DARE GRADS

Grade six students of Lady Grey Elementary School ( LGES ) graduated from the police-based Drug Abuse Resistance Education ( DARE ) program last week.

Twenty-two certificates and t-shirts were handed to the grads by Constable Greg Leverson of the Golden/Field RCMP detachment.  Sergeant Marko Shehovac in charge of the Golden/Field general duty detachment, assisted the course instructor.

"Cst.  Leverson is the only Golden member trained to instruct the 17-week classroom program.  We are hoping to have a second member take the week-long training course," said Sgt.  Shehovac.

"With two instructors we would be able to expand the program and take some of the pressure off of Cst.  Leverson who takes time to instruct this course along with performing his regular police duties.  He also prepares much of the course on his own time."

Shehovac says the course is very important as it focuses on youth who are at the right age for being introduced to drugs.

"We are concentrating on the elementary schools as we need to counter pressure put on the young students to try drugs.

The program began 15 years ago in the United States and has really taken off in Canada over the past six to seven years," said Shehovac.

The DARE grads received their certificates and t-shirts during an assembly of the LGES students in the school's gymnasium.