Etowah County Sheriff Todd Entrekin will congratulate 5th grade students next week from Duck Springs Elementary, Gaston, Glencoe Middle and Hokes Bluff Middle schools on their completion of the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program.
A graduation ceremony will be held at each school led by Etowah County D.A.R.E. coordinator, Sergeant Lanny Handy. During the ceremony, students will be addressed by Sheriff Todd Entrekin, Sgt. Lanny Handy, District and Circuit Judges and Superintendent Dr. Alan Cosby. Each student is presented with a D.A.R.E. diploma.
Sheriff Entrekin says, “The D.A.R.E. program not only teaches kids to be drug free but, it also opens dialogue between the school, law enforcement and parents to deal with other issues.”
D.A.R.E. is a series of classroom lessons, led by the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, which educates kids how to make good decisions, resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free lives.
“Teaching kids the skills they need to avoid taking part in drugs, gangs and violence continues to be rewarding,” says Sgt. Lanny Handy. “I continue to learn from them, after more than 20 years with the D.A.R.E. Program.”
Each semester students write an essay explaining what D.A.R.E. means to them. A panel of judges reads each essay and winners are chosen from each school. This semester’s winners are: Duck Springs: Anna Denton and Jacob Garmon; Gaston: Jamaya Kelley and Alycia Morris; Glencoe: Taylor Holder, Madison Beard and Kryslyn Smith; Hokes Bluff: Luke Easterwood, Madi Wolfe, Emma Townsend and Brianna Bragdon.
Etowah County’s D.A.R.E. Program is funded by the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney and Etowah County Commission.
D.A.R.E. graduation ceremonies will be held:
- Tuesday, January 7 at 9:00 a.m. at Hokes Bluff Middle School
- Wednesday, January 8 at 9:30 a.m. at Ducks Springs Elementary School
- Thursday, January 9 at 8:30 a.m. at Gaston School
- Friday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m. at Glencoe Middle School