MUNCIE STUDENTS COMPLETE DARE PROGRAM

They haven't even finished fifth grade, but students at Muncie
Elementary walked away Friday with graduation certificates.

They also were handed various items in honor of their completion of 12
weeks of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

"Today's our final lesson," said Mark Lingenfelser, a Leavenworth
police officer and DARE instructor.

Lingenfelser, who had been visiting the school's three fifth-grade
classes on a weekly basis, said each student had met the requirements
of DARE.

Held in Muncie's gymnasium, Friday's ceremony was attended by a number
of parents and other family members of the fifth-grade students.

Such a culmination ceremony is tradition for the fifth-grade DARE
program. In fact, a similar ceremony was held last month at Anthony
Elementary School and more are scheduled for later this month at three
other Leavenworth schools.

Before Muncie students were presented with their certificates and
other items featuring the DARE acronym on Friday, they heard from
guest speaker Frank Kohl.

Kohl, the Leavenworth County attorney, told the fifth-graders that in
some ways life is harder for them than their parents.

When he was in school, people didn't have to worry about drugs, Kohl
said.

He said it may have been an issue at the high school level, but even
then it was rare.

Kohl told students that a hero is a person who does the right thing
when the right thing is the hardest thing to do.

He said teachers and parents won't always be around and a lot of times
the students will have to make decisions on their own.

Kohl asked the students to think of all of the lessons they have been
taught and make the right decisions. If they do that, he said, the
students will have more happy times in their lives than they thought
possible. Kohl said the students owe it to their teachers, parents and
themselves to be the best people they can be.

"You know that would be the best gift any of us in this room would
ever have," he said.

He also asked each student to give a big hug to a special person the
child can always rely on before the end of the day.

Kohl said this would make each student feel better as well as the
special person. And with Christmas three weeks away, Kohl said it
couldn't hurt.

As part of the DARE program, the fifth-graders were required to write
essays. Six students, two from each class, were asked to read their
essays during Friday's ceremony.

Essays were read by Catherine Appler, Lauren Raymond, Katie Norfleet,
Michael Pezzuti, Dan Krieger and Taylor Reese.

The audience also heard from the Leavenworth police chief, the school
principal and a county commissioner.

They were said to be among a group of special guests at the ceremony.
The fifth-grade teachers also were given the opportunity to make remarks.