City says drug and alcohol prevention program will be changed, not eliminated

The City Council may officially cancel the Island’s D.A.R.E. program next month during its scheduled 2009-2010 biennial budget approval, but City Manager Rich Conrad said that the program would be continued in another fashion.

On Nov. 3, the Council is scheduled to discuss and approve the budget of the Island’s police department, which no longer plans to fund the decades-old youth drug and alcohol prevention program.

During the City Council meeting last Monday, Conrad said that D.A.R.E. was not being cancelled, but changed. He also said that by canceling the police department position, the city would save about $60,000 a year and help reduce the department’s reliance on overtime, saving even more money.

Another Island police officer has not been appointed to the position since former D.A.R.E. officer Jennifer Franklin was chosen as the city’s new emergency preparedness coordinator. The Island’s D.A.R.E. program is the oldest in the state.

Communities That Care, another drug and alcohol prevention program, is currently in a pilot stage. City officials plan to incorporate aspects of D.A.R.E. into the Communities That Care project.