Source: Des Moines Register (IA) Contact: (515) 286-2511 Website: http://www.dmregister.com/ Pubdate: Fri, 04 Sep 98 Author: Tom Alex, Register Staff Writer CONFERENCE WILL OFFER SAFETY IDEAS Deputy U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., the No. 2 person in the U.S. Department of Justice, will be among this year's speakers at the Safer Communities Brighter Futures Conference in Des Moines. President Clinton nominated Holder in 1993 to become the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. In that post, Holder created a new domestic violence unit and developed "Operation Cease-fire," a program designed to reduce violent crime. He moved to his current post in July 1997. Dale Woolery, acting coordinator of the Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse, said the Sept. 16-17 conference is an opportunity for local leaders across the state to share promising approaches to combatting drugs and crime. Conference workshop topics will include: school violence prevention, school-police relations, creative crime prevention, creating a drug-free workplace, and current and emerging street drug information. Other speakers include James E. Copple, executive deputy director for the National Crime Prevention Council, and Vaughn Ownbey, who manages the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's State-City Alliance Program for the southern United States. Organizers are hoping to attract community members, educators, elected officials, judges, juvenile justice workers, law enforcement workers, neighborhood association members, school officials, spiritual leaders and substance abuse professionals and volunteers. Among the many sponsors are the Governor's Alliance on Substance Abuse, the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa Department of Human Rights and the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning. To Attend: Iowans are invited to attend the day-and-a-half conference Sept. 16-17 at the Airport Holiday Inn, 6111 Fleur Drive. Pre-registration fees are $65 per person. For information call Training Resources at (319) 351-0114. The Des Moines Register - --- Checked-by: Don Beck