo Clayton was one of several guest
speakers who participated in the program. He spoke to the children about
the importance of making good decisions.

"We covered everything from violence, to drugs, to staying in school,"
Clayton said.

"We came to the conclusion it is far better to work hard now, stay in
school and get as much education as possible to make it easier in life
later, rather than play around now and have to work harder later."