PRINCIPAL RECOMMENDS EXPULSION

Five Elizabethtown High School students charged with possession of
marijuana and/or paraphernalia have been suspended and face expulsion,
the school's principal said Monday.

Ruth Sorace recommended expulsion with educational services, which
means the students could be sent to the district's alternative school
or to a day-treatment facility. The school board will determine the
students' educational fate at an upcoming hearing.

The students also face criminal possession charges in Hardin County
juvenile court.

Though he could not speak about specific cases, Hardin District Court
Judge John Simcoe said a first-time offender generally gets six months
of probation and is required to undergo regular drug screenings during
that period. They are also required to complete a drug education class.

The Elizabethtown High students were charged Friday after Kentucky
State Police troopers ran drug-sniffing dogs through the school campus.

Sorace said she wants to send a clear message to students that drugs
in school will not be tolerated.

"I don't think anyone wants drugs in their schools," she said. "A
school is no place for drugs. And we will not allow them."

Sometimes teenagers don't get the message until they end up before a
judge, said Wayne Hoffman, a certified alcohol and drug counselor for
the Lincoln Trail Behavioral Health System.

"We sometimes have to use the hammer of the courts to make sure they
stay away from drugs," he said.

He said he worries about society's typically relaxed attitude about
marijuana.

"Everybody has the idea that marijuana is not bad," he said. "Parents
are saying, 'At least, they are not doing hard drugs.' "

But Hoffman warned that marijuana abuse leads to fatigue and apathy.
It can also affect students' grades.

"For those who smoke marijuana, it's hard to get excited about
anything other than where the next joint is," Hoffman said.

Sorace said she has heard that many students are angry about the
search, while others are glad. She said she hopes continued
administrative efforts to teach students about drugs and further help
from the state police can wipe out drugs at Elizabethtown High and
deter students from taking drugs outside of school as well.

"We want to give them one more reason to say no," she
said.