Drug abuse

...Haverstraw Juvenile Mentoring Program seeks funding to stay afloat Haverstraw Juvenile Mentoring Program seeks funding to stay afloat By HEMA EASLEY heasley@lohud.com THE JOURNAL NEWS How to help To volunteer or become a member of Big Brother Big Sister, visit www.bbbsofrc.com or call Gillian Ballard at 845-634-2199 Ext.

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(Original publication: March 31, 2006) HAVERSTRAWAfter a casual meal of pizza and soda, the boisterous group of boys and girls settled down into a circle to discuss the lessons they learned from a police officer's talk about gangs the previous week."Gangs are violent," offered Juan Nieves, a Haverstraw boy of 12 with wavy hair."They'll force you to do drugs and kidnap you," added Brian Duarte, 10, of Haverstraw.Officer Chris Dodrill's presentation in mid-March was one of the many positive messages that children at Big Brothers Big Sisters' Juvenile Mentoring Program, or JUMP, have been exposed to since the federally funded program was introduced two years ago.

Dodrill is a student resource officer and a DARE officer with the Ramapo Police Department.The program, administered by the Department of Justice, offers one-to-one mentoring projects for mostly low-income Hispanic youths at risk of failing or dropping out of school or becoming involved in gang activity and substance abuse.The program has helped keep many children from a life of crime by providing positive role models, helping with schoolwork and teaching them how to deal with conflict and reso...

...ba href=/drug abuse/a/b and to generate ideas for Knights of Columbus anti-substance abuse posters and literature.

ADVERTISEMENT The Knights of Columbus Substance Abuse Awareness Poster Contest is open to all boys and girls 8-14.

The contest is conducted at the local level with winning entries progressing through district/regional and state levels of competition to the international level.

The winning entries at the international level serve as the basis for a series of anti-substance abuse posters, with creative credit going to their artists, to be distributed throughout the countries in which the Knights of Columbus is present.

According to Knights of Columbus, over the past decade many fraternal organizations, businesses, schools, churches, synagogues and individuals have donated time and money to the fight against the ever-present epidemic of substance abuse.

One way to rectify this worldwide problem is through the spread of information.

Increasing public awareness concerning the dangers of drugs and alcohol through the cooperation of individuals and organizations has garnered significant results.For information, call Mike Crimmins, Grand Knight Council 7353, at 431-8560.

View all four posters in an online photo gallery at www.baxterbulletin.com.

Originally published March 31, 2006 Print this article Email this to a friend Subscribe Now Photo Submitted Nora Guthrie's poster which won first at local, district and state levels for alcohol awareness.

Photo Galleries: K of C Post...

...ba href=/drug abuse/a/b or delinquency.

Although teens often can think as logically as an adult, the process can be easily derailed by flaring emotions or other distractions.

"The reason that kids take chances when they drive is not because they're ignorant," said Temple University psychologist Laurence Steinberg.

"It's because other things undermine their better judgment." The synaptic growth spurt that occurs in puberty is similar to the ones that occur after birth, when the brain first begins to learn.

The early exposure to the outside world enables the brain to connect to the body, developing its capacity for processing sound, sight, smell, touch and taste, and to make sense of them.

Learning occurs only after excess synapses not stimulated by experience are eliminated, much like the pieces of marble that have to be chipped away to create a work of art.

Now scientists have found that a second wave of growth and pruning occurs in adolescence.

Synapses that are not incorporated into neural networks for memory, decision-making and emotional control are eliminated to make way for a leaner, more efficient brain.

This late blossoming of synapses, it is thought, provides the brain with a new capacity for learning and allows the brain to make the transition from childhood to adulthood.

For frazzled parents, the findings may provide new understanding and patience as their teens navigate this increasingly rough passage.

Science is finally beginning to see what's going on in the teen mind.

"We'r...