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DARE to take a stand

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (May 05/06) - Cigarettes may look like tiny sticks, but as students in Class 6 at Bompas elementary school discovered, they are packed with a lot of dangerous chemicals.

NNSL Photo/graphic

Bradley Thom shakes Const. Sigmund Janke's hand during the DARE graduation ceremony at Bompas elementary school. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo


The side effects of smoking were just one of the topics that the Fort Simpson students learned about during the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program. During their graduation ceremony on April 28, the youth were happy to share their new-found knowledge.

"It's bad to smoke and drink," said Cheyenne Denethlon.

All the chemicals in cigarettes are bad for your lungs and will turn them black, said Denethlon, 11, who has decided she won't smoke.

If tobacco is bad, marijuana is even worse because there are no filters on it, said Alex Roche. The chemicals can get into your mouth and lungs so you die more easily, he said.

"The people who smoke it maybe don't know they are smoking all that bad stuff and think it's cool," said Roche.

If someone asks you to have a beer or a cigarette you should say no because it's unhealthy for your body, said Katelyn Harold.

Harold said she also learned that peer pressure isn't good and you shouldn't put people down.

All these lessons were learned over a 10-week period when Const. Sigmund Janke came to the classroom. The goal is to better inform youth on drug abuse so they can make better decisions, said Janke.

"Everyone did really well," he said.

At every session the students were very energetic and asked lots of questions about everything they talked about, said Janke.

"They are a very interactive class."

The DARE program has been running at Bompas for approximately seven years, said Terry Jaffray, the school's principal. During the ceremony the students were awarded their graduation certificates in front of gathered parents.

Aaron Nadia won the prize for best essay.

Nikita Larter was given the prize for best poster. She also read her essay in front of the audience, telling how she learned about how harmful tobacco is and the role of a filter on a cigarette.

"It taught me that smoking is bad and that I shouldn't smoke," said Larter.