DRUG PROGRAM COULD BE MOST MEMORABLE CLASS

There are times in our lives that we remember because they were important.
For instance, I don't recall much of high school or my first two years in
college, even though I'm only 24. But vividly, I remember 1988, the year I
was in fifth grade.

I remember writing 30 spelling definitions and sentences every Monday
night. I remember crying because my hand hurt from the writing, but smiling
when I made all perfect scores on my tests.

I remember flute-o-phone classes with the high school band teacher. I
remember a poster contest I didn't win. I remember that my teacher had much
less gray hair than my mother even though she was older. I figured that one
out later.

But mostly I remember the police officer who came to my classroom every
week to talk to my classmates and me about not using drugs.

His name was Officer Fryman and he was, quite possibly, the tallest man I
had ever seen. He smiled constantly; much more than my 10-year-old mind
thought a police officer should smile.

Officer Fryman was one of a two-man team of Drug Abuse Resistance Education
officers who taught the children of my hometown in Harrison County about
the consequences of the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Although he is retired, Officer Fryman couldn't teach DARE now if he wanted
to. My county, like many other counties in the state of Kentucky, has done
away with the DARE program in its schools.

During the DARE program's prime in Kentucky, 109 counties offered it.
Today, 51 counties offer it to their students. Why the decline?

A few years after its beginning, the DARE program was criticized for not
working. Soon after, the program lost some state and federal funding
because of changes in government policies.

Former director of the program in Kentucky, Lt. Kevin Payne said that
through the years the DARE program has been relegated to a community
service, one many departments simply cannot offer.

Police departments all over the state are understaffed and cannot afford to
take officers off duty and put them into the classroom, Payne said.

Critics of the program say it doesn't work because kids still use drugs.

However, the DARE program's survival is important for reasons besides the
education of resisting drug abuse.

It creates important personal connections between young people and figures
of authority. It also fosters respect for and acts as an introduction to
law and law officers.

Most important, the DARE program gives children knowledge about making good
choices in their lives. This is knowledge many children may never get at home.

And if there is not a revival of the DARE program in this state, they may
not get such knowledge in school either.