STUDENTS DARE TO SPEAK OUT

Contest Winners Wrote About Drug Dangers

Three Grade 6 students were congratulated yesterday for their
awareness of drug-abuse issues.

Katelyn Ayers, Kyla Young and Genevieve Bates all took part in the
DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program and wrote reports on
what they learned.

A total of 640 students from 18 area elementary schools completed the
10-week program. The best essays from each school, more than 80 in
total, were judged by Chuck Vanhuizen of Safety Net, an organization
focused on children's safety and a big supporter of DARE.

"(DARE) gives students powerful tools to help make the best decisions
in life," Vanhuizen said.

Ayers, from Marchmont Public School, won first prize for her essay
about two girls who discover drugs and drug paraphernalia during a
horseback ride, and how they appropriately handle the situation.

Ayers said she found the DARE program valuable.

"I learned a lot, and I think what I learned will help me make
decisions in the future," she said.

For first place, Ayers received a new laptop computer and
printer.

The second-place essay, written by Kyla Young of Rama Central Public
School, focused on the facts, statistics, dangers and effects of drugs
and alcohol.

She stressed the importance of programs like DARE for children.

"We're at the age where we have to make a lot of decisions, like
saying no to drugs and alcohol," Young said.

Third place went to Genevieve Bates from Uptergrove Public School for
her essay on the difficulty of making choices and the importance of
problem solving.