INMATES SPEAK TO S.A.D.D. GROUP AT BELGREEN

BELGREEN-Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club members at
Belgreen High School invited two guest speakers to their SADD meeting on
Friday, September 20 at the school. The two guests had a special escort:
Officer Shannon Oliver of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.

The reason for the escort is that the two men, David, 27, and Billy, 31,
are currently inmates at the Franklin County Jail, in Russellville. Both
have been jailed on drug and alcohol related charges.

Their message to the young people was, "Stay away from drugs and don't
abuse alcohol, your decisions do have consequences."

"My bad decisions have cost me a lot, my house, my car and my relationship
with my family," said Billy. His sentence won't be finished until February
2004.

David has already spent 10 years in Alabama's prison system on drug and
drug related charges. Currently he's sentenced to 5 years in the Franklin
County Jail.

"All my problems have been drug and alcohol related," said David. "I didn't
care who I hurt, all I cared about was getting high.

"I just couldn't break the chain reaction of my 'stinking thinking.'"

Both men have been free from drugs for about one year, but confess that
they must rely on a higher power to get them though each day. "I pray the
'Prayer of Serenity' everyday," said David.

Both men explained to the students how one marijuana joint eventually lead
to their cocaine habits and being incarcerated.

"I'm glad I got to talk to you today," David said in conclusion. "Just
remember if your friends try to pressure you into using drugs, they aren't
really your friends. Using drugs hurts everyone, it hurts bad."

Franklin County SADD clubs are always seeking to identify the most
effective ways to stop our young people from engaging in harmful activities
such as drug and alcohol use.

"SADD's mission is to provide students with the best prevention and
intervention possible to deal with the issues of underage drinking, drunk
driving, drug abuse and other destructive decisions," Belgreen High School
SADD sponsor Cindy Fleming said.

"We want to thank the Franklin County Sheriff's Department for their
cooperation in helping demonstrate to our students that illegal drug use
and underage drinking will not be tolerated in Franklin County."