Rooney issued a challenge to get 200 residents to attend a forum that will be scheduled in April to get the community to begin to combat the problem of teen drinking and drug use.
LUDLOW – Selectman William Rooney issued a challenge to get 200 residents to attend a forum that will be scheduled for April 24 to get the community to begin to combat the problem of teen drinking and drug use.
“We have a drug problem in this community,” Rooney said.
Rooney made the comments at a forum held Wednesday night at Baird Middle School to update residents on attempts to educate parents and students about efforts to combat bullying by students.
Claire Thompson, legal compliance officer for the school system, said that a lot of bullying of students takes place on the Internet via social media such as Facebook, or emails. She said the school district is doing a good job of early intervention when it receives bullying complaints.
Students can be registered as sex offenders as a result of their Internet activity, she said. She said parents should monitor their children on Facebook.
Smart phones are really pocket computers, Thompson said. She said that children are responsible for emails they forward as well as initiate.
The school district is planning the April 24 forum on teenage drinking and the effect of alcohol use on students’ growing and developing brains.
Parents at Wednesday's forum said there is a problem with abuse of the prescription drug OxyContin in the community. They said there are homes in town where Oxycontin is being sold to teens.
Oxycontin use can lead to addiction and increased house and car breaks, Rooney said.
“We need to start talking about this as a community,” Rooney said. “These are our kids.”
Rooney said he will contact sports associations so no practices are held on April 24. Religious leaders, civic organizations and the media all will be asked to promote attendance at the meeting, Rooney said.
He said many parents think that drug use will not affect their families and are surprised to find out that it is prevalent in their neighborhoods.
“We need to bring drug and alcohol use down,” he said.
Interim School Superintendent Donna Hogan said she will begin developing a format for the April 24 forum.