DUI ARREST WON'T ALTER D.A.R.E. GRADUATION

NAPOLEON - Students involved in a program that teaches them to say no
to drugs and alcohol will still receive their graduation T-shirts and
certificates even though their instructor has been arrested for
drunken driving.

Henry County Sheriff John Nye said yesterday that deputies would drop
off materials at the schools on or before their D.A.R.E. graduation
dates. He said deputies would be available to talk with students
about the arrest. "We will address the situation to schools," Sheriff
Nye said. "It's probably something they've learned through D.A.R.E:
No matter what, we make choices and there are consequences."

After her arrest, Ms. Pittman was placed on administrative suspension
with pay while a sheriff's detective investigates the case. The probe
could take several days to complete.

Depending on the results, Ms. Pittman could be suspended or fired
from her job. Ms. Pittman has been a sheriff's deputy for nearly 25
years. She has headed the county's D.A.R.E. program for four years.

D.A.R.E. is the acronym for Drug Abuse Resistance Education. The
program is taught in hundreds of school districts across the United
States.

Through her job, Ms. Pittman has appeared daily in Henry County
schools, teaching children to resist peer pressure and live drug-free
and alcohol-free lives.

Students usually spend part of an entire school year in the program.
When they graduate, schools hold a special ceremony, where they hand
out certificates and T-shirts with the D.A.R.E. insignia to pupils.

An Ohio Highway Patrol trooper who stopped Ms. Pittman about 1:18
a.m. at Henry County Road L and State Rt. 65 noted on her ticket that
the smell of alcohol was detected on her breath.

Ms. Pittman refused to take a breathalyzer test, which is her right
under Ohio law. But the refusal results in an automatic one-year
license suspension.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges in Napoleon Municipal
Court. A pretrial conference is scheduled for May 20.

Ms. Pittman has declined to comment, but her attorney, E. Charles
Bates of Defiance, said yesterday that it is not illegal to have a
drink and drive.

"It is not a crime to consume some alcohol and drive," Mr. Bates. "It
is not unusual for people to be pulled over for a taillight but that
does not mean impairment."

Mr. Bates said he believed the initial traffic stop was for a missing
taillight. The attorney was not in his office yesterday, so he was
unable check his notes to see where his client was coming from at the
time of her arrest.

The drunk driving case was turned over to the Napoleon city
prosecutor's office by the Ohio Highway Patrol. Law Director David
Grahn said he could not comment on the matter because he planned to
request yesterdaythat a special prosecutor, David Land of Defiance,
be appointed to the case.

"I felt it would be prudent to bring it to outside counsel because it
involves the sheriff's department," Mr. Grahn said.

School officials were notified of Ms. Pittman's arrest by the
sheriff's office. Sheriff Nye said no one had yet requested to have
deputies speak on the issue, but he planned this week to call area
principals and offer the service.

Central Elementary Principal Tom Jenny said he believes it's
important for his two fifth-grade classes to have a graduation.

He said the school probably would address the situation with the
students and seek out a deputy to talk to them as well. Without doing
so, Mr. Jenny said he fears news of the arrest could leave a bad
impression on the youths.

"I don't want it to taint their picture of law enforcement," Mr. Jenny said.