BEAUSEJOUR TO LOSE D.A.R.E.?

Area Could Lose Drug And Alcohol Prevention Program; Councils Helped
Pay For Training

Beausejour Review - A preventative drug and alcohol abuse program
could be in jeopardy of disappearing from the Beausejour and RM of
Brokenhead area due to a staffing change at the Beausejour RCMP detachment.

The Review learned last week that Cst. Guylaine Berube, the last of
the two Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) instructors, is being
transferred to another detachment come the end of the summer.

Being that Berube's replacement isn't a DARE-trained officer, the
transfer will leave the area without a DARE teacher.

"I asked staffing to give consideration and try to find someone who is
a DARE officer but we're not getting one," said Sgt. Dave Shuttleworth
at the Beausejour RCMP detachment.

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) instructors are RCMP
officers trained in a 10-week course that teaches life skills, the
consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse, positive alternatives,
self-esteem, decision making, communication skills, and how to
recognize and overcome differences to Grade 6 students.

Berube and then Cst. Bob Chabot - who was promoted and transferred out
of the Beausejour detachment approximately a year and a half ago -
were trained to be DARE instructors in November 2000 and began
teaching the drug awareness course in January 2001.

The training, which was supported financially by the RM of Brokenhead
and Town of Beausejour councils, has allowed approximately 500 Grade 6
students to learn the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.

"I think it's sad that Bob and I put the effort and time into it and
the community backed us with funding and now what? It's not fair to
the community and the kids coming up," said Berube.

Addictions Foundation of Manitoba councillor at Edward Schreyer
School, Ryan Neufeld, was disappointed to hear the news.

"It's a very important and very valuable program. Early intervention
is the best tool and the earlier the better," said Neufeld.

ESS school administration was also concerned about the future of the
DARE program.

"It's a very worthwhile program. I personally would hate to see that
go away. We need it in this community," said Jody Wielgosh, vice
principal at ESS. "The Grade 6s coming up are looking forward to it."

Officers interested in being DARE instructors need a minimum of two
years of service to be able to take the DARE course and the
Beausejour-based officer interested in such won't have the needed two
years of service until October. The DARE training takes place in September.

To take the training, the officer also has to have the support of the
school board and write an essay to DARE Canada as to why he or she
wants to teach DARE. When ESS students heard of the possibility of the
course coming to an end, the students had a few things to say as well.

"We learned a lot from it...like how to react to peer pressure," said
Selena Kaatz, who took the program this year.

"It's a good program for our age. We're at a young enough age that
kids can still change," said Grade 6 student Devin Balness.

As well as speaking highly of the program itself, Grade 6 student Cody
Scholz voiced the popular opinion of Cst. Berube.

"She could have just said 'here's the information' but she made it so
we wanted to learn. It was like she took a black and white movie and
made it into colour," said Scholz.

Students wanting to know if there was anything they could do to save
the valuable program were informed their only hope lies in that of a
letter writing campaign directed to the RCMP and the Minister of Education.