Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 5, 1991 TAG: 9102050026
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Tammy Poole/Newsfun editor
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
On Tuesday, pupils at some schools including Fairview Elementary School in Northwest Roanoke learned to say "no" to illegal drugs during a rally called Operation Know.
Sporting their "Know to say No" headbands, the kids played games, sang songs and listened to D.F. (Drug Free), a robot who talks to kids about drugs.
They also made lifetime pledges to President George Bush and Gov. Douglas Wilder to be drug-free.
"This program has taught me that drugs can mess you up," said fourth-grader Latashia Daniels.
Operation KNOW is a drug education program sponsored by area Kiwanis clubs, the Kiwanis International Foundation, National Business College, DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), some area PTAs and the Salvation Army.
During the rally DARE officer T.J. Palmer, Fairview Elementary's resource officer, was host of "The KNOW Game" - a quiz show game based on the television game show "Jeopardy."
Several pupils selected questions from five categories such as "True or False" and "Yes or No" about drugs and alcohol: "True or false: Drugs affect the way we think and how we act?"
When the pupil correctly answered a question, he or she won a prize ranging from a "Know when to say no" T-shirt to buttons with the "No" slogan.
"I thought the program was very exciting," said 9-year-old Rhiana Roper, also a fourth-grader. "I liked it when they played the Know game, but my favorite part was D.F., the robot."
"D.F.," a life-size robot complete with blinking lights, was the hit of the show. He entertained the kids by dancing with one of the teachers.
"Hey, all you dudes and dudettes," D.F. said, "do you know what to do if you're at the park playing, and you see a policeman go by and then somebody offers you drugs? Who you gonna call? Drugbusters!"
D.F. told the kids he is from the future. "There are no drugs in the future . . . And I party drug free."
He held a shouting contest between the kids and answered several questions from the audience.
"Who made you?" asked one of the pupils.
"I'm made by a bunch of drug free engineers in Georgia," D.F. said. "If they had taken drugs, they wouldn't be able to make robots. You know why? Because when you do drugs, you tend to forget a lot of stuff."
Operation Know is designed for kids ages 5-12, so they can learn about saying no to drugs before they are faced with the decision of whether or not to use drugs and the peer pressure to try them, according to Kiwanis International. The average age of beginning drug use is 12 years old, the organization says.
In addition to the headbands, kids received a sticker collection, a minidesk organizer, an offer to become a "Kid in the KNOW" member, and a pencil.
D.F. and Operation KNOW members also visited pupils at Garden City Elementary School in Southeast Roanoke and Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem.
"Since drug use is the most serious threat to the health and well-being of our children, we've initiated an ongoing campaign, complimentary to our existing drug education program (DARE), to teach our students why and how to say `No' to alcohol and other drugs," Andrew Lewis Principal Jerry Campbell said.
by CNB