Pubdate: Wed, 13 Apr 2005 Source: Braintree Forum (MA) Copyright: 2005 Braintree Forum Contact: http://www2.townonline.com/braintree/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3601 Author: Nicki Shaban BRING D.A.R.E. BACK My childhood friend, Sarah grew up in a sea coast town which is a suburb of Boston. An upper-middle class town with a good school system, movie theater, bowling allies, youth and church groups. Sarah belonged to the Rainbow Girls Religious Society, junior and high school track team and was an honor roll student. Our school system did not have a D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. Kids had to learn for themselves about drugs and alcohol. Some of us made the right choice but unfortunately my friend did not. Sarah started hanging out at the beach wall with the wrong crowd. First a few beers, then marijuana and eventually pills. She made it through high school and somehow pulled the grades to make it through nursing school. At my high school reunion, I was looking throughout the crowd to see if I could find my childhood friend. I had hoped that in college, she had realized her mistakes and had now made the right choice to say no to drugs. Another buddy of mine, greeted me with a hug and asked me had I heard what had happened to Sarah. What she told me brought tears to my eyes. Sarah had become a registered nurse and had been working in a hospital. She was caught stealing drugs from the hospital and had lost her nursing license. In her dark despair, she had committed suicide. She was 25 years old. Twenty years later, I am still crying as I write this letter and I fear that the same bad choices are being made everyday by Braintree youths. In June of 2003, Officer Bill Cleggett retired from the Braintree Police Department and the children of Braintree lost the best D.A.R.E. officer that this town has ever seen. My daughter was fortunate to be a part of the last graduating D.A.R.E. class in Braintree. To this day, she and all of her friends who listened attentively to Officer Cleggett's lessons and personal stories have continued to make the right choices. President George W. Bush has declared April 14 as National D.A.R.E. Day. Two years have now gone by without a D.A.R.E. program in Braintree. The selectmen and the Braintree Police Department have stated that, due to budget constraints, they are unable to fill this need. If you attended the recent Norfolk County Sheriff's lecture on heroin abuse, there is a need in this town for drug education. An important matter as this, should not be tied up in knots because of a union contract. If we can get help from other law officials, the police department should "welcome" them into our town and school system. Do not let another child take his or her own life because of drugs. Nicki Shaban - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom