By MELODY METZGER – Courtesy of The Lamar Democrat
The monthly S4 (See Something, Say Something) Lamar Drug Free Coalition met at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11, at the AOK corporate office. The meeting was led by Jerod Morey, project coordinator, who stated that Bryan Tabakian with CHIPs Church will be joining the coalition. The coalition is moving into its fourth year under the CADCA (Community Anti Drug Coalitions of America) grant and Morey reported that all necessary paperwork had been submitted.
Community Resource Officer Robert Lawrence, who is still on restricted duty, reported that the school resource officer, Jordan Silinas, was still doing a great job covering for him. Silinas is serving part time until Lawrence can get medically released. The P3 app reports come to Lawrence, as well as various other individuals, and it was reported that they continue to grow. One had been received that morning and another while he was at the meeting. The emphasis on when to use the P3 app and when to use 911 was discussed. Morey reported that a fee of $1,000 had been paid for another year on usage of the app.
As to the school data and collection survey that is being given to Lamar students in grades 5-12, Morey commented that they now had permission from the schools and that the survey would be given to English classes following spring break. He passed around the survey for coalition members to get a sense of what is asked of the students. SearchMonkey will once again be the means of tabulating the results. Following this, there will be a better idea on what issues need to be addressed.
The new policies that have been requested regarding the Lamar City Park, as well as loitering at closed public businesses or vacant lots/buildings, were presented to the Lamar City Council on February 18. The Lamar City Park will be closed from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. The desire to set park hours was expressed at the S4 meeting a few months previously.
It was noted that a new grant is being written by AOK, aimed toward drug reduction in rural communities. A primary concern of the grant is underage drinking. Various representatives will include those from churches, businesses and parks and rec, just to name a few. The possibility of using podcasts to keep youth’s attention was brought up. The premise is for the youth to listen to the podcasts and then to have an open discussion afterwards. The grant would cover the cost of technology that would be needed to do something such as this. Steve Miller, a coalition member that is with the Community Partnership of the Ozarks in Springfield, reported on HELP, a series of online prevention videos which discuss misuse of specific drugs, drug-related problems and violence prevention topics. There are numerous categories that are covered at their website, www.cpozarks.org/help.
After further discussion on various drug related topics the meeting adjourned to meet again on Monday, April 8, 5:30 p.m., at the AOK Corporate Office on 10th St., in Lamar. All interested in working toward the eradication of destructive behaviors are welcome to attend.