Pubdate: Fri, 10 Mar 2006
Source: The Daily News (Longview, WA)
Copyright: 2006 The Daily News
Contact:   http://www.tdn.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3922
Author: Hope Anderson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?237 (Drug Dogs)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?225 (Students - United States)

DRUG DOGS DON'T FAZE STUDENTS

In the last few months, contraband-detecting dogs have  sniffed out 
empty alcohol containers, drug  paraphernalia and a used bottle 
rocket at Longview  campuses, school officials announced this week.

The visits in January and February were the second and  third times 
the dogs have searched Longview's middle  and high schools for drugs, 
alcohol and firearms under  a new contraband-detection program this 
school year.

So far, the dogs haven't uncovered any substantial  finds, and 
students say there hasn't been much fuss.

"No one's freaking out. You don't see anybody running  to their 
locker to see if it's gone," said R.A. Long  High School senior Chandler Smith.

Last year, the school board approved the program after  years of 
hand-wringing over constitutional issues. Dogs  may search in empty 
classrooms, hallways, school  grounds and district-owned parking 
lots. State law  prohibits them from searching people.

In mid-January, the dogs came a two-day visit, which  yielded seven 
"finds": a beer bottle and five smoking  bongs made from soda cans 
found on school grounds; and  a plastic bottle with alcohol residue 
discovered in a  restroom trash can.

During a two-day visit in mid-February, the dogs  uncovered two 
bottles containing alcohol residue, two  beer cans and an expended 
bottle rocket outside the  schools. "That was the pattern, empty 
bottles, empty  containers that were being found," said Mark Rosin, 
the  district's deputy superintendent.

The finds, though, weren't connected to any students,  Rosin said.

In November, the dogs made their first visit to the  campuses and 
found only a prescription medication in a  student's locker. Although 
the program allows for dogs  to search in school-owned parking lots, 
the district  has held off so far, Rosin said.

The program will cost an estimated $25,000 this school  year under a 
contract with Contraband Detection Canine  Services, a Renton-based 
company. The district recently  announced it has received an $1,800 
grant from the city  of Longview to help with the canine program.

Students at the district's two high schools say the  visits are 
typically are low-key.

Senior Annie Forman, R.A. Long's ASB president, said  she doesn't 
support having drug dogs on campus, but she  said the visits do 
usually catch students off-guard.

"It's a big deal the day they come and a couple days  after that, but 
then you know how high school is, they  just forget about it," said Forman, 17.

She doubts whether the dogs are deterring students from  bringing 
banned items. "The people that do bring it to  school are more 
intelligent than to have it in their  lockers, although I don't know 
if I should say  'intelligent,' " she said. "They're not going to be 
flaunting it around."

BreAnna Wells, the Mark Morris High School ASB  president, said she 
thinks the contraband program is  needed because "in high school, 
that's a growing thing  that is going on."

Although Wells, a 17-year-old senior, said most  students won't carry 
contraband to school, "there's  that select few that would risk it. 
Then there are a  lot that do it outside of school."

For R.A. Long senior Amy Higginson, 17, the program's  expense is a 
little steep, although she said it may be  justifiable if the results 
were "amazing."

"I don't think drug dogs are a necessity, but I guess  anything can help."
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