IN THE FIGHT FOR OUR KIDS, SOME ADULTS ARE SLOW LEARNERS

The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that it exists. In Long
Beach, many parents and community leaders and law enforcement officers have
recognized and have begun to tackle the problem of illegal drug and alcohol
abuse by the city's youth. Lax attitudes are changing as more and more
adults learn that their permissiveness has allowed the problem to become
more serious than in many other areas of South Mississippi.

Unfortunately, it appears that some members of the Long Beach Board of
Aldermen still don't "get it."

On Tuesday, the board voted 5-2 to allow two volunteers with prior
misdemeanor convictions to continue coaching youngsters in the city's
sports programs. One had been convicted of domestic violence, the other for
marijuana possession. Even after the city's Recreation Committee researched
the backgrounds of the two and recommended that the volunteer convicted of
drug possession not be allowed to continue, five aldermen overruled that
recommendation.

Certainly, people deserve a second chance, but when it comes to our
children, responsible adults must err on the side of caution. It would be
better to enforce a "zero tolerance" policy on prior convictions for
positions that involve working with children than to endanger a single
child... or to send a message to children that works against everything the
city's concerned parents and leaders are trying to do.