Southern York County Life

South Eastern tackles drug problem head-on

Nearly 1,000 attend community meeting to discuss crisis

South Eastern School District superintendent Thomas McShane said it all started with a call he received eight days ago from a parent whose child was reportedly afraid to come to school because of prevalent drug use at Kennard-Dale High School.

The call set off a flurry of activity, including a drug and alcohol survey that was distributed to students in the ninth through 12th grades; emergency faculty meetings; a new, hard-line approach to any drug or alcohol use in the schools, and a community meeting last night in the Kennard-Dale auditorium.

The 1,000-seat auditorium was nearly filled with parents, community members, teachers, and students who came to hear presentations from state police Lt. Pat Gibhart, Stewartstown police officer George Cunningham, and McShane on the extent of the community’s drug problem and what parents can do to stop it.

“I am not scared too easily, but I am scared,” said McShane, who said his biggest concern used to be a possible terrorist attack at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power plant, “but now, drugs and alcohol have risen to the top of the list.”

Alarmed by student survey: Although he did not give specific numbers, McShane said the student survey revealed that drug use is prevalent in the district and South Eastern students are using marijuana and alcohol as well as harder drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

For nearly an hour, parent after parent got up to say the same thing—it’s about time the district did something to address the problem.

Parent Regina Hall said her son, who is in the seventh grade, rides the bus with high school kids and hears all the time about parties and drug use.

“It scares me, and I want to prevent him from having a problem,” she said.

Hall was not the only parent to be concerned with prevention.

Lisa Meinke said that as a lifelong resident and leader of a church youth group, she wanted to get the community, churches, and municipal recreation programs together to help the students avoid falling into drug and alcohol use.

Officer praises turnout: Cunningham said he was amazed at the turnout and that it showed the community really cares.

“There was a lot of talk about what needs to be done, but now we’ll see whether people will get involved and do what needs to be done,” he said.

Cunningham said that although everyone seems to be aware there is a problem, the Stewartstown police department has received only one call in the last year about a party.

“The door’s open ... people need to call and let us do our job,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said although the community is rural, it is between Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, and York—and getting drugs into the area is easy.

“It’s in Delta, it’s in Peach Bottom, it’s in Fawn Grove, Crossroads—wherever you have one person who becomes involved in drugs, they attract more people and the problem mushrooms in the area.”

McShane said the district administration will not stop with this meeting, but will continue to hold meetings to keep the community connected and aware.

“I am proud of our kids; they are wonderful kids,” he said. “You have our support, you have the support of the school board, you have the support of the police, let’s not let our kids go down the wrong path.”

-- Reach Heidi Bernhard-Bubb at 854-1575 or hbubb@yorkdispatch.com .
Parents workshop scheduled
The South Eastern school district will hold a drug and alcohol workshop for parents at 7 p.m. June 22 in the Kennard-Dale High School Auditorium.

Drug prevention specialist Michelle Nirenberg of the Adams-Hanover Counseling Center based in York City will make a presentation on warning signs of drug use and preventive measures parents can take.

Superintendent Thomas McShane said the meeting would be the first of many meetings to address the problem the district is facing.

In addition, state police Lt. Pat Gibhart said parents, students, and community members can call state Trooper Chris Keppel at 717-428-1011 or a 24-hour hotline 1-888-UNDER21 to report known or suspected drug or alcohol abuse.

Source: The York Dispatch (we obtain permission for external material)
by HEIDI BERNHARB-BUBB
Posted by Dan Baldwin on 05/26/2005 at 03:53 PM in News

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