Board examines drug use

Thursday, the 21 members of the Monroe County CARES board met in the ballroom of the Fountain Square Mall, 222 W. Second St., to discuss programs to reduce alcohol and other drug use among teenagers in Monroe County.\nDuring three annual meetings, the group discusses programs and needs to reduce drug use in Monroe County.\nLast year, the portion of the money allotted to Monroe County amounted to $90,000. \nCraig Brenner, secretary of the CARES board, said the board has two main roles. \nThe board decides whether the program fulfills a need existing in Monroe County before it goes to the state for final approval. The board then follows up on programs approved for funding.\nThese evaluations seek to fix any problems that might have come up since the implementation of the program and to determine whether there is still a need for the program, Lewis said.\nMary Lowery, a CARES board member, said one of the purposes for the March meeting is to gain publicity for the program. This helps get the word out about CARES to groups with ideas to reduce alcohol and other drug use among teenagers in Monroe County.\nDuring the meeting, two judges and three members of the CARES board spoke to the group of 20 to 30 people.\nMonroe Circuit Court Judge Viola Taliaferro was the first to speak. She spoke of the reality of the problem of drug use among teenagers in Monroe County. She told stories of success and failures for children going through the judicial systems to emphasize the reality of the problem.\n"Quit denying that Ecstacy and other drugs are not in the Bloomington community," she told the audience.\nTaliaferro said there are three steps to curbing drug use. First, admit there is a problem. Then, identify the problem. Finally, figure out what steps must be taken to solve the problem.\nSubstance Abuse Court Judge Kenneth Todd spoke next. After being a courtroom lawyer for eight years, he said he was surprised by the high percentage of crimes people committed while under the influence of drugs. \nHe did an unoffical survey on his own and found more than 75 percent of the criminals he tried were under the influence of alcohol or other drugs when the crime was committed.\nAfter the second summer meeting in July, the CARES board makes final recommendations to the state for programs it feels fulfill the needs of Monroe County.\nLast year, the program gave $20,000 to the Amethyst program for men and women recovering from drug abuse. And, it bought video cameras for squad cars to document cases of drunken driving. Money was also given to purchase portable breath testers for use by police officers.