GATLINBURG -- The annual statewide DARE conference is being hosted this week by Gatlinburg Police Department.

About 200 DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) officers from all over Tennessee will participate in daily classes Monday through Thursday. The classes will update and energize them for a new year of teaching children about the hazards of drugs.

The week's activities will be kicked off tonight at 8 p.m. with a public parade on the Parkway which features Retro Bill, the National DARE Safety Buddy.

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