Public Town Hall meetings scheduled April 23-24
Two town hall
meetings on Underage Drinking, sponsored by the Clearwater Substance Abuse
Workgroup, will be held April 23-24 in Weippe and Orofino. The forums are
designed for parents, students and all community members. Each meeting will
feature a panel of community members, students and others concerned about the
prevalence and prevention of underage alcohol consumption in our communities.
Seeing Eye to Eye (i2i)
Amy Bartoo, Idaho Drug Free Youth, will facilitate the panel and provide an interactive PowerPoint presentation on the latest and best research on teenage brain development, media, advertising and social norms around underage drinking. Bartoo is coordinator of the state’s i2i, Seeing Eye to Eye, program which is traveling to 30 Idaho communities this year.
i2i is a three phase approach to help communities deal with tough issues that parents face when raising teenagers. Eye to eye educates and unites teens, parents and caring adults with the mission of creating safe, healthy and substance free communities.
“Recent brain research illustrates the damage that can result from alcohol consumption on the brain development of children and adolescents,” said Cindy Chaney, CSAW Coordinator. “In the past there has been an attitude of ‘let kids be kids’ and a rather lax attitude toward beer and hard drinking amongst teens. We now know the negative results from that attitude.
Creating safe, healthy community attitudes
Whether we’re actively parenting now or have grown children or no children, it is important to develop a community attitude that does not condone alcohol.
Underage drinking is often involved in additional drug use, disastrous car accidents and other risky behaviors.” CSAW is sponsoring a series of newspaper ads and a billboard on Hwy. 12 to raise awareness about the importance of community attitudes and teen alcohol consumption.
Ice cream socials are planned after both town hall meetings. Sheriff Alan Hengen will help serve in Orofino and County Commissioner Don Ebert will serve at the Weippe event. Six MP3 players will be raffled off to meeting attendees.
CSAW received a $500 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to underwrite the costs for the Town Hall meetings. SAMSHA is funding 1600 similar forums in communities around the country.
The Weippe event is scheduled at Timberline High School on Wednesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. and the Orofino town hall meeting will be held Thursday April 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Orofino High School Cafeteria. Everyone is welcome.
For more information visit www.stopalcoholabuse.gov or www.clearwaterprevention.org
Pictures: Amy Bartoo (right), Idaho Drug Free Youth, speaks at a rally at one of the 30 Idaho communities that are hosting a Town Hall meeting on Underage Drinking. She will be one of the presenters at the Weippe April 23 meeting and at the Orofino forum on April 24.