CFL FOOTBALL PLAYER SHARES DANGERS OF ALCOHOL AND DRUGS WITH PARENTS, KIDS
AND TEACHERS

Paris Star -- On April 26, parents and teachers are invited to attend a
drug and alcohol awareness session at the Paris public library with guest
speaker Curtis Bell. Aside from being a former football player for the
Toronto Argonauts, Bell is a dynamic speaker who has toured Canada talking
to audiences about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. He has already spoken
to children in area schools and now it's the parents' turn.

"It's a safety issue," said chairman of the school council Scott Harvey.
"It's something a lot of parents are out of touch with."

He said that when he previously saw Bell speaking about these issues, he
realized how he could hold the attention of a roomful of children. Harvey
has also spent a great deal of time organizing the evening with the
assistance of the library and hopes there is a good turnout for the event.

A parent of three children himself, he feels that Paris and the County of
Brant are changing and becoming more suburban, where young people have
better accessibility to drugs and alcohol.

"A lot of parents don't think it will happen to their kids, they think it
will happen to somebody else's kid," said Harvey.

He believes that most young kids are good kids, but they may have a harder
time saying no to drugs and alcohol when it's given to them by a friend.

"For naive parents, I hope they come away with a sense that it is not an
horrific problem, but something they can work on," said Harvey.

He does not intend to scare parents, but simply wants to supply them with
realistic information and make them aware of what is going on.

At the end of Bell's presentation, there will be an opportunity for parents
to ask him questions about what they have just heard. The session begins at
7 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room of the library and admission is free.

"If one parent benefits and there is a positive outcome, then it was well
done," said Harvey.