area law enforcement agencies

Area law enforcement officers spent much of last week teaching school-aged children about the dangers of illegal drugs.

Members of the Troy Police Department and Pike County Sheriff’s Department visited schools and presented programs as part of Red Ribbon Week, a national drug awareness program.

We commend these officers for their time and efforts in preparing meaningful presentations for area youth. Children got to see demonstrations of a drug sniffing dog and of a drug surveillance helicopter.

They got to see what illegal drugs look like and learned ways to say "no" if they are offered drugs.

Hopefully, their work will have an impact on the lives of these young people and the community.

By teaching children about the dangers of drugs, law enforcement officers can make our community a safer and nicer place to live.

We also commend area children for their interest and participation in Red Ribbon Week.

At each of the schools our staff members visited last week, children wore red ribbons and attentively listened to what police officers and sheriff’s deputies had to say.

Taking a stand against illegal drugs is not easy for today’s kids. They are under constant barrage of messages from television, movies and music that drug use is cool. In addition, they may be pressured by their peers to try drugs.

It takes a lot of courage on the part of each child to say no to drugs.

It says a lot about area children and their parents that they are paying attention to the important lesson of saying no to drugs and hopefully learning how to do this in the process.