Pubdate: Wed, 26 Oct 2005
Source: Asbury Park Press (NJ)
Copyright: 2005 Asbury Park Press
Contact:  http://www.app.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/26
Author: A. Scott Ferguson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Red+Ribbon

Red Ribbon Week: Delivers Anti-Drug Message to Little Silver School

Commemorates: Life, Death of DEA Agent Killed by Drug Dealers

PUPILS LEARN DRUGS' DANGERS BY HEARING TALE OF DEA AGENT

LITTLE SILVER -- With a son working for the Drug Enforcement
Administration, Carol Gill knows about the dangers that drugs pose to
students, especially the seventh-graders she teaches at Markham Place
Middle School.

"I wanted to do something for the kids and to get them involved,"
Gill, a science teacher, said Tuesday. "We wanted to do something that
keeps kids away from drugs and alcohol."

With help from the borough police department, Gill was able to set up
the school's first-ever Red Ribbon Week, an anti-drug campaign and
prevention program that the DEA started in 1988.

In addition to the anti-drug message, the Red Ribbon Week campaign
also remembers DEA Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, who was
killed by Mexican drug traffickers in 1985.

"Special Agent Camarena's life and death is an example that inspires
us all to believe that one person does make a difference," said
Michael Pasterchick, the special agent in charge of the DEA's New
Jersey Division. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Camarena's
death.

For the 85 seventh-graders who participated in Tuesday's event at the
school, Gill and Little Silver Police Sgt. Martin Scherzinger, the
department's Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer, wanted not only
to talk about the dangers of drug use, but to give the youngsters a
hands-on experience.

"We wanted to reinforce with the kids the dangers when you use drugs,"
Scherzinger said.

To help out, the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office loaned out Falko,
one of the department's police dogs, and his handler for a
demonstration. Students also got a chance to see members of the New
Jersey National Guard Counterdrug Task Force.

DEA Special Agent Nicholas F. Calleo talked to different groups of
students about the life and death of Camarena, as well as the type of
illegal drug dealing that the agency investigates.

There were also some examples of the firearms, bullet-proof vests and
other equipment that police and the DEA use when investigating drug
dealing.

"This is the first time we've had something like this, and I hope it
develops a sense of respect for law enforcement and the job that they
do," said Diana Trillo, a school counselor and the Substance Abuse
Coordinator for Little Silver. "The kids really like the hands-on
activities. I think it helps open their eyes." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake