Grand Island Community Enrichment Council
One Island, One Team and One Dream to Be Drug Free - July 2007
Logo entries created by Grand Island school children
Christine Stange photo/story - Click for larger view
Tuesday July 17, 2007 . . Town officials, School District personnel and Community Youth Group Leaders met at the Town Hall Tuesday afternoon as a collaborative initiative to address drug use concerns on Grand Island. In attendance were: Reg Schopp-Youth Board Representative, Mary Cooke-Town Councilwoman, Dick Crawford-Town Councilman, Robert Christmann-Grand Island School District Superintendent, Sandra Anzalone-Grand Island High School Principal, Christopher Swiatek-Assistant Principal Grand Island High School, Bruce Benson-Veronica E. Connor Middle School Principal, Dennis Albert-Youth Court/Diversion Program Representative, Jim Patterson-Grand Island High School Coach/Young Life Representative, Cheryl Chamberlain-Grand Island High School Teacher, Dolly D’Orazio-Reality Café, Neena Nohria-GIFTS Program and Christine Stange-IsledeGrande. The committee’s mission is to make Grand Island a safer place to live by adopting proactive measures to combat drug problems in the community. The meeting commenced with the display of logo entries created by Grand Island school children that exemplify the mission’s purpose: “One Island, One Team and One Dream to Be Drug Free.” Specific drug use problems in the community were identified and discussed. Mrs. Anzalone reported that during the 2006-2007 school year, there were 16 drug related suspensions at the Grand Island High School. All of these suspensions involved the abuse of prescription drugs. It was determined that dissemination of information relevant to the hazards of inappropriate storage of prescription medication would be helpful in curbing drug abuse problems in the community. Plans to participate in the National Night Out Campaign on August 7, 2007 were discussed. In addition to providing a informational booth during the campaign, the committee discussed plans to participate in Project 365, a specific component of the National Night Out that designates a particular “problem area” in the community, sets forth an agenda to deal with the problem and reports tangible results of the project one year later. The committee’s goal is to encourage community wide drug related education and thereby provide a grass roots, family based effort to eliminate drug abuse on Grand Island.
If you are interested in attending please Email:Dan Stinson , our Current Chair for updates and location.
Substance Abuse Trends & Paraphernalia - May 2007
Presentation by Sally Yageric - ECCPASA - PTA sponsored
Sally Yageric from the office of the Erie County Council for the Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse gave a presentation on Monday, April 30, 2007 for the parents of students in the Grand Island School District, sponsored by the PTA.
The statistics are frightening regarding the age of first use for alcohol, tobacco and drugs in New York State. According to Mrs. Yageric, within the last year 11.9% of 6th graders have used beer, 19.1% have used wine coolers and 4.6% have used liquor. The average age of first use of marijuana is 14 years old and 48.4% of 12th graders have used in the past year. Inhalants were addressed and the percentage of use in all grades is listed as an average of 6%. Usage of inhalants attacks the central nervous system and can kill during the first use.
Locally on Grand Island heroin pills and prescription drugs were named as the drugs of choice, with the painkillers Oxycodone and Oxycontin being widely available. Mrs. Yageric displayed many different types of paraphernalia to the audience. Examples were lipstick tubes and chap stick tubes that are actually bowls for smoking marijuana and containers for holding drugs that are exact replicas of water bottles and snack containers. The presentation is shocking and informative. The drugs of today are much more potent than 30 years ago. The chance of addiction and overdose has risen as a direct result.
Chairperson
Mission: “Working together to support the mental, physical and emotional well-being of our Grand Island community.”
Belief Statement: "We believe that as a group we are able to encourage positive changes in the community, schools and neighborhoods.”
Goals: Statement of Goals: To support asset building throughout the community and to coordinate community resources"
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