Sheriff Pohlmann and Maj. Clark tell D.A.R.E. program graduates they must make the right choices in life and told parents drug enforcement efforts aimed at saving their children from a life of torment and crime

At Wille Smith Jr. Elementary, D.A.R.E. essay contest winners were, in front, Ke-Irell Rhodes, U’ >Nique McGill and Grace Teal, with in back from left, D.A.R.E. program head Lt. Lisa Jackson, Lt. Richard Jackson, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Maj. Chad Clark,D.A.R.E.instructor Sgt. Darrin Miller, and Lt. Robert Broadhead.	Essay winners at Arabi Elementary were, in front, April Liebert, Chobie Chan, Diamond Jones and Ramiyah Guerra. At right is Principal Carla Carollo. In back from left, are: Lt. Lisa Jackson, Maj. Chad Clark. Sheriff James Pohlmann, Lt. Richard Jackson and Sgt. Darrin Miller.
Willie Smith students sing and dance the D.A.R.E. theme song.	Sheriff Pohlmann talks to Willie Smith students grduating D.A.R.E.
Maj. Clark discusses drug abuse in the parish to parents at Willie Smith.	A relative of a gradduare videos students performing the D.A.R.E. theme song.

Sheriff James Pohlmann told children graduating the 5th-grade Drug Abuse Resistance Education program they must concentrate on making the right choices to have productive lives, including listening to their parents and teachers and deciding who they should and shouldn’t associate with.

And he praised parents for turning out for D.A.R.E. graduation ceremonies at schools and encouraged them to continue staying focused on their children, including talking often with them and looking for warning signs to help prevent drug use or be alerted to them actually using drugs.

Children at Willie Smith Jr. Elementary in Violet and Arabi Elementary were recognized for completing a 12-week program in Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., taught by instructors from the Sheriff’s Office – a program aimed at trying to keep kids from using drugs including tobacco and alcohol or taking part in violence or bullying others.

If necessary, drug test kits are available at pharmacies to test young people, the sheriff told parents. If there is a problem it is important to rescue them before they become involved in the criminal justice system and end up in prison, the sheriff said.

Educating children early on about the hazards of drug abuse is the best hope to reduce future use and a life tortured by drug addiction and criminal acts to support a drug habit, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

“How do you stop the crime problem,’’ the sheriff asked children and parents? “You’ve got to stop the drug problem,’’ he answered.

Pointing to the nearly 200 children graduates in the two schools, Sheriff Pohlmann said they are the reason “our deputies go out each day and try to get drugs off the streets of this parish.’’

The sheriff said many people have family members affected by illegal drugs.

“Drugs destroy your life, your family and your community,’’ Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Maj. Chad Clark, commander of the Special Investigations Division including the Narcotics Unit, said it takes the kind of education effort given by Sheriff’s Office drug resistance instructors at parish schools to affect the drug problem in America as well as solid law enforcement to stop drug dealers.

“We can’t arrest ourselves out of this problem,’’ Clark said, noting there are more than 100,000 deaths in America each year from drug-related causes, including some in St. Bernard Parish. The resurgence of the drug heroin is concerning law enforcement and health care officials nationwide, he said. Clark added the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office has seized more heroin in the first three months of this year than the two previous years combined.

But Clark said overdose deaths have been going down in the parish because of a combination of factors including law enforcement diligence.

Several hundred 5th-grade students graduate each semester from the D.A.R.E. program given by St. Bernard sheriff’s officers Lt. Lisa Jackson, commander of the program, and Sgt. Darrin Miller. The D.A.R.E. program, held in both public and private schools, was re-established in 2009, four years after Hurricane Katrina.

“Learn the warning signs of drug use,’’ in young people, Sheriff Pohlmann said to parents, including:

– Loss of interest in things they used to do such as sports, dance or reading.
– Hanging around with new groups of friends unknown to parents.
– Sudden attitude or mood swings.
– Sudden problems connected with school and academics.

Talk regularly with your children and be familiar with their friends, the sheriff said.

If parents see signs of possible problems, don’t be hesitant to ask what is happening. “It’s not something they will grow out of and it needs to be addressed,’’ the sheriff said.

Maj. Clark told children they have received the tools they need to begin making right choices. Clark also pledged to parents narcotics officers will continue to do their best to rid the parish of drug-dealers.

He also said parents can call the SID Division at 271-DOPE (3673) to make an appointment if they want to discuss any particular problem involving their children and drugs.