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NEWS OF THE DAY

Some see it as a way to earn money for Dickinson County, while others view it as a big problem. Either way, the county is making an effort to crack down on underage drinking after an alarming survey was published.

This survey was given out to all Kansas sixth, eighth, 10th and 12th grade students. The survey is compiled of questions about drinking habits and drug use. The test asks each question multiple times and in different sections to make sure the answers the students give are legit. A student must answer the question four out of five times the same way, or the question is thrown out.

“I feel bad for students having to answer the questions over and over, but the state also needs to make sure all of the answers they receive are the truth,” said counselor Jamey Dalke.

In the end, Dickinson County was ranked in the top five out of 105 counties in Kansas in the percentage of students who are drinking.

Nearly 56 percent of students say they have tried alcohol at least once in their life, and 12 is the average age most kids in Dickinson County had their first drink. More than 22 percent of students surveyed also said alcohol was “very easy” to get.

Stats like these are the reason the state is implementing new programs to crack down on the underage drinking while still incorporating the old ones already in place. Some of the new programs, such as Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol, have short-term goals already in place. The CMCA’s short-term goal was increase the rate of citations for Minor in Possession from 52.15 per 1,000 by five percent to 54.76 per 1,000 by the end of 2009.

Older programs that are still in effect include Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), which is a national program that started in Los Angeles in 1983.

These programs will now be benefitted by a $500,000 grant that Dickinson County received because of the alarming numbers.

“I like the surveys, because it gives us money and we use it for the programs,” Dalke said.

These programs are set up to help out the students in the community, but some students are pessimistic that the new and old programs will have a positive effect on the drinking situation in the county.

“Most likely they won’t work,” said junior Lizzie DeGroat. “People might listen to the messages that the programs are saying, but nobody really takes those things to heart.”

However, other students said something more needs to be done than what is being done right now, because the numbers show that Dickinson County students have an issue with drinking.

“I think they should enforce the programs more, because I didn’t even know we had them,” said sophomore Grace Pierson.

And the survey says......

Survey shows Dickinson youth are near the top

when it comes to teenage drinking

The following people need to come in and pick up their pre-ordered yearbooks and video yearbooks:

Chrystal Henning

Shayla Lowry

Wesley Phillips

JOURNALISM NEWS AND NOTES