GEORGIA D.A.R.E. CONFERENCE OPENS IN ATHENS

Ira Edwards spent eight years teaching Drug Awareness Resistance Education
to fifth graders, so it seemed a natural fit that the Clarke County sheriff
would host more than 200 D.A.R.E. officers from across the state for their
annual conference. Despite the hits it has taken in budget cuts and the
skepticism of some, ''I don't know a single man more committed to the
D.A.R.E. program than he is,'' Clarke County Schools Superintendent Lewis
Holloway told Georgia's D.A.R.E. officers during opening ceremonies at the
Classic Center Tuesday. Holloway praised D.A.R.E. for providing positive
role models ''for a culture of children coming to us fatherless.''
Athens-Clarke Mayor Doc Eldridge also stressed the impact D.A.R.E. has in
public education. ''What we do in our public schools we will truly reap the
benefits of in the years to come,'' Eldridge said. ''And D.A.R.E. officers
are very much a part of it.'' From Albany to Wilkes County, from Sylvester
to Savannah, D.A.R.E. officers came to the Classic City for a week of
training on how to reach kids on the dangers of drugs and gangs.
Nationally, more than 26 million students go through the D.A.R.E. program,
which is taught in 80 percent of the country's schools. In recent years,
some have questioned the program's effectiveness and it has been axed from
some budgets. But don't tell Edwards and his fellow officers that D.A.R.E.
isn't working. ''We do realize we're not able to save all, but we are able
to save some,'' Edwards said to the applause of his colleagues. Part of the
kid-appeal of D.A.R.E. is the fancy wheels cops use in promoting the
program, and to that end, sporty cars and special paint jobs have been in
full force in downtown Athens. A D.A.R.E. car parade and auto show is
scheduled for 4:30 p.m today, starting at the Classic Center and heading
through downtown to Georgia Square Mall, where people will vote for the
best-looking D.A.R.E. car. Between 50 and 60 cars are expected in the
parade, with lights flashing and sirens blaring.