There is a sense of security living in a small town; everybody knows one another and looks out for one's neighbours. Being in one's own environment brings a sense of not only security, but comfort, family, and belonging. That is exactly the way it should be; but that is not the way it has to be. Unfortunately, there are plenty of reasons why those in small-town Alberta can no longer have those comfortable feelings of safety and security. [continues 504 words]
A drug dog demonstration and a presentation about nut allergies highlighted the October 9 Prairie Rose School Board general meeting. "The Medicine Hat Police Department made a presentation to us. The officer then gave us an overview of the drug awareness program and how the dog actually makes a connection with the students," said PRRD Superintendent, Doug Nicholls. During the demonstration, the police planted three or four stashes around the conference room for the dog to sniff out. "When the dog discovers the stash, he simply sits there. The handler can then direct him in a particular area. The general idea of course is to keep drugs out of our schools. They choose a chocolate lab a pup and they train it as a drug dog starting at six or eight weeks old. The dog is around the police 24 hours a day and it becomes his pet," said Nicholls. [continues 332 words]
Someone will force you to make a decision about drug use sometime in your life. That was one of the messages Detective Steve Walton brought to the junior high students gathered in the gym at Senator Gershaw School last Monday. Walton spoke to kids from Grade 4 through to Grade 12 Monday in three separate presentations, then spoke to parents Monday evening and Foremost residents Wednesday evening. However, he said his message was mostly aimed at kids in the junior high level. [continues 1065 words]
It's not a new concept, but local schools are incorporating more and more programs that encourage and teach young children to develop healthy attitudes. The Irvine School has a new program called positive playgrounds that teaches the elementary children playground games that encourage co-operation and discourages bullying. The positive playgrounds program in Irvine also had the older students instructing the younger children. Those children look up to the older students and having them teach the kids to play nice and share will make a bigger impact than any teacher could. [continues 300 words]
Bow Island may have a Neighbourhood on Patrol program as early as next spring. Sgt. Rick Cashman appeared before Town Council on Monday to give a report on the Bow Island/Foremost RCMP detachment's activities and future plans. It was also a chance for councillors to bring forward concerns they have about local law enforcement issues. Comments ran the gambit from concerns over minor acts of vandalism, to the presence of certain types of drugs in the community. Cashman said the D.A.R.E. program, which targets Grades 5 and 6 students will remain a part of the mandate of local RCMP. [continues 566 words]
Sgt. Rick Cashman of the Bow Island/Foremost detachment, attended the March 12 meeting of the council of the County of Forty Mile to present a business plan. "I like (the term) 'policing strategy', we're not a business," Cashman said of the plan. The presentation covered two programs that will be implemented in the communities in the county. One is the Youth Restorative Justice Program. "The new youth act effective April 1 gives more choices for police," Cashman said. One of those choices is having a committee set up to deal with incidents involving youth. Cashman said the South East Alberta Youth Justice Committee, working out of Medicine Hat, will train people locally to serve on a committee that, together with the youth, parents and victim will deal with youths who commit crimes. [continues 170 words]
The first random drug search of lockers at Eagle Butte High School in Dunmore has produced some favourable results for the school's administration. Robert Faith, principal at Eagle Butte High School won't disclose any specific information about the random searches, but said that everybody is pleasantly surprised by the findings. "I will leave it at that, but I am not naive enough to think that out of 450 plus students, none are using drugs," said Faith. Eagle Butte High School has hired a Fort Macleod canine services company that specializes in drug searches to conduct the random drug searches of the lockers. According to Faith, the dogs are trained to detect a wide variety of illegal drugs. [continues 206 words]
A new substance abuse program to be introduced into the Prairie Rose School District is aimed towards addiction problems of students in schools. The program is designed to be a "last ditch attempt" to avoid expelling problem students with addiction problems. Not simply school based, the project also incorporates community organizations such as Alberta Alcohol, Drug A C, the police and Palliser Health, along with three school districts, the Prairie Rose school district 8, Medicine Hat school district 76 as well as the Catholic School Board. [continues 271 words]
