D.A.R.E HELPS CHILDREN MAKE SMART CHOICES

Despite being the sole D.A.R.E. officer in booming Comal County,
James Moorerefuses to miss a beat - or admit to being overwhelmed.

"I'm able to handle it right now," said Moore, a sheriff's deputy who
taughtthe national drug resistance program to a whopping 1,200
fifth-gradestudents last year.

Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., began in Los Angeles in
1983as a federally funded initiative to reduce drug use and crime.
According toD.A.R.E. literature, the program's curriculum, which
faced particularscrutiny in the mid-90s, is updated regularly to
incorporate the latestscientific data and cultural trends.

Denise Kern, principal at Startzville Elementary, said the 10-week
programhas improved noticeably over time.

"I think it's gotten a lot more focused," Kern said. "The officers
havereally become good teachers, which is kind of a challenge because
it's notnecessarily what they get trained to do.

"The proverbial "just say no" approach isn't effective on its own, Kern said.

"It's like when you discipline a child and say 'don't do that. Don't
dothat,' then don't give them a clue what to do," she said, adding
thatStartzville students often grow visibly excited as "D.A.R.E. day"
approacheseach week.

The program targets fifth-graders because "they're at the age where
theywant to be kids, but at the same time they want to start growing
up, startdoing things on their own without parental supervision,"
Moore said. "This is where peer pressure kicks in.

"The rewards of being a role model and confidante have been staggering, hesaid.

"I've had kids open up to me, had kids ask questions I never thought
kidswould've asked," said Moore, a father of three whose interest in
the programharks back to an upbringing in small-town Indiana, where
he served as acoach for his local boys' club.

"It's amazing what some of the kids come upand talk to me about. And
listen, that's satisfaction like you wouldn'tbelieve.

"Moore hopes a second officer will be on hand before August, when
redrawnattendance zones will add another five elementary campuses to
Comal County's list.

"We at the sheriff's office are planning to get another person
trained as aD.A.R.E. Officer, because the next school year is when
they'll redraw theboundaries and start shuffling the kids around," Moore said.

Plus he'd like to add Goodwin Frazier and Freiheit elementaries to
the list,he said, though both are within city limits and outside his
regular coveragearea. Originally covered by the New Braunfels Police
Department, the twocampuses and several in NBISD dropped D.A.R.E. in
2003, when NBPD was forcedto pull out for lack of funding.

NBPD participates in various youth outreach programs; D.A.R.E. or a
similarcurriculum may be implemented again by the department, said
Police Chief RonEverett, who called it "a noteworthy program."

Moore said he values the opportunity to cast law enforcement in a warmlight.

"It humanizes us," he said. "We don't all walk around like RoboCop,
wantingto arrest people all the time," he said.