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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us January 29, 2005 DARE is alive and well here in Ashland schools I have been sharing the DARE program with the students in the Ashland School District for the past 12 years. It is surprising to me that the rumor still persists that the DARE program has been discontinued. I want to assure the citizens of this community that the Ashland Police Department has made the commitment to continue the DARE program as long as 1) the schools want the program and 2) the police department has a certified instructor. The cost of the program rests primarily on community contributions and police budgetary support. With the budgetary crises that faced every school district in this state, numerous districts had to make difficult choices in how they were going to spend their budgets. Medford 549C had to make the agonizing decision to cut funding for DARE. As a result of these massive budget cuts, DARE was lost to a number of communities. However, the DARE programs in Jacksonville, Central Point and Ashland were not tied to school budgets and students in these communities continue to receive DARE as part of their mandatory health education curriculum. I am saddened that the other law enforcement agencies were unable to overcome the budgetary restrictions that prevented them from continuing to partnership with their respective school districts. I know there are a number of school administrators and teachers that would welcome DARE back into their schools with open arms. While the criticisms of DARE have been varied, it continues to be the most widely used life-skills program in elementary schools today throughout the United States. I look forward to my continued partnership with Bellview and Helman Elementary schools and wish to thank the staff of each for their continued support. Should you wish to know more about the program, contact me at the Ashland Police Department or go to the DARE Web site at DARE.com. Bob Smith Ashland Police Department View of Israeli situation fraught with inaccuracy Maynard Telpner's letter of Jan. 10 purportedly on the Israeli-Palestinian situation is really an exploration of the outer reaches of fantasy. The reader is asked to consider a Mideast transformed by Mr. Telpner into Alice's Wonderland, where up is down, black is white, and fact has been banished. In Mr. Telpner's topsy-turvy world, Palestinians are attempting to take Israeli land, the U.S. is supporting corrupt Palestinians (but apparently not Israel), and Israelis are peacemakers. In order to create this breathtaking fantasy, Mr. Telpner had to close his eyes to Israel's present occupation of close to 80 percent of Palestinian land; to the hundred or so billion dollars in economic and military aid lavished upon Israel by America vs. a pittance of funds doled out to the impoverished Palestinians; and to Israel's persistent posturing about peace while it grabs more Palestinian land. Whether Israel really wants a just and equitable peace with the Palestinians will soon be tested again, this time with a newly-elected "partner for peace," Mahmoud Abbas. If (as seems likely) the Sharon-Abbas peace talks produce no more peace than the talks with Arafat produced, I wonder if Mr. Telpner will bother to adjust his fantasy of Israel the peacelover to fit the facts on the ground? Isaac Walker Ashland Preaching to the choir helps keep folks energized The counter-inaugural walk, vigil, rally and celebration at Vogel Park Jan. 20 was nourishing, inspiring, heartwarming, impressive: affirming and re-affirming our love of true democracy and our hope for the possibility of its return and preservation. I almost didn't attend because I have been so discouraged and was unwilling to give this inaugural day any energy whatsoever. But my desire to be counted, to be visible as one who opposes just about everything this administration is doing, overcame my disgust and I showed up. In the past I have been cynical about "preaching to the choir." Today I realized that the choir and the preacher are one and inseparable, they can't exist without each other, and if I love the music they make, if I resonate with the words they sing, then I will show up for every concert, to join in celebration of our passionate caring for all life ... like going to church to listen to a Bach cantata I've heard many times before. My heart is full of gratitude to all the dedicated organizers and speakers whose devotion and hard work created this beautiful coming together of our peace-celebrating community. 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