D.A.R.E WELCOMED BACK IN CITY SCHOOLS

The reinstatement of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program in
Steubenville's schools is a positive and highly valuable addition to
our grade schools.

The program was cut for lack of personnel a few years ago. The cut
deprived children in the most formative years of information that
could have the greatest effect on their early development - the
ability to recognize the threat that substance abuse will have on
their lives in years to come. The D.A.R.E. program targets children
during their most formative years, which also are their most
vulnerable years.

The D.A.R.E. program, over the years, has at times been the subject of
some question as to whether it is effective in keeping children off
drugs.

While the D.A.R.E. program may have its detractors, we echo its
supporters. As interim Police Chief William McCafferty said, if one
child is reached, then the program is worth the effort.

It was also wise for McCafferty to call on the expertise and
commitment of veteran Patrolman Tony Piergallini to dust off his
D.A.R.E. books and return to the classrooms to be the D.A.R.E. officer.

Piergallini was the first Drug Abuse Resistance Education program
officer in Jefferson County in the late 1980s, as the program made its
way from Los Angeles across the nation.

Piergallini began working as the first area D.A.R.E. officer in 1988.
He is one of only a few in Ohio who received his D.A.R.E. training
directly from the Los Angeles Police Department, which originated
D.A.R.E. in the mid-1980s under then-chief Darryl Gates.

His personality and his enthusiasm, along with his strong belief in
the value of the D.A.R.E. program qualifies Piergallini as a natural
to convey the D.A.R.E. philosophy to the hundreds of fifth-graders in
the city. The duties of the D.A.R.E. officer are to go into the
classroom and give students the opportunity to discuss issues
including dealing with peer pressure and health issues and crime
issues relating to tobacco, alcohol and drugs, as well as completing a
workbook. At the end of the program, the students receive a
certificate of completion of the D.A.R.E. course.

The students also know they have a friend in the police department,
forming a teacher-student bond with the D.A.R.E. officer that lasts
into adulthood. Piergallini can recount many stories of running into
his first "D.A.R.E. kids" who are now young adults.

The relationship that forms is as valuable to youngsters as the
message about substance abuse, as well as offering police a bit of
good public relations with future generations.

We commend McCafferty for recognizing the value of the D.A.R.E.
program and acting to restore it.