Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 22, 1995 TAG: 9505230052
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Pills, pot, bongs and a crack pipe lay on a table as a long-haired rock 'n' roll band banged out a Pearl Jam tune.
Police moved about with dogs that sniffed relentlessly for marijuana hidden in packages.
Rescue workers with ambulances and even the Life-Guard 10 helicopter stood at the ready.
A major drug bust at an out-of-hand party? Far from it.
The scene was in the parking lot next to William Byrd High School on Sunday afternoon. It was a "Parents Rally to Protect Our Youth" organized by the Vinton Community School Core Team. The Core Team is a grass-roots organization of parents and students devoted to keeping kids safe and away from drugs.
The drugs were part of a police display, and the dogs, from the Roanoke County Police K-9 unit, were part of a demonstration of how police dogs work. Kids climbed through the ambulances - also just on display.
Rally organizers say their mission is to let parents and kids know what dangers they have to face these days.
"These things are everybody's problem," said Vinton Police Chief Rick Foutz, who was on hand to participate in a talk show-style panel discussion. "Parents have to take responsibility for where their kids are and who they are with. Students, too."
JoAnn Burkholder, one of the event organizers, said the rally grew out of concern about drug use at a February rave party at the Olympic Roller Skating Center in Vinton, where some drug arrests were made.
Burkholder, student assistance coordinator for William Byrd, said some students and parents came to her, worried about drug use. So she and others, including Mike Stovall, who represents the Vinton district on the Roanoke County School Board, started organizing the rally.
"We don't have anything against the raves, except for the drug abuse," Burkholder said.
Besides police and rescue workers' displays, there were booths run by Roanoke Valley Safe Kids Coalition, Division of Motor Vehicles, Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition, American Lung Association and others.
At the illegal drug display, one little boy pointed at the bright yellow and pink pills under glass and asked if they were "bad drugs."
"These are all bad drugs," said Roanoke County D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer Miles Jackson. "You see any of those, you just stay away."
The boy pointed to a couple of different pills and a black substance and asked if each was cocaine.
Jackson said it was comforting that the boy didn't even know what cocaine looked like.
The turnout for the rally was not huge, but organizers seemed pleased.
"Considering it's our first time and we organized it in a month," Burkholder said, "we're considering this a success."
by CNB