Pubdate: Sun, 11 Nov 2007
Source: Meridian Star, The (MS)
Copyright: 2007 Meridian Star
Contact: http://www.meridianstar.com/letters/local_story_039175519.html
Website: http://www.meridianstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1698
Author: Brian Livingston, staff Writer

DARE TO SAY NO!

Almost 100 Students Graduate Friday From Drug Program

The chances a good many students at Southeast  Lauderdale Middle
School will get into trouble later in  life by taking drugs or
drinking alcohol got much lower  Friday as they graduated from the
Drug Abuse Resistance  Education (DARE) program.

They are now armed with the single most important  weapon against drug
and alcohol abuse, knowledge.

During a graduation ceremony, almost 100 students  received their
diplomas. Along with each diploma that  was handed out, there also was
an expressed promise on  the part of the students they would not
partake in  drug, alcohol or tobacco use. They made a conscious
decision to keep their bodies and lives clean thereby  giving
themselves a clear advantage to fight  temptations later in life.

"You just won't find a better DARE program than the one  here,"
proclaimed SEL Middle School Principal Kenny  Neal.

Project DARE is a cooperative effort of the Lauderdale  County School
District and the LCSD to educate young  students on the dangers
awaiting them down the road if  they make the wrong decisions. Sheriff
Billy Sollie  said an added plus of the program is having deputies
such as McClure and Ricardo Clayton who have done so  much to make the
DARE programs successful in the past  and the present.

"When you have law enforcement officers who know first  hand through
their experiences how these addictions can  affect you, I think the
children listen a little bit  closer," said Sollie. "This program
gives the child the  tools to become responsible adults."

Even the parents of the graduates, such as Clint and  Barbara
Wilkerson, have seen over the course of several  weeks how the program
has helped their child.

"She has become more confident and has developed a  positive outlook
to do the right thing," Clint  Wilkerson said of his 11-year old
daughter Lindsey  Wilkerson who is a sixth grader. "She's more open
about  the subject of drug abuse to us and her friends. Her  eyes are
more open to the pitfalls associated with  abuse."

This class represented McClure's first to graduate  since his becoming
a DARE coordinator this year. His  pride in the students was very evident.

"They have done everything asked of them without so  much as a peep,"
McClure said. "They are very smart and  have challenged me at times. I
love that about them." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake