Wednesday, April 29/1992 West Kootenay Carpets’ WAREHOUSE . CLEARANCE SALE APRIL 23-MAY 3 8 a.m.-6 p.m. OPEN SUNDAY FOR THIS SPECIAL EVENT ONLY! ALL INVENTORY MUST GO! a. TURF _ Starting at COMMERCIAL CARPETING Starting at RESIDENTIAL CARPETING $4 O Premium Quality. Starting at ...... occu This is one floor show you ent want to miss. OVER 40,000 YARDS IN STOCK. Some goods at of below cost! WEST KOOTENAY CARPETS 4370 Minto Road, Cr, pets | Castlegar Industrial Park 365-2265 @ Wednesday, April-29, 1992 AroundTOWN Our cla for Our People Glen Freeman 365-7266 PAPER’S, BOY The Ad Hoc Recycling Comittee is sponsoring a recycle day Saturday; May 2 from 9 am to6 pm inthe - Safeway parking lot. Residents are asked to drop off paper and aluminum , cans to be recycled. DINNER IS SERVED The Castlegar- Trail Full Gospel Business Men’s Family Fellowship is hosting an evening of inspiration and fun Thursday, May 7 at 6:60 pm at the Castlegar Sandman Inn. The evening will include a talk by World War Il air vet Lew Schweigner, a roast beef dinner, and karaoke. Call 365-5180 for reservations. OurPEOPLE - Drug-free is fine Peer counselors know there’s an alternative to drugs Glen Freeman NEWS REPORTER Kids in Castlegar are using drugs right now. A recently released B.C. government survey has brought to light some facts which are interesting, if not shocking. The survey revealed that approximately 24 per cent of Grade 8 to 12 students in the province are “at high risk for substance abuse.” The questionnaire, which was answered by 14,140 B.C. school children in 1990, was designed to obtain information about the patterns and extent of drug use among youths. The results were released in March, and they contain some surprises. For instance, 23.1 per cent of respondents said they had used cannabis during the previous year, 12.4 per cent used prescription barbiturates, 10.4 per cent had taken hallucinogens, while cocaine use was reported by 5.7 per cent of the students. Alcohol, a drug which is tolerated by many, was used by a staggering 72.3 per cent of Grade 8 to 12 students. But perhaps what is most surprising is that the number of kids reporting drug use of any kind in the last 12 months was highest in the Kootenays/ Thompson-Okanagan region. However, that fact may not be terribly surprising to Const. Larry Oster of the Castlegar RCMP. “A lot of kids from about 13 on are using alcohol on a regular basis in this area,” Oster said. “And in my opinion alcohol is a drug.” An illegal drug at that, if it’s being consumed by anyone under the age of 19 in this province. But Oster added that alcohol is not the only drug being abused by local youth. “We have pretty much the whole scope of drugs in this area,” he said. “Cocaine is quite a popular drug here, and crack was developed to appeal to a larger portion of the population. It’s an affordable high.” However, Oster does not have a fatalistic view” of Castlegar youth. “IT think if given other choices, a lot of kids wouldn’t be doing drugs.” Enter the Stanley Humphries Peer Counselors. They are a group of 12 students who have been trained to listen to their peers and let them know that somebody cares. “Sometimes a student feels more comfortable talking to someone their own age as opposed to an adult counselor,” said Grade 12 student Paula Furey. But they’re not out to save ’ the world by pushing advice on fellow students. “We can’t solve anyone else’s problems,” said Rae Carter. “We’re just here to listen to them and see if we can help them come to their own conclusions.” However, the peer counselors have taken a more aggressive approach to drug use and elementary schools. They have takén a message to all Grade 6 classes at Castlegar’s Twin Rivers Elementary School: You don’t have to take drugs to be cool. “At this age kids are very impressionable,” said Christina Rowsell. “They see us just across the street, and soon they will be put into difficult situations. “They need to know what an alternate route is so that they don’t fall into the drug trap that other young people all over Canada have.” And the peer counselors do show the elementary kids an alternate route to drug use. They take an RCMP drug display into classrooms, show ‘ids what drugs are, field countless questions about drugs, and leave them with a powerful message — taking drugs is stupid. “I think if given other choices, a lot of kids wouldn’t be doing drugs.”’ — Const. Larry Oster That message needs to be told, says Oster. “Grade 6 is a transitions year for kids,” he said. “You get relatively few drug- related problems with kids that are under 12 years old. But I don’t know, after that it seems like peer pressure takes over. “That’s what the S.H. students are is peer counselors, and I think that if the younger children are getting advice from a kid that’s older, then they can take direction from them.” However, Oster knows that peers can only do so much, and that parents must play a role in deterring their children from drug use. “Behavior is one of the tell- tale signs of drug use, and parents must be aware of them so they can act,” Oster said. The signs of drug abuse, as outlined by Health and Welfare Canada, are as follows: ¢ Sudden changes in behavior, irritable, hostile, depressed,withdrawn, unpredictable. ¢Sudden shifts in or secretiveness about activities. ¢ Lack of interest in school and recreation. ¢ Sudden increase or lack of appetite. ¢ More sensitivity about privacy. ¢ Avoiding communication with parents; hiding away. ¢ Not sleeping enough or sleeping too much at strange hours. ¢ Bloated appearance. Once a parent has detected that their child has a drug problem, Oster says the responsible thing to do is act upon that knowledge. “There are plenty of groups out there that can give advise,”, Oster said. “For instance there’s the drug and alcohol counselor down at community services. His expertise is. with younger people, now they just have to go in and visit him.” But until kids who use drugs choose to see a professional, there are plenty of kids like the S.H. peer counselors who listen to them, and let them know they don’t have to do drugs. THE DRUGS HERE ARE FACSIMILES eee Mok Sts, Ow Ry nae Paula Furey, (left to right) Tom Phipps, STIMULANTS Hameactamonrs News photo by Glen Freeman Rae Carter, Eric Ruljancich and Christina Rowsell are just five of the Stanley Humphries Peer Counselors who are taking their anti-drug message to elementary kids.