DOW SUPPORTS DARE

Fort Saskatchewan's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program will continue
for at least two more years thanks to a major donation by Dow Chemical
Canada last week.

The $20,000 donation will pay the costs of the program operated by the
local RCMP until at least 2004.

"Thanks to financial support from Dow, students continue to receive the
most comprehensive drug awareness program in Canada. The program gives them
the tools they need to resist the temptation of drugs," said Constable
Helen Meinzinger, community policing coordinator for Fort Saskatchewan
RCMP. The program is delivered to all Grade 6, Grade 7 and Grade 10
students in Fort Saskatchewan by RCMP members. It is designed to help
students recognize and resist both subtle and direct pressures that
influence them to take drugs. It also promotes self-esteem, conflict
resolution, communication and other skills.

The program was first introduced to Fort elementary students in 1996, and
the junior high program was launched in 1998. Fort Junior High was one of
the first junior high schools in Canada to receive the new program.

Senior high students received the program starting in 2000. To date, Fort
Saskatchewan is the only community to support that program.

By 2001, every school in Fort Saskatchewan participated in the DARE program.