 |
|
Hourly and 10-day forcast
EMAIL
PRINT
Comment
DARE to be drug free
Former Warrenton student to become DARE officer
 |
||
| Sarah Whitney Photo -- Kayla Kane pets Bronto, the Warren County Sheriff's Department drug dog, while DARE officer Scott Taylor and Sgt. Ed McCormick answer student questions. Bronto and his partner McCormick visited Rebecca Boone Elementary School Oct. 21 and showed fifth-graders how Bronto finds drugs in cars and can attack on command. The visit was part of the DARE program. | ||
|
Warren County Sheriff's Deputy Danny Manco has come full circle.
Next fall, Manco will teach the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program to fifth-graders at Rebecca Boone Elementary School, about 15 years after he was a DARE student at the school.
The student has become the teacher, said fellow DARE officer Scott Taylor.
"It's going to be good for Danny because he's going to be working with the people who taught him as a kid," he said. "Now he's going to be the one doing the teaching."
DARE is a police officer-led program taught in schools, designed to teach children skills to avoid substance abuse, gangs and violence. It is taught before they start middle school and high school.
Photo Galleries | Prep Sports Photos
The Warren County Sheriff's Department started DARE at all Warren County schools in 1991. Current Sheriff Kevin Harrison was appointed by then-Sheriff Rich Davis as the first DARE officer.
Today, under Harrison's direction, the program has four officers: Taylor, Deputy Angela Gutierrez, Lt. Matt Schmutz and Manco, who completed DARE officer training in September.
The 80-hour, two-week training course teaches officers how to talk to children and help them see officers as people and not as scary authority figures, Harrison said.
"All they ever see is Mom got pulled over by a cop or Dad got arrested by a cop," Taylor said. "DARE gives us an opportunity to let the kids see us as people."
By developing those relationships with officers, kids are more likely to listen to the program's anti-drug message, Harrison said.
"We don't go there to preach to the kids and talk down to them," Harrison said. "We tell them it's about choices. If you want to smoke and do drugs you can, but ... with that decision comes consequences."
Manco, 25, has added credibility to the program because he has gone to the same schools and even had the same teachers as his students, Harrison said.
"When a kid says, 'You don't know what you're talking about,' Danny can say, 'Yes, I do. I graduated from here,'" Harrison said.
Manco already has experienced the advantage of growing up and working in Warrenton with his patrol duties and is excited about extending his talents to the schools, he said.
"I grew up with the community, and this is my opportunity to pass on my knowledge to the kids to help them further the community when they grow up," he said.
Kids on DARE
"I like it 'cause there's a lot of cool stuff you can do, and it teaches you, if you use drugs, how deadly it can be to you."
Kayla Kane, 10, on why she likes DARE
"I learned how smoking can hurt you a lot, and it can give you bad things inside your mouth and make your teeth fall out, and drugs are not good."
Alex Conner, 10, on what he learned in DARE
"The reason I won't do drugs is that I'm in about five, four sports. If I do marijuana or smoke drugs or any of that, it will really affect my life, and I won't do that because I know how it will affect my life."
Austin Kemp, 11, on why he won't do drugs
"No, because marijuana, if I do do marijuana "? but I'm not "? it could probably kill me really quick."
Raeann McBride, 10, on why she won't do drugs
"He's cool. He's really awesome, but when someone's talking while he's talking he gives them 50-word paragraphs (to write)."
Tyler Morris, 10, on DARE officer Scott Taylor
Most Popular |
Most Commented |
Editor's Picks |
No comments posted.
You need to log in to post a comment.