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M/CLOUDY Temp: 41 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Saturday, December 21, 2002 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend December 4, 2002 D.A.R.E. funds will provide teacher training By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department will start the new year by resuming its Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. The department eliminated some D.A.R.E. classes this fall because of a lack of officers trained to teach the drug-awareness classes, said Sgt. Bob Grantham, who heads the department’s civil division, which includes the D.A.R.E. officers. A retirement and a promotion put the program on hiatus at more than half the schools where the sheriff’s department usually teaches, he said. Fourteen D.A.R.E. classes at nine schools in the Eagle Point and Medford school districts were cut because there was no one to teach them, Grantham said. The sheriff’s department had taught 20 classes previously, he said. A new D.A.R.E. officer, Greg Halley, will restart the classes in late January. He is attending a 10-day training session for D.A.R.E. officers at the Los Angeles Police Department now. Grantham describes Halley, who has worked since the mid-’90s as a patrol deputy and as part of the department’s traffic team, as "an absolute perfect fit." The department historically has had a full-time D.A.R.E. officer who teaches the bulk of the drug-awareness classes and organizes events year-round, and a part-time officer who helps teach during the school year, he said. Deputy Chuck Todd, who helped start the department’s D.A.R.E. program, retired in October, Grantham said. As a retiree, he can continue to teach classes part-time without affecting his retirement benefits. He continues classes at Butte Falls, Sam’s Valley, Elk Trail and Patrick elementary schools. Deputy Dave Beatty, who had worked as the part-time D.A.R.E. officer, stepped into the role full-time, Grantham said. Then, in late October, Beatty was promoted to sergeant, overseeing patrol deputies, and he no longer had time for D.A.R.E. At Ruch Elementary School, where classes were cut, Principal Janis Shade said sixth-graders were really disappointed about the loss of drug-awareness classes. They wrote letters to the sheriff’s office, and Sheriff Bob Kennedy came to the school last month to explain the shortage of D.A.R.E. teachers. He promised classes would resume after the first of the year. "The kids felt very rewarded," Shade said. "It was a good civics lesson on the way to express concerns." Grantham said he also received letters from students at Glenn D. Hale Elementary School in Eagle Point and Orchard Hill Elementary in Medford. They expressed the kids’ disappointment and encouraged the sheriff’s department to continue the program. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4459, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy webmaster feedback A D V E R T I S E R S