DARE kids graduate

"It's important to remember the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program is
just a launching pad," said Const. Scott Hilderley of the West Shore RCMP
detachment. "The DARE program is a triangle made up of the students, family
and police. If you remove one side, the whole triangle collapses."

Hilderley's comments came after a recent graduation of Grade 6 students at
Ruth King elementary school from the DARE program. It was the fourth such
group Hilderley has graduated from the school.

He read a poem about a girl who decided not to drink at a party, only to be
killed by a drunk driver on the way home.

"The response to the story was pretty emotional,"said Hilderley, who
described the students' response to the DARE program as just great. Ruth
King was the first local school, along with View Royal elementary, to take
part in the initiative.

"I learned about the consequences you may have if you take drugs," Grade 6
student Karen wrote in her essay. "These consequences are brain damage,
slow reflexes, and you can even die."

"It would be hard to get a job if I had no clue of what I was doing," wrote
Ryan, another program graduate.

"In my opinion, people do drugs because they want to be cool, but I ask
you, what is cool?" Jessica said in her report. "I play badminton and I am
on the soccer team. In soccer all you do is run forever. Nobody who does
drugs is doing sports. So many have given up their future to do such a
silly stupid thing."