DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

Those words have a special significance for Ray Elsley, owner of Park Motor
Sales in Wasaga Beach.

Last Friday morning, Elsley presented the Huronia West detachment of the
Ontario Provincial Police with a nearly new Ford Explorer. The vehicle will
be used by officers teaching local schoolkids how to "say no" to drugs and
violence.

"We were in the process of trying to obtain a vehicle for the D.A.R.E.
(Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program," said Constable Stew Davidson of
the Huronia West OPP detachment, who teaches the 17-week course in area
schools.

"Our friend down the road (Elsley) got wind of it, and he was able to
supply a travelling billboard for D.A.R.E."

The Explorer will be used exclusively for D.A.R.E., and will visit special
community events in the Wasaga Beach region to help publicize the program.

"We are absolutely overjoyed over the donation," Davidson stated. "It's
rare when you see such responsible corporate support. I can't think of
anything better we can do to steer kids away from drugs and violence, and
this van will help us do it."

For his part, Elsley is pleased to be making a contribution to the
community he's set up shop in.

"It's sort of two-fold," he said of the donation. "My former partner,
Walter Dixon, had been a big supporter of the police, and I had worked for
him for seven years, then moved on.

"I thought opening a car dealership (in Wasaga Beach) was a good idea,"
Elsley said. "But Wasaga Beach, for a business person, is a tough place to
open up and sell big-ticket items. I've invested a lot in the dealership
and we're here for the long-term - I just wanted to validate our dealership."

The timing of the gift was very appropriate, too.

"June 1 is our anniversary," he added. "The Explorer is our gift to the
town. I think the D.A.R.E. program is great - we all know people who got
messed up (with drugs.)"

Davidson said the vehicle "is an investment not only in kids' futures, but
Wasaga Beach. The Explorer will see and turn out 1,000 D.A.R.E. graduates a
year. Literally, hundreds of thousands of people will see the van at
special events.

"The program is truly a partnership of the community, police and schools,"
he added. "Kids will see it (the Explorer), parents will see it - it's a
huge assistance and it's the pride of the streets now."