Pubdate: Thu, 09 Jun 2005
Source: Waukesha Freeman (WI)
Copyright: 2005 The Waukesha Freeman
Contact:  http://www.freemanol.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/770
Author: Dan Hanosh
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/dare.htm (D.A.R.E.)

DARE, LIAISON OFFICERS MORE THAN LINE ITEMS

Here we go again. I just don't understand, and sometimes I don't care. Let 
me explain. Budgets are tight all over this country and still our Waukesha 
agents and administrators fail to see what programs are necessary and what 
is fluff.

In a post-9-11 world, the school board discussed removing the police 
officer from our high schools. What can they be thinking? And now DARE is 
gone. My sons went through the program. Many of your sons and daughters 
did, too. No one knows how many were saved from drug use or related crimes, 
but the future will give us an idea. Too bad we need to find out the hard way.

Just a mere $20,000 a year and every Waukesha grade school student (of 
proper age) went through the program, unlike the Waukesha South High School 
pool or the computer referendum.

To our administrators it's just a line item that can be crossed off. But to 
me it always represented hope. It was funded by the city, the school board 
and donations. Both the school board and the city didn't think it was 
necessary. Well, maybe they'd rather be hiring more police officers and 
building prisons? Not here, right?

Southern Illinois didn't think so either. Now there's Vandalia, Centralia 
etc. Big business. Anyway, today meth labs are abundant there. Chemicals 
are stolen from the local farmers and (agricultural) businesses and dogs go 
missing all the time.

What does that have to do with anything? Each batch has to be tested. They 
don't test it on themselves. If the dog dies, it's a bad batch. 
Drug-sniffing dogs peruse the high school parking lots looking for cars 
that have residue from the illegal activities. You see many kids drive the 
family car to school. Let me fill in the pieces. The labs have moved to the 
bergs, the basement of the family house.

But if you don't care, I don't care, although I feel an "I-told-you-so 
moment" coming on and truthfully, this is one time I'd rather be wrong.

Dan Hanosh, Waukesha
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom