DARE CAR WINS AWARD

Like Batman and Robin and their signature Batmobile, Franconia Township's
two DARE officers will cruise the streets in their award-winning DARE mobile.

And they will travel from school to school with a newly revamped DARE drug
and alcohol education program.

After the 2004 annual DARE International Convention, which was held in
Nashville, Tenn., from July 7 to 9, Franconia DARE officers David Klepfer
and Timothy Boyle drove home with a second-place trophy for their DARE
patrol car in the class three category.

The DARE car, a 2000 Ford Crown Victoria, was a retired patrol car, said
Klepfer, and was painted black and cleaned up by Souderton Auto Body for free.

"I thought it was a great idea so I did it," said Michael Opdyke, owner of
the Franconia Township shop. "It feels good because ... it shows people
care about drug prevention."

DARE graphics, which adorn the sides and hood of the vehicle, were
emblazoned by Landis Truck Graphics in Telford, which Alvin Landis, owner
of the graphics shop, said were applied for a discounted price.

"I really hope at least it's a reminder for kids to stay off drugs," said
Landis, who paints graphics on their patrol cars.

And that's just one aspect the program covers, according to Klepfer, who is
also the school resource officer at Indian Crest Junior High School.

The program, he said, teaches elementary school children the downsides of
tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and inhalants, along with informing them on how
to make their own decisions.

"The whole point is to get them on our side," said Boyle.

After completing the first two-week training course of the new DARE
elementary school program at the Masonic Lodge in Elizabethtown last year,
Boyle and Klepfer began administering their first DARE classes last February.

Klepfer teaches fourth-grade classes at Franconia and Vernfield elementary
schools, and Boyle teaches fourth-graders at West Broad Street Elementary
in Franconia.

The new nine-week program is taught once a week for forty-five minutes in
each school from February to April.

Dave Shaner, who spent his last three years as an officer at the Franconia
police department as the school resource and DARE officer, said the program
has changed.

Shaner, who retired last August, was an officer for 28 years and is helping
out the department with office work.

The old program was 17 weeks long, he said, and there was more material to
cover, noting a larger workbook and elaborate charts that the contemporary
program scrapped.

The DARE teaching style was more instructional and less interactive, said
Shaner, but the basic format is the same.

David Caster, the Pennsylvania State DARE coordinator and former DARE
officer, agreed.

Caster said the program has changed a number of times since it began in Los
Angeles in 1983, as it implements the new teaching technology and research.

All the DARE officers had to be re-educated in the new curriculum.

Caster said the new program applies to the elementary and middle school
DARE curriculums, and a revamped high school program is expected soon.

The DARE patrol car will be displayed at the Franconia Community Park for
the National Night Out Against Crime, which will be held Tuesday from 6 to
9 p.m. at Fraconia Community Park on Allentown Road.

Along with the DARE mobile, the DARE officers and other Franconia police
have their own trading cards, which Boyle said depict the officers as
having a regal appearance in the eyes of the children.

When eating with the students at lunch, said Boyle, students scurry to get
the cards and the officers' autographs.

"You're almost like a superstar," said Klepfer.