DARE PROGRAM MAKING A COMEBACK

NORTHBOROUGH -- The relationship between police officers and local
students is one of the most important in town, says Police Chief Mark
Leahy.

That's why reviving the DARE program was on the top of Leahy's list
when he took office last April.

With the help of local donations, the department recently finished its
first program at the Zeh Elementary School, and it is already planning
for the spring.

"We've been fueling the whole thing on donations since the state did
away with the DARE grants," Leahy said.

Lack of state funding, along with tight finances for cities and towns,
forced many departments to cut their Drug Abuse Resistance Education.
Northborough was without the program for one year.

After scaling back its program for the last few years, the neighboring
Marlborough Police Department eliminated its program last year.

"When the state grants went away, so did the DARE program," Leahy
said. "I came up with the idea that I will find the money someplace."

A combination of money from the department's budget and more than
$3,000 in donations brought the program back. The department had
received $7,000 from the state.

DARE teaches students how to recognize and resist the pressures that
might influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana
and other drugs.

In Northborough, students are introduced to the program in the fifth
grade.

"I was confident there would be benevolent people out there who would
see the worth in this," Leahy said. "That's how we kept afloat. There
have been a lot of benevolent people and groups."

The department has received contributions from $100 to $1,000 -- some
designated specifically for the DARE program and others donated for
anything the department needed.

"One gentleman came in and said we were doing a great job and here is
a (donation)."

Leahy wrote a letter back to the man telling him the contribution went
to the DARE program.

The Northboro Junior Woman's Club gave Leahy $1,000 at its December
meeting after he spoke on the DARE program.

"We just really thought it was something to get going again," said
Laurie Middleton, club president. "It is a wonderful program."

She said many members have children who would benefit from the
program.

Ten percent of the club's annual craft fair is donated to various
departments and organizations every year.

Leahy said the state is cutting the DARE program from 17 to 10
weeks.

"That helped us a great deal to reduce personnel," he said. "We have
five DARE officers now who have been extremely generous with their
work schedules."

Although there has been debate on whether the DARE program is
effective, Leahy said, "I don't care. If you reach one student in the
class, it is a success."

"(The program) builds a relationship that pays off for the kids and
the cops for years to come," he said.

And for those fifth-graders who missed out on the program, Leahy said
they are not forgotten.

"I'm still trying to find a way to reach the group of kids that got
away," he said.