PORTSMOUTH - In the days that follow a tragedy, questions inevitably emerge. A week after the death of a Winnacunnet High School student, some of those questions are: How could something like this have happened? Will the abuse of drugs ever end? What can be done to stop these deaths from occurring? While there may not be an answer to every question, educators, law-enforcement officials and families agree that something must be done. Lloyd Chapin Jr., 17, of Seabrook, died Feb. 3 of a drug overdose. Fire officials from his town say they've responded to about eight overdose calls per year for victims 14 to 25 years of age. Chapin's mother said her son's death has motivated her to help other families fight drug abuse. [continues 549 words]
KITTERY, Maine - If 11-year-old Ashley Ridlon experiences peer pressure to use drugs or alcohol, she's going to picture Sgt. Russell French's face. That image, she says, will help her to say "no." Ridlon met French through the D.A.R.E. - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - program. Nearly 100 fifth-graders from Frisbee School graduated from the program Friday. Students, teachers, parent volunteers and five Kittery police officers celebrated the graduation at Fort Foster. Police officers flipped burgers while the students, wearing their newly earned D.A.R.E. T-shirts, gobbled up barbecued grub. [continues 317 words]
