Pubdate: Fri, 23 Mar 2007
Source: Sparta Independent, The (NJ)
Copyright: 2007 Straus Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.strausnews.com/sparta_independent/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4455
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

SURPRISE! DRUG DOGS SWEEP SPARTA HIGH SCHOOL'S CAMPUS

Sparta -- Students were surprised Tuesday morning when teams of law 
enforcement officers from the Sussex County Canine Division, Sussex County 
Sheriff's Office, and Sparta Police showed up at Sparta High School and 
began a thorough search of the building and grounds.

At approximately 7:45 a.m., Principal Richard Lio ordered a full lock-down 
of the school. Six classrooms were randomly selected and students were sent 
to wait in the auditorium and leave all belongings in their rooms. The 
classrooms were then searched by one drug dog while another swept the 
school parking lots, as well as all lockers in the building.

No drugs were found in the building or on the premises and Lio said he was 
very pleased with the procedure. He said, "From a security perspective, the 
lock-down was flawless. The staff performed as trained and the students 
responded cooperatively and calmly." The school was locked down for a total 
of 40 minutes.

The search was part of the school district's effort to crack down on 
potential involvement with drugs among Sparta's young people, through 
stiffer enforcement and continuing education. Lio said he hopes to send a 
strong message that drugs in the schools will not be tolerated.

A letter to parents went home with high school students last week in which 
he said, "Driving down drug use is a key priority for the Sparta School 
District. To this end, I have contacted the Sussex County's Prosecutor's 
office and the Sparta Police Department to ask if they would consider doing 
a 'suspicion-less' canine sweep of Sparta High School. They indicated that 
a search could be a possibility, but that the prosecutor's office, not the 
school, would determine the date, time, and duration of the sweep." Only 
Lio and Superintendent Dr. Thomas Morton had discussed contacting the 
prosecutor's office and only they were informed that the sweep would be 
Tuesday morning.

Lio said, "Studies demonstrate that adolescence is a critical period for 
determining a person's risk for drug dependency. Young people who initiate 
drug use early in their teen years are at a high risk for dependency."

Morton said he's certain that whatever drug use may exist among Sparta High 
School students, it is certainly not to the degree of use found in the 
majority of high schools. "It's nowhere near," he said, "and frankly, it's 
probably much less than in most schools. But any drug use at all is 
unacceptable and we are committed to addressing any problem that may exist 
with every resource available to us, including the presence and 
intervention of law enforcement and continuing drug education through the 
curriculum."

Morton said he was very pleased with the response and assistance from the 
Prosecutor's office, the canine squad, and the Sparta Police. He said the 
district means business in this matter and that, "Another search could 
happen again, at any time in the future."
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