When the kids in SAD 22 — which serves Hampden, Newburgh and Winterport — head back to school Tuesday, their parents and guardians should think about going back to school themselves.
If they “dare,” that is.
Once again, Hampden Police Department Patrolman Chris Bailey is organizing a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program for parents and guardians.
The adult D.A.R.E. program begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden.
Sign-up time for that program is NOW, however, and must be made through the SAD 22 Adult Education Office by calling 862-6422.
The adult program has several goals, Bailey said.
“We try to help strengthen some of the basic elements taught to students in the D.A.R.E. program,” he said.
“We try to develop and enhance the knowledge of trends in the communiites, and we try to assist families in acquiring information and skills to help reduce the kids’ risk of drug abuse and violent behavior.”
The six different sessions end with a panel discussion among a variety of community members including guidance counselors, doctors and students.
Hampden parent Lynn Ryan is an adult D.A.R.E. program graduate. She heartily recommends the course.
“I think that every parent should take it,” she said.
“Even if you think you know everything that is going on, you don’t.”
Ryan was encouraged to take the class by her daughter who asked “why, if she had to take the course in school, isn’t it good for me to take it?” Ryan told us.
“I’m teaching, full time, and I felt like a hypocrite” not taking the course, Ryan said. So, she signed up.
“I learned a lot.
“It helped me in dealing with children in the school system, and I learned things that, certainly, helped with my own children.”
Ryan said, “One thing I didn’t know about, was how children abuse certain househould chemicals, such as inhalants.
“That made a big difference in my husband’s and my awareness level. Now we can intervene and talk with our child knowledgeably.”
Ryan discovered, in this particular instance, that children have more knowledge than parents “because they are exposed to it” by their peers.
“Every parent should take the time” to enroll and participate, she said.
“And Chris makes it fun, too. He’s special as a presenter. He goes out of his way to make it comfortable for people to take the course.”
For your child’s sake, and your own, make the call.
Take the course.
Mainers needing money to help them get through one of the worst winter storms in Maine history are eligible for emergency relief funds provided by the 40-8 of the American Legion.
The money will be distributed by the 40-8 Disaster Relief Fund national director Dick Hammond at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Maine Veterans Shelter, 23 College Ave., in Waterville.
Hammond said the 40-8 had initially provided $15,000 for this purpose, “and we will start with that, but we can work the fund up to $100,000 if necessary.”
Hammond’s plan is to provide emergency relief funds to families with children.
“We want to do so much per family,” he said.
“People need help right now. We will try to provide up to $100 per family for fuel and food.”
After filing out a form, you will receive a check from Hammond drawn on the Gardiner Savings Bank.
For information on obtaining the emergency relief funds, call the MCV, 873-5555, or go to the facility Tuesday morning.
If you are not on the mailing list, we remind you that the Mable Wadsworth Health Center is in the midst of its annual fund appeal.
Located at the Intown Plaza on Harlow Street in Bangor, the MWWHC is the only free-standing, private, nonprofit women’s health center in the state, and one of only a handful in New England.
It began operations in 1984, and gained a national reputation for innovative educational conferences on important issues relating to women’s health.
For example, in an October Bangor Daily News story about its merging with Bangor Women’s Health Care, executive director Ruth Lockhart reminded readers that the MWWHC was “the first organization in Maine to recognize, in a public forum, the urgency of educating women about the issues surrounding AIDS.”
Lockhart was referring to the center’s 1992 “Women and AIDS” conference. Other conferences have included breast cancer, breast health and menopause.
The MWWHC provides a variety of services to women including pregnancy testing and options education, birth control, annual examinations, menopause and premenstrual syndrome counseling, and abortion services.
To help support the center, you may make checks payable to Mable Wadsworth Women’s Health Center, P.O. Box 918, Bangor, 04402-0918.
MWWHC is a 501-C-3 organization, and all gifts are tax deductible. To receive a pledge form, call 947-5337 or fax 947-9163.
The Standpipe, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402; 990-8288.
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