Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)

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October 30, 2009

Whole-school focus turns to prevention of drug use

By MIKE JAMES — The Independent

Raceland — Even the tiniest kindergartners at Campbell Elementary know the score on using dope:

“Drugs put bad stuff in your body. And they make you sick,” said Landyn Newman, who was waiting with his friend Tom Brewer to fly paper airplanes.

“Say no to drugs,” the boys chorused, when a visitor asked them what they’d learned during Red Ribbon Week.

Pupils at Campbell, the primary school in the Raceland-Worthington district, have been concentrating their attention on drug-prevention and education activities all week, helped by Raceland Police Chief Don Sammons.

It’s his contribution to Red Ribbon Week, the nation’s oldest and largest drug-prevention program. It’s “a unified way for communities to take a stand against drugs and show intolerance for illicit drug use and the consequences to all Americans,” according to the Web site of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

It was Sammons’ idea for him and his officers to spend time during the week, and all day Saturday, with the children at Campbell. They talked to them in class, ate lunch with them, and roamed the halls and playgrounds. He also invited the Kentucky State Police to send troopers.

“We’re here to let kids see officers in a more personal light,” Sammons said. That makes it easier to get the message across about the dangers of illicit drug use, he believes.

The message is getting through loud and clear to her students, kindergarten teacher Lynn Lewis said. “Definitely. They have very much embraced the message all week long.”

In fact, she said, they’ve been learning — and understanding — the difference between legal and illegal drugs, over-the-counter and prescription medications, and other important distinctions, she said.

The week-long concentration on drug education works well, principal Jill Imes said. “It’s important we have a focus,” she said. In this case, the focus is on healthy choices and the children will keep the week’s activities in their memories, she said.

Also, and just as important, they will take home what they learn and talk about it there, she said.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.

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