DRUG FREE ROGERS-LOWELL WORKS TO SOLVE DRUG PROBLEM

Surveys show that 80 percent of the high school students in Arkansas have
used drugs, crime in northwest Arkansas has increased by 10 percent in the
past 10 years and drug related crimes have doubled. The agency that wants
to help solve the drug problem is a Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce
Committee, Drug Free Rogers-Lowell.

The director of Drug Free Rogers-Lowell, Greg Hoggatt, told the coalition
of business people, social service workers, law enforcement personnel and
educators about a variety of programs at the luncheon.

The keynote speaker was Bill Hardin, Arkansas state drug director. He
presented even more statistics that he called "staggering."

Seventy percent of the inmates in Department of Correction facilities in
Arkansas have committed crimes related to drugs, he said. Thirteen percent
of the state budget goes to pay some of the costs of drug abuse and addiction.

Arkansas does a little better than other states. In Arkansas, 7 cents of
every state dollar spent on drug problems go to prevention programs.

By supporting Drug Free Rogers-Lowell, the community has made a commitment
that only a few cities in the state can match, Hardin said.

One of the earliest programs started by Drug Free Rogers, the Drug Free
Workplace Program, still continues, chairman Guy Cable told the gathering.
Since most drug offenders are employed, keeping drugs out of the workplace
is an effective deterrent to drug use. Companies that participate in the
program receive a reduction in their workman's compensation insurance.

A grant that funds many of the programs under the Drug Free Rogers-Lowell
umbrella was renewed earlier this year. One-hundred thousand dollars came
from the Drug Free Community Support Grant Program and the Office of
Juvenile Justice.

The Next Step will provide a curriculum that will be used in Rogers
seventh-grade classrooms, as well as a parent curriculum, according to Hoggatt.

The coalition also supports a number of community programs, Hoggatt said.
Because mentoring programs have been shown to be effective in preventing
drug use, the coalition is working with Big Brothers Big Sisters to provide
mentors in Grace Hill Elementary School. This year the program will expand
to Eastside Elementary School.

Drug Free Rogers-Lowell also helped build a ropes course at Northwest
Arkansas Community College. Facilitators for the ropes course are being
trained and the coalition will take 400 children from the Rogers School
District to use the course each year.

With Maloney and Associates, Drug Free Rogers-Lowell is developing a media
campaign that will target young people.

The Parent to Parent Network is a joint project of Drug Free Rogers-Lowell
and the city PTA/PTO. Several schools in the district have already begun to
form parent networks to encourage communications within each family, as
well as between parents.

The coalition also helped support the Genesis program at the Rogers Police
Department last summer. The Genesis program gave 30 young people the chance
to attend a day camp program run by police officers.

A technology program for children in grades 6-8 also receives support from
Drug Free Rogers-Lowell. The R3 Center had 82 participants in a technology
day camp last summer and is now beginning a weekend project. Next summer
the program will be expanded to serve more at risk young people, organizer
Mickey Richardson said.