TRACs Is Moving Ahead

by David Flint
The community coalition to combat alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse among youth in the Berlin school district is taking shape and moving ahead. Following a breakfast meeting on February 4 at which John Underwood gave a rousing call to action, The TRACs (Together Reducing Alcohol and Drugs in our Communities) group has continued to meet on the second Tuesday of the month. About 20 persons attended the meeting this week at the Seventh Day Baptist Church Hall in Berlin. Guests included Undersheriff Pat Russo and Captain Derek Pyle from the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department and Trooper Mike Anson from the New York State Police Schodack Barracks. Also attending were County Community Prevention Coordinator Margaret Brennan who is guiding the group in its formation, Berlin School Board Member Liz Miller and her husband, retired teacher Bob Miller, Berlin Middle School Principal Cathy Allain, Berlin Councilman Richard von Schilgen, Girl Scout leaders and students from the Berlin chapter of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions).
Brennan reported that the third Communities That Care county-wide survey will be conducted in the schools next week. This will provide data from 2006 to the present on youth behavior, perceptions and attitudes regarding alcohol, tobacco and drug use. Brennan said that while the previous survey results for Berlin were very disturbing, especially among tenth graders, the numbers in Schodack and Hoosick Falls had also been of great concern but after coalitions were formed in those areas, the numbers had improved by the second survey and she expected to see further improvement in next week’s survey. There is much work to be done throughout the County, she said, and abuse of prescription drugs is making the problem worse. She noted that four young persons have died in the County just since September from abusing prescription drugs.
Undersheriff Russo applauded the group for their efforts. Police, he said, cannot do the job alone. He affirmed that for a community to effectively attack the problem the first step is to establish a coalition like this, then identify the problems and come up with solutions. Community attitudes toward drugs and alcohol can be changed, he said, noting the change that has taken place in the general public with tobacco use. He pledged that the Sheriff’s Department will help in any way they can, but people have to cooperate. If they know where the drugs are coming from and where they are being used, they should report it. People can call the Drug Tip Line at 270-0128, anonymously if they wish. The response won’t always be immediate, but the calls will not be ignored. TRACs Co-Chair Andrew Zlotnick said the challenge is to convince people that informing is not tattling. You might save a life, and that life might even be your own if you keep one teenager from driving drunk.
Captain Pyle agreed that people need to start calling if they are aware of problems. He said the Sheriff’s Deputies make a couple of sweeps through this area every night but they don’t get that many calls out here. People need to call if they know of parties going on or if they hear that alcohol is being sold to minors. “We’re here for you, but you have to request it,” he said.
Trooper Anson, who serves as a Resource Officer at Averill Park and Tamarac schools, said the survey numbers from Berlin were not surprising to him. Though the abuse numbers are in some instances twice as high as the County rate, the problem is serious throughout the County and the number one reason students give is boredom. Anson thought this was definitely a factor in this area and there is also not a lot of law enforcement in downtown Berlin. Anson, too, was appreciative of the efforts of the TRACs members in establishing a coalition, but he advised them not to expect dramatic results too soon as it takes time to change community attitudes. Some of us, he said, may never see the impact.
There are several ongoing programs about substance abuse in the Berlin schools. The DARE program focuses on the elementary school, Project Alert is a program for seventh and eighth-graders, and SADD has been established at the high school. Cathy Allain, Principal of the Middle School, said that parent-teacher conferences are also being used to alert parents to the dangers. She said school staff have stepped up their procedures against substance abuse and they do not hesitate now to call authorities. But it still comes back to the community. People don’t realize, she said, that school staff are often the last to know if a student is using. Kazie Furcinite, a member of SADD and also Secretary of TRACs, said that the programs are good and worth it even if they change the minds of one or two kids but most kids don’t pay that much attention. They hear all the talk about smoking but see around them people who have smoked all their lives and lived for many years. At their age they think they are indestructible. The warnings about alcohol or drug abuse seem to hit home only when someone dies. Even then, others in the room noted, the effect is only temporary.
Furcinite said that marijuana can be smelled on school buses, in middle school and high school bathrooms and in the gym changing rooms. She said teachers and bus drivers have been told but nothing results.
The group discussed sending out a letter to parents explaining their responsibilities regarding drug and alcohol laws and warning of penalties. It would be modeled after one that John Underwood described last month. Underwood suggested it be co-signed by law enforcement authorities, the District Attorney, local judges, the Superintendent of Schools and the school Athletic Director. Russo and Anson thought there would be no problem with having the Sheriff and the State Police Zone 1 Commander sign such a letter. Councilman von Schilgen said he had spoken with local town justices about it and they were supportive but thought there could be legal restrictions precluding them from signing it. The group decided to go ahead with drafting the letter. It was undecided whether it would be on State Police letterhead or some other. Parent pledges from the Safe Homes Parents Network may also be included with the letter.
The TRACs group also decided to have Brennan apply for a federal Drug Free Communities Mentoring Program grant in the amount of $75,000 to be split between the Berlin and Hoosic Valley school communities. The application is quite lengthy and requires a lot of information about the community which will have to be supplied by TRACs members.
TRACs Co-Chair Andrew Zlotnick said that he and Co-Chair Brad Deyo will be working on electronic ways to get information out to the community, especially to the younger people, one possibility being the use of Facebook.
“If we save one life, all this will be worth it,” Zlotnick said.