LUI ON THE BALL AT DRUG FORUM

Former B.C. Lions punter Lui Passaglia, who kicked the local CFL team to
its last Grey Cup victory in 2000 before retiring as a player, will be
giving a "motivational" keynote speech at tomorrow night's Drugs in Delta
forum at Burnsview junior secondary school in North Delta.

Passaglia, now director of community relations for the franchise, was
invited to speak on drugs and alcohol from a professional athlete's
perspective by Douglas College sports institute instructor and event
mediator Chris Johnson.

"A few of us were speaking to parents on different issues and then I was
asked if I wanted to talk to parents and kids," said Passaglia Monday.
"I'll be talking in terms of individuals having a positive attitude and
learning from mistakes. We're all in this together, so let's see what we
can do to help each other."

Though Passaglia has had no brush with drugs himself, he did lose a friend
to a drunk-driving accident while he was at college, so is acutely aware of
how both informed and foolish decisions can have huge ramifications.

Firth Bateman is a parent and a member of the Parent Advisory Committee at
Burnsview. Last spring he was looking into the social climate in the
schools, with the help of staff members at the school, and the research
culminated in his organizing the forum. He said his main desire was to
introduce a "broader scope" to the meeting and make it as "unbiased" as
possible.

Some of the questions to be used to frame discussion are; "Is there a drug
problem in Delta?" and "Whose problem is it and what's being done about it?"

"The main thing is we're not pointing fingers at kids and we're not
pointing fingers at the issue of drugs," he said. "All the people speaking
are well-informed and aren't afraid to express an opinion and debate, but
they don't come from the same background."

Aside from Passaglia, the audience will also hear from former North Delta
students Jeff Francis and Candace Murray, a collegiate baseball player and
national women's fastball player, respectively.

Neil Boyd and Bruce Alexander, from the criminology and psychology
departments of Simon Fraser University, will offer their perspectives from
an academic background, while Delta police Chief Jim Cessford speaks from a
law and order standpoint.

Overall, said Bateman, the emphasis will be on the positive and not on "bad
stuff."

"We want to talk about how kids can become successful, have fun and lead
inquiring lives," he said.

Passaglia agrees with that assessment.

"These are everyday issues for kids out there, basically everybody
actually," he said. "If we can shed some light on it and somebody can take
something positive out of these discussions, we've accomplished something
good."

The forum runs from 7 to 10:30 p.m. and costs $5 per family. Revenue from
the event is used strictly to cover costs and families can register up to
tomorrow night. Call 604-594-0491.