Rolla Public School District Students Got a Week-Long Lesson on How to Just Say "No" During Nationwide Red Ribbon Week.

Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention program in the United States and was started in 1988 by the National Family Partnership to teach children about the harms of alcohol, drug and tobacco use. Though it is traditionally recognized the week of Oct. 23 through 31, Rolla Junior High School took time last week to teach its students about the dangers of substance abuse with a variety of activities that included a student-organized assembly on Wednesday.

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HIGH RIDGE -- Despite new laws limiting access to a key ingredient in methamphetamine, the drug remains a serious problem in Jefferson County, speakers at a forum on meth abuse said this week.

A large part of the problem is that methamphetamine is so extremely addictive, they said.

"I have never in my life met a social methamphetamine user -- never," said Mark Wiggins, manager of Comtrea's Athena Center, a residential treatment center at De Soto for drug and alcohol abusers.

Instead, Wiggins said, meth is so powerful that users can become addicted from the first time they try it. Then nothing else matters to them but using meth again, he said.

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Area Schools Participate in Red Ribbon Week

The telltale ornaments for Red Ribbon Week were donated by the Southeast Missouri Community Treatment Center, something the agency has done since the inception of the program in 1988.

Red Ribbon week commemorates the work of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent murdered in the line of duty. The week is devoted to encouraging young people to live a drug-free life.

Linda Fitzgerald is a spokeswoman for the community treatment center. She believes that prevention is an important message to take to young students. "When you're in the business that we are, of seeing people struggling to overcome addictions .. If you can get them in the beginning and keep them from becoming addicted, that is so much better for them," she said. "We try to show the students the worst case scenario, what could happen to them, if they become addicted to drugs or alcohol."

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Red Ribbon Week

SIKESTON -- Students throughout the Sikeston R-6 school district are learning to say yes to a drug-free life this week during the celebration of Red Ribbon Week.

"The purpose of Red Ribbon week is to bring awareness to students about saying no to drugs," said Heather Barnes, sixth grade communication arts teacher and Bulldog Volunteer Organization sponsor.

Red Ribbon Week originated as a tribute to Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" S. Camarena of the Drug Enforcement Administration. In 1985, he was killed by drug traffickers in Guadalajara, Mexico. Kiki's death enraged many Americans in his hometown of Calexico, Calif., and they began to wear red ribbons to commemorate his sacrifice. The anti-drug message spread quickly, and in 1988, the National Family Partnership took the Red Ribbon Celebration nationwide.

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A Statewide Survey Shows That Drug Use Often Begins Before High School

In January, the Columbia School Board will hear from the district's Substance Abuse Task Force on how to better combat drug and alcohol use in public schools.

Right now the task force is analyzing statistics on drug use and talking with students to determine what steps should be taken. On Thursday, Leslie Trogdon, director of school improvement for the Columbia Public School District, talked to the board about the 2006 Safe and Drug Free Survey. Conducted by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the survey looks at reported drug and alcohol use by ninth- through 12th-graders in public schools statewide.

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Editor, the Tribune:

I am confused by the controversy surrounding the smoking ban. Are the smokers actually saying that their right to be addicted to nicotine is more important than public health? Is it not bad enough that smokers subject their children to secondhand smoke? They want to infect the rest of us too? They say that smoking is their right, but I don't see anything in the Constitution protecting a person's right to inflict their addictions on others.

I do, however, see where a person's life is protected by the Constitution. Smoking kills people. It is not a right. Stop crying, smokers - you need the breath.

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Kansas City -- A woman who was honored a decade ago for an essay about avoiding drugs and alcohol has been ordered to spend the next decade in federal prison for distributing meth.

Susan M. Gardner, 24, of Independence, sold methamphetamine to undercover detectives four times and led police on a chase before she was arrested with another package of the drug stuffed in her pants.

In imposing the sentence of 10 years and one month in prison Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner said Gardner had the capacity to live a productive life. But, he said, there was a price she had to pay. "You were significantly involved with the distribution of drugs in this community," Fenner said.

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One of the most extensive anti-drug campaigns in Missouri last year was in Phelps County. This year's effort, beginning Oct. 13, is another major endeavor by the Phelps County Anti-drug Committee to raise drug awareness dangers, especially among the county student population grades six through twelve.

More than 4,858 T-shirts have been made available for students in those grades in Newburg, Rolla and St. James school districts for their first wear on Oct. 13. Over 500 anti-drug posters are being distributed in the school systems and a Web site, losesomething.com is up and running with information and resources to aid in the campaign. Newspaper, television, and radio releases are also a major part of this year's anti-drug work.

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Susan M. Gardner's youthful optimism was no match for the insidious grip of methamphetamine.

A decade after writing an award-winning essay about avoiding drugs and alcohol, the 24-year-old Independence woman was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years and one month in federal prison for distribution of the drug.

Her attorney and the judge who sentenced her agreed that life for Gardner was "out of control" last fall when she sold methamphetamine to undercover detectives four times and led police on a chase before she was arrested with another package of the drug stuffed in her pants.

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A woman who was honored a decade ago for an essay about avoiding drugs and alcohol has been ordered to spend the next decade in federal prison for distributing meth.

Susan M. Gardner, 24, of Independence, sold methamphetamine to undercover detectives four times and led police on a chase before she was arrested with another package of the drug stuffed in her pants.

In imposing the sentence of 10 years and one month in prison on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner said Gardner had the capacity to live a productive life.

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Have you heard the news? There is now a low-cost drug proven to ease a cancer patient's suffering. Not only does this drug reduce the physical and psychological pain of cancer, but, more importantly, it restores a chemotherapy patient's appetite.

The drug, of course, is marijuana.

Unfortunately, in a 6-3 ruling last year, the U.S. Supreme Court turned thumbs down on the drug, overturning laws in 11 states which allowed doctors to prescribe the medication to their cancer patients.

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When considering the issue of drug use in public schools, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction.

"What is the perception, and what is the reality?" said Lynn Barnett, assistant superintendent for student support services and head of the Columbia Public School District's substance abuse task force.

To help answer that question, Barnett and Karla DeSpain, school board president, talked with students at Hickman High School on Wednesday morning. DeSpain contacted George Frissell, chairman of Hickman's language arts department, after reading an article in the Missourian about a debate his students had on drug testing in schools. The students had discussed the decision by the Francis Howell School District in suburban St. Louis to institute mandatory drug testing for students involved in athletics and extracurricular activities.

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In a roomful of valuable books at the Rock Bridge Media Center, the information offered to parents about drug and alcohol abuse was still considered priceless.

The school-sponsored forum "Be in the Know" educated parents about drug and alcohol use in high schools on Wednesday. Columbia police Officer Wendy Stokes informed parents that one of the more recent, unexpected things to watch for are prescription drugs.

"Start watching your bottles," she said. "The big thing right now is Robitussin gel caps."

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Jefferson County is part of the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program and that should come as bad news for makers of methamphetamine and dealers.

The designation came Monday from John Walters, the director of National Drug Control Policy and President Bush's "drug czar."

Franklin, Boone and Cole counties were also designated as part of the program.

The HIDTA program will bring an additional $500,000 in federal funds to help coordinate federal, state and local law enforcement activities against drug trafficking throughout the Midwest HIDTA. Jefferson County will receive $125,000 of the $500,000.

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Parents can now take the lead in drug detection without leaving the comfort of their homes or embarrassing their children.

The Carthage R-9 School District has received about $5,000 in vouchers for drug-testing kits. Parents can request and pick up the free vouchers through Assistant Superintendent Mark Baker's office by e-mail, phone, letter or drop-by visit.

Parents can then contact the TestMyTeen.com organization and request a free drug testing kit -- paying only the shipping and handling -- to be mailed to an address of the parents' choosing.

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Because of the threat of methamphetamine and other drugs in Jefferson County, the federal government labeled the county part of the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area this week, and with that label comes small annual doses of federal support to fight drug trafficking.

The county will receive $125,000 of the $500,000 divided among four Missouri counties that received the designation this week.

Sgt. Gary Higginbotham, commander of the Jefferson County drug task force, said one improvement might be to hire an analyst to find links among traffickers who move drugs across the country and stop in Jefferson County.

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An account called the "William Ferrell DARE and Crime Prevention Fund" was private money that he could use as he pleased, former Scott County Sheriff Bill Ferrell said Thursday.

Responding to a state audit that questioned how $18,200 from the fund was used from Jan. 1, 2004, to Feb. 18, 2005, Ferrell said Scott County had no claim on the money. Auditors have called for further investigation into the use of the fund and other issues.

Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd said Thursday that "the case is under investigation" and declined to answer further questions. Presiding Commissioner Martin Priggel said he and fellow commissioners have urged Boyd to make a thorough review of issues raised in the audit.

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Regarding Amanda St. Amand's column "Drug court gives second chance to young addict" (Sept. 28): St. Clair County's drug court is a step in the right direction, but an arrest should not be a prerequisite for drug treatment. Would alcoholics seek help for their illness if doing so were tantamount to confessing to criminal activity? Likewise, would putting every incorrigible alcoholic behind bars and saddling them with criminal records prove cost-effective?

The United States earned the distinction of having the highest incarceration rate in the world, with drug offenses accounting for the majority of federal incarcerations. This is big government at its worst. At an average cost of $26,134 per inmate annually, maintaining the world's largest prison system can hardly be considered fiscally conservative.

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Middle school students in the Francis Howell School District could be tested for drugs by Nov. 1.

The district, which began a mandatory drug testing program for most of its high school students in September, is starting a voluntary testing program for middle school students. District spokesman Jim Joyce said about 300 students' parents have signed them up for the program, and the district will send letters soon to parents. The letters will include sign-up forms. Joyce said district officials estimate 700 of the 4,125 middle school students will agree to testing.

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This is an open letter to all people in the United States of America.

I want to express how I feel about drug testing.

Why is it that we drug test most all the working people and students in school activities, but not elected officials?

These are the people we vote into office to make choices for and about us -- the working people. I believe testing should be mandatory for anyone running for public office, from president all the way down to our city-elected police and fire departments, and be made public record.

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