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 are aimed at saving their children from a life

D.A.R.E. essay winners and others in 5th-grade at Lynn Oaks are shown at the graduation. 1st-place winner Emma Gonzales and 2nd-place winner Andrew Nata, both holding trophies, are in front. Behind them are students Jon “Nik” Wilson, Maci Ross, D.J. Melerine and Keira-Raven Hood and Principal Kim Duplantier. In back are teacher Chris Wilder Jr., D.A.R.E. program coordinator Lt. Lisa Jackson, D.A.R.E. officer Sgt. Darrin Miller, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Maj. Chad Clark and Capt. Ronnie Martin.

Students at Chalmette Elementary perform the D.A.R>E. theme song for relatives.

Students sing the D.A.R.E. program theme song for relatives.

First-place D.A.R.E.essay winners are shown at Chalmette Elementary. In front are Aleyah Harrison, Kayla Esteen, Paige Augustine and Peyton Hall. In back are D.A.R.E. officer Sgt. Darrin Miller, Sheriff James Pohlmann, Maj. Chad Clark and D.A.R.E. program coordinator Lt. Lisa Jackson.

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 Lynn Oaks School in eastern St. Bernard and Chalmette 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.

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 he supports drug education programs for every school grade in order to reach kids at the earliest ages.

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

He said St. Bernard Prison is full of people who made bad choices in life, getting involved in drugs, and later committing crimes to find money for their addiction but in the process getting arrested.

“It comes down to making the right choices,’’ including choosingthe right friends to hang with, the sheriff said.

Pointing to the 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 much heroin this year.

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.