JOHNSTOWN POLICE PLAN TO RENEW CITY DARE SCHOOL EFFORT

JOHNSTOWN - The police chief said Tuesday the department will
reinstitute the DARE program in the elementary schools this fall,
despite a council decision not to apply for grant funds for two more
officers under federal Cops in Schools program.

"It's time that we got back into it and provided a real quality
program tailored to this community," Chief Greg Horning said.

The DARE program in the city's elementary schools has been run by the
Fulton County Sheriff's Department for several years. The decision to
have sheriff's deputies teach DARE curriculum occurred after an
incident in which a city officer allowed a teacher to wear his gun
belt during a class.

Relations between the district and the department have since improved
and Horning said that it makes sense for city officers to work in
city schools. "When you have an outside agency do it, they can't
spend the time necessary to really address the problems and deal with
the children," Horning said.

"We're hoping with community support and the support of the school
district we can have a positive impact and be an asset to the
community," Horning said. "We can tailor it to our schools and our
children and make it an excellent program."

The new DARE officer will be juvenile officer Rich Jones, who
recently completed the DARE, or Drug Abuse Resistance Education,
training program.

Jones did extremely well, as he earned the top two individual awards
given to graduates of the class, Horning said. Jones was named the
most outstanding candidate and was also recognized for having the
highest academic average in the class. A third award was presented to
the best team.

"I think he'll do a fine job," Horning said.