CHALONER STUDENTS GET ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE

ROANOKE RAPIDS - Hundreds of children packed into the gymnasium, police
officers were present and bags full of drugs were laid on a table at
Chaloner Middle School Wednesday morning.

It was not a drug bust, but an anti-drug rally held by the school. Police
took a more direct approach to informing students on the war on drugs.

"Today concludes our Red Ribbon Week," said officer Jamal Bryant with the
Roanoke Rapids Police Department and Chaloner's resource officer. "What
we're doing is, we've invited guest speakers to come regarding the war on
drugs."

Detective Tommy Hathaway of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department, narcotics
agents detective Scott Richardson and Lt. Eddie Buffaloe from the Halifax
County Sheriff's Office and counselor Sharon Pair from Riverstone Counseling
were the guest speakers who spoke to the children on Wednesday.

"Basically we're just trying to do some drug education and awareness to make
this a more popular event to educate kids on the illegal use of controlled
substances," Buffaloe explained.

Red Ribbon Week is in memory of former Drug Enforcement Administration Agent
Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who grew up in a dirt-floored house with hopes and
dreams of making a difference.

The DEA sent Camarena to work undercover in Mexico investigating a major
drug cartel believed to include officers in the Mexican army, police and
government. On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to
meet his wife for lunch. He never made it to his wife. Five men surrounded
Camarena and shoved him in a car.

One month later, Camarena's body was found in a shallow grave. He had been
tortured to death.

In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends
and neighbors began to wear red badges.

The National Family Partnership organized the first Red Ribbon Campaign in
1988. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children.
In 1997, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse began committing
resources to ensure the continuation of the Red Ribbon Campaign.

Various law enforcement agencies throughout the nation, including Roanoke
Rapids Police Department and the Halifax County Sheriff's Department, have
carried on the tradition.

At Wednesday's program, the different individuals took different approaches
to teach the children how to abstain from drugs. Pair showed a short video
on how to resist peer pressure and build self-esteem; Richardson and
Buffaloe brought in a box full of marijuana and other paraphernalia; and
Hathaway, using several students from the audience, explained how he sets up
a drug deal.

Pair explained the benefit of the program. "I think any type of community
effort, in terms of education and prevention and talking with the students
one-on-one is important in helping them get a total comprehensive idea of
some of the choices they have out here."

Bryant talked about the difference between the school's current anti-drug
program and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE), which the school no
longer uses. "From what I understand, the DARE programs have been done away
with. The DARE program is a one-hour class that they do during schooltime.
Now, a lot of schools have implemented a program with having school resource
officers in the school, and they're there (in schools) all day long. From
what they've said and looking at the statistics, the school resource officer
is making more of an impact on the students than the DARE officer, because
the DARE officer is only there for one class."