NORTH COUNTY STUDENTS PLEDGE TO AVOID DRUGS

Another class of kids is smarter about drugs thanks to the D.A.R.E.
program. Fifth graders at North County Intermediate School graduated from
the program Thursday.

They pledged not to smoke even if their friends did.

They pledged not to take drugs - ever. They said they knew the dangers of
doing so.

"I pledge to remember the dangers alcohol can have on my body and my life,"
said Rachel Gann as she read from an essay she wrote for graduation. She
was one of the winners in the five classes.

Others were Logan Love, Dylan Clevenger , Sandra Logan and Jayden Boyd.

"Smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer," said Logan as she read
her essay.

Some of the other students in the program nodded their heads in agreement
as their classmates read.

Sheriff Dan Bullock and St. Francois County Presiding Commissioner Jim
Henson came to show their support for the students. Parents were there,
too. But no one was prouder of them than Deputy Gary Carver, who had taught
them in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

"This is my 10th year as the D.A.R.E. officer," he said. "I guess I've
taught 14,000 students throughout the county."

He said sometimes, students prove they have learned their lessons well.
That was the case when a student whose home caught on fire put into
practice the things about personal safety he learned in his D.A.R.E. class.

"We do role playing and many students have told me they have been in
situations where in real life, it was like it was in our role plays,"
Carver said.

Carver said the people that will get kids started using drugs or smoking
are their peers and peers can also stop them from making wrong choices. He
said some students in his class tell them they have already chosen to take
drugs or drink alcohol and one of the requirements to graduate from the
program is to be drug-free.

For 12 weeks, Carver teaches each class of 5th grade and 7th grade students
in North County, Bismarck, West County and Central Schools. Another class
of students will graduate Monday in Bismarck. Then, he teaches the classes
again next semester.

This year 36 million school children around the world - 26 million in the
U.S. - will benefit from D.A.R.E. that teaches kids the skills they need to
avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence.

D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 in Los Angeles and has proven so successful
that it is now being implemented in nearly 80 percent of our nation's
school districts and in more than 54 countries around the world.