GIRL'S OVERDOSE GALVANIZES SCHOOL, PARENTS

Suspect accused of supplying drugs faces arraignment today

BELMONT -- As a Ralston Intermediate School eighth-grader who overdosed on
Ecstasy remained in critical condition at an area hospital Monday, parents
and administrators called for more community involvement to end student drug
abuse.

"We're concerned that drugs are so prevalent in our schools, but it's not
just a Ralston issue," parent Melinda Hartford said outside Belmont-Redwood
Shores Elementary School District offices.

"We can stand here and point fingers at parents, and point fingers at the
school district, but the bottom line is it's society problem," Hartford
said. "If a middle school student can access these drugs there's a huge
problem that everyone needs to address."

Belmont Police Capt. Patrick Halleran said the victim was one of three
14-year-old girls who took Ecstasy on Friday night at a slumber party in a
home on Redwood Avenue.

A parent, who had been in a different part of the house during the
sleepover, called 911 at 7:15 a.m. upon discovering one of the girls
unconscious, Halleran said.

Halleran said the girls purchased the drug sometime after school Friday, but
not on school grounds. Police have arrested two Belmont residents accused of
supplying the drugs to the girls -- a 17-year-old boy and 20-year-old
Antonio Rivera.

Rivera, who was arrested after police allegedly found multiple kinds of
drugs at his residence Sunday, is scheduled to be arraigned today on
numerous charges.

Parent Kimberly Rausa said it wasn't the first story she's heard involving
drugs and a Ralston student. She said she knows of a case a couple months
ago in which an 11-year-old turned in a bag of marijuana obtained from
another student to the principal's office.

"I'm not blaming the school district, but I am saying that one thing that
could help is the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program," Rausa
said. "They only have DARE in the fifth grade, when they should have it for
the older kids who are starting to do drugs."

Superintendent John McIntosh said the district has a fairly extensive
drug-education program at the middle school level, and noted that parental
involvement is a key component in addressing youth drug abuse.

"I think we do a lot. That's really difficult to say when we have a student
in critical condition, but we invest tremendous amounts of money in drug-
and alcohol-abuse education," McIntosh said.

McIntosh said in addition to providing extra counselors at Ralston Monday,
the district sent a letter home with students that urged parents to be
diligent in talking to children about drugs on a daily basis.

McIntosh said parents also need to take advantage of opportunities to
educate themselves about talking to their children about drugs. Three weeks
ago, more than a dozen area schools and the Belmont Police Department
invited thousands of parents to an informational meeting on the subject.
About 50 attended.

"It's so easy for a parent to be in denial and say, 'I know my son or
daughter like no one else does, I trust them, and they would never do
drugs,'" he said. "The reality is their kids are doing drugs."