D.A.R.E. TO CLOSE DOOR ON DRUGS

3DD Guitarist Speaks To O.S. Kids

OCEAN SPRINGS - Some special guests visited N.E. Taconi Elementary School
students Thursday as part of a presentation for the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) program.

Chris Henderson, guitarist for 3 Doors Down, the popular rock 'n' roll band
from Escatawpa that had a hit with "Kryptonite," and Little Miss
Mississippi Junior Miss Kayla Yarborough spoke to the fifth-grade students,
sending a positive message about the benefits of avoiding drugs. Both said
setting goals is an important part of staying drug-free.

"Always follow what you want to do," Yarborough said. "Find yourself a
hobby. If you're bored you're going to try things that might not be good."

Henderson said drugs could have blocked his path to success.

"When I was in fifth grade I wanted to be in a band. I never lost sight of
that goal and never let drugs get in the way," Henderson said. "The first
time I was offered drugs I was about the age of these children here. When
someone offered me drugs I ran home and got my guitar."

Henderson said it would be impossible for him to keep the schedule that is
demanded of him if he were on drugs.

"I wouldn't be standing where I am now with drugs," he said. "We're a
hard-working band. We've been around the world three times in the last year."

Yarborough, a ninth-grade student at Ocean Springs High School, became
involved in D.A.R.E. while attending Taconi Elementary.

She said she has witnessed the effects drugs have had on some of her
classmates.

After answering questions from students, Henderson and Yarborough posed for
group photographs with each class. Excited students clamored for autographs
as Henderson tried to leave the classrooms.

Officer Mark Spicer, a full-time resource officer for Taconi Elementary,
said D.A.R.E. begins with fifth- and sixth-grade students, because it is at
that time when many students become exposed to drugs.