200 children graduate from school program

More than 200 fifth-graders at three Douglas County schools graduated earlier this month from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

The students from Meneley, Scarselli and Zephyr Cove elementary schools completed the nine-week program taught by Douglas County Sheriff's Youth Services officers Chris Griffith and Teresa Duffy.

DARE is a cooperative effort between law enforcement, schools, parents and the community - all working together to help children make the right choices concerning tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs, said Sheriff Ron Pierini.

The program focuses on four areas:

n Providing accurate information about drugs, alcohol and tobacco;

n Teaching students good decision-making skills;

n Educating students on how to recognize and resist peer pressure;

n Giving students ideas for positive alternatives to drug, alcohol and tobacco use.

DARE teaches students how to recognize and resist the direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs, Pierini said.

"Since 70-90 percent of all crime is directly or indirectly related to drug or alcohol use, it is absolutely vital that we reach children at an early age through this program," he said.