Students in the Carbon School District just finished up with Red Ribbon week activities which is focused on students taking a pledge to grow up safe, healthy and drug free. Education about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol doesn’t stop there for some students.
Price City Police Sergeant Kelly Maynes spoke about the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program that he coordinates in the schools with other law enforcement officers. “I oversee if for the Price City Police Department, we’re responsible for all the schools in the Price City area, Creekview, Mont Harmon, Pinnacle Canyon and Castle Heights Elementary.” The basic 80 hour D.A.R.E. Officer training allows a police officer or deputy to teach both the elementary curriculum and the middle school curriculum which meets the core curriculum.
“I really enjoy this program; it is an awesome program. You spend a lot of time talking about a lot of different things. Obviously, we talk about the dangers of drugs but we also go over a lot of things. Mainly, teaching kids how to make healthy and wise decisions to hopefully have a positive impact on their lives, so when they get past this program they’re more confident in their abilities to make good choices especially when it comes to drug and alcohol abuse,” stated Maynes. The D.A.R.E. Program is a ten week program where students do homework, role play situations of peer pressure but most importantly interact with the officers.
The D.A.R.E. program is a breath of fresh air for officers from their daily tasks. It’s an opportunity to interact with the youth in our community. “It’s a different tone of what we normally have to do, it’s nice to get into the classrooms and be able to talk to the kids and get the information out. It’s also nice because the kids have the opportunity to…here’s a cop standing in front of them, they get to ask any question they want in regards to what law enforcement does or anything about the officer.” Maynes has been involved in the D.A.R.E. program for 13 years and has seen firsthand the positive affect it has on students who complete the program.