RED ALERT

Red Ribbon Week Stresses The Importance Of Just Saying 'No' To Drugs

BROWNSVILLE, Oct. 29 - Robert Anthony Lopez will never touch drugs.

Lopez made this decision after sitting through a 45-minute presentation by
two Cameron County Juvenile probation officers that scared Garza Elementary
School fifth grade students into staying clean.

"They told us to stay away from drugs and if we do (take drugs), we're
going to pay the consequences," Lopez, 10, said. "They made me feel scared.
"I want to tell my friends to stay away from drugs."

The presentation kicks off Red Ribbon week for students at Garza. The
Brownsville Independent School District recognizes this week as Red Ribbon
Week - an effort to encourage students to live a drug-free life.

Schools across the district are marking the Red Ribbon Week with guest
speakers, special themed days, and school-wide rallies.

With Halloween just days away, it's an appropriate time to share a scary
story with students. But this story is not one filled with gore and
grotesque pictures, nor is it filled with ghosts and goblins.

Alma Trujillo and Raquel Garces, juvenile probation officers, shared a
story that comes from the halls of the juvenile detention center.

There are several ways to get into the detention center or boot camp
including committing murder, stealing, doing drugs and getting into fights,
Trujillo said.

Trujillo explained to students that if they are picked up by either
Brownsville or BISD police, and after an investigation, they are
transported in handcuffs to the detention center. And it is no fun, she said.

"Your parents will not be with you," Trujillo said. "They give you a
uniform (to wear)."

The uniform includes underclothing that other people have worn, she said.

It was this information that perhaps scared the children most.

Lopez said, "That is going to scar me for life," he said.

"I want to behave and not do drugs," said 10-year-old Teresa Garcia, adding
that the scariest part of the presentation was "that everyone is seeing you
when you take a bath."

There is no privacy in the juvenile detention center, Trujillo said.

"You lost a lot of privileges," she said.

Your room consists of a concrete bed, a single toilet and a single sink.
You are only allowed the uniform to wear. You are able to speak to your
parents by phone twice a week for 15 minutes. You can see your parents for
up to 30-minutes three days a week.

There are no televisions or telephones in your room.

"You have no freedoms over there," Trujillo said.

Johnny de la Garza said the presentations were cool, but he has decided to
live a drug-free life.

"I will tell my friends to not do drugs and to not skip school," he said.
"If you do, you will go to juvenile detention center or boot camp."

Emilia Villarreal, a counselor at Garza, said the purpose of the weeklong
celebration is to help students recognize how drugs can harm them.

"This is a prevention program where kids can become aware of choices. We
are really emphasizing saying 'no' to drugs," she said.