More must be done to stop drug abuse among youth
I may only be 14, but I have seen a lot for my age. Iíve met drug dealers, Iíve watched people get high and Iíve seen plenty of kidsí lives go down the drain because of drugs.
When I was in the fifth grade in Statesville, there was a drug program for our schools: DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education).
The DARE program has implemented a new, successful middle school curriculum called ěKeepiní it real.î I know that ever since I took DARE, I was afraid to even go into the medicine cabinet; I learned that drugs are a very serious thing, what really goes on inside your body when you use drugs, and so many other risks that many teens are just so unaware of.
Back in 2008, Dr. Judy Grissom’s column showed the problems we are facing in schools as a result of teens abusing prescription medication and other illegal drugs. More recently, in December reporter Shavonne Potts wrote a column about teens finding escape through the medicine cabinet. This only tells a portion of all the kids using drugs just here in Rowan County. The drug use in middle schools alone is ridiculous. When I was going into middle school, I never thought I would have to deal with anything like this. Teens my age, or even younger ěsnortingî pills on the bus, smoking weed on and off school campus and smoking cigarettes as well.
No one understands what they are just tossing away by doing drugs. This is such a problem but it seems that no one is helping these kids. There is no drug program. So why not DARE? It is a very good education program, and it tells you the very honest straight-up truth that not only affected my choices, but could help affect others.
ó Gracie Rohl
Salisbury
Kudos for Fibrant experience
I want to praise Fibrant for my initial experience with them. I was nervous about having this put in, as they have to dig a trench from the street to the exterior box mounted on your house to lay the fiber line. I had visions of a torn up front yard. But I crossed my fingers and ordered service. The underground crew did a fantastic job. I didnít even know they had come and gone while I was at work. It wasnít until I saw the new Fibrant box mounted on the side of the house the next day that I realized they had been there. The yard looked great, there was no indication they had dug a trench and laid down new line unless you made a point to stand over it and look down to try and find it. My interior installation went just as well. As requested, the installer called before coming, did a fantastic job running the new fiber lines, setting everything up, demonstrated what I needed, demonstrated and answered all my questions.
Now, I know some will criticize my letter as some do have a political agenda against Fibrant. Iíve seen the online commentary. Mentioning Fibrant is like waving a red flag at a bull. But the reality is, the initial service was great and having Fibrant for Internet and TV (the picture is better than DTV) is saving me approximately $50 per month and I have a higher level of service, such as a DVR.
If they maintain this level of service, the competitors will definitely have something to worry about as word gets around that Fibrant is not the bogyman some have made it out to be .
ó Michael G. Cobb
Salisbury
Read the entire Constitution
It was a good thing for the House of Representatives to read the Constitution aloud. Unfortunately they read an amended version which left some things out, like the part about slaves counting as three-fifths of a person.
We must not forget that slavery, segregation, child labor, taking land from the Indians and denying women the right to vote used to be constitutional. Thank goodness liberals stood against these terrible policies.
ó Chuck Mann
Greensboro