FATHER HITS RIGHT CHORDS ON HORRORS OF DRUG USE

GAFFNEY -- A Cherokee County man is taking the fight against drugs into his
own hands -- with a musical twist.

David Perry will carry his anti-violence message to Gaffney Middle School
students during Red Ribbon Week this fall.

As the 39-year-old father flipped through channels one evening, a video by
the 1970s music group Boomtown Rats caught his attention. The video, "I
Don't Like Mondays," was inspired by Brenda Spencer, a California teenager
convicted of firing shots into an elementary school and killing a principal
and janitor in 1979.

Spencer told authorities she had been drinking and using drugs that day
instead of going to school. She

decided to get violent because, as she put it, she didn't like Mondays,
according to news reports of the incident.

Perry found words to the song on the Internet and asked three others,
Brandon Turner, Matt Hawkins and Joe Littell, to join him in spreading the
message to students.

It's important, Perry said, to target teenagers while they're young and
explain to them that drugs and alcohol can alter their personality to make
them do things they normally would not do.

"I have a daughter who will be at the high school next year," Perry said.
"She's a good girl, goes to church and everything, but from all the news
accounts I've read, Brenda Spencer was a good girl, too."

Spencer is serving two sentences of 25 years to life in prison.

According to the state Department of Education, drug offenses in South
Carolina schools numbered 950 in 2001-2002, an increase of nearly 5 percent
from the year before.

But Assistant Solicitor Abel Gray, who prosecutes criminal cases involving
Cherokee County juveniles, said the number of drug cases seems to be
decreasing, especially cases involving marijuana and crack. He noted,
however, offenses involving prescription medications appear to be rising.

Perry and his band, "Monday's Project," have received permission to perform
for one hour at Gaffney Middle School's Red Ribbon ceremonies, Principal
Herman Thompson said.

The band will perform several songs, including "I Don't Like Mondays."
Afterward, Perry will discuss the song with students in the hopes they will
avoid drugs and alcohol.

"This means a lot to me to get the message out there," Perry said. "I'm not
going to preach, but I'm doing it in a way that kids will listen."