Harvey, ND

  2008 D.A.R.E Report

  By Officer Marc Balfour     

The Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program continues its progress in the Harvey community, marking its 4^th consecutive year of being taught within the Harvey School system.  The D.A.R.E. program is a collaborative effort between the community, police, and the schools to promote drug and crime prevention.  The Harvey Chemical Health Committee provided donations this year to provide the students with workbooks.  Donations are also given back to the students in the form of awards and graduation gifts, and also allowing for funding of future classes. 

D.A.R.E. in the Harvey school system was originally started only in the 5^th grade, but is now in its 2^nd year of being taught in the 7^th grade also.  The program was initially only being taught in the 5^th grade with 10 weekly classes and a graduation ceremony.  The expansion into the 7^th grade, now has 12 scheduled weekly classes in order to reinforce the healthy decision making processes that the students originally learned in the 5^th grade.  The additional class periods allow for lesson plans concerning bullying, and the alarming increase of Over the Counter and Prescription drug abuse.  The graduation ceremony was held on March 27^th, for 55 total students.  The ceremony included the reading of the winning essays by Kaitlyn Kost, Wyatt Lautt, and Santana Schneider, and presentations by Minot State University on the dangers of methamphetamines and other narcotics, ND Highway Patrol K-9 unit, Troopers Kennedy and Tyson, and US Air Force, Senior Airman Melissa Orozco on the importance of drug and crime prevention in our communities. 

Officer Balfour would like to thank the parents, school, students, and community for the commitment in making the decisions to stay drug and violence free.