When OCSAP Coalition Began - Sept.5 2007

Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition’s campaign against youth alcohol use are coalition members, from left, Deborah Allen, chair; Carole Scheerbaum; Kristen Kroflich, project director; Jill Eddy; Cory Hickman; Russ Taylor; Sharon Parker; Debbie Wood and Judy Kesterson. Standing in the back is Greg Puckett of Mercer County Teen Court. - Photo by Betsy Bethel

A coalition is born.

Out of 55 counties in West Virginia, Ohio County has the third highest percentage of youth who drink alcohol, according to the West Virginia Prevention Resource Network.

In addition: - Half of teens find little harm in drinking beer, - Three-quarters find little harm in drinking wine coolers, and - Roughly two-thirds report easy access to both.

“We want to make sure people know there is a youth alcohol problem in Ohio County and that everyone knows there is something we can do about it,” said Kristen Kroflich, Ohio County project director for the federal Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant, which is helping to fund a campaign against youth alcohol abuse in the county.

The Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition launched the campaign at a luncheon Sept. 5 at Undo’s in Elm Grove, where Kroflich presented the facts, figures and goals. Attending the presentation were officials from various local agencies that make up the coalition, as well as media, law enforcement and prospective coalition members.

This was taken from an article in the Wheeling News Register.

Poster Contest Winners

As many of you know, I was able to bring Keep a Clear Mind curriculum to 5 area schools. The Coalition held a poster contest for Alcohol Awareness month. We recieved entries from from 4th Graders at 4 Ohio County Schools who took part in Keep a Clear Mind. These schools included Madison, Elm Grove, Ritchie, and Middle Creek. There were 9 classes altogether, and we had 3 winners (well actually all the children who took part in Keep a Clear Mind were winners).

The winning entries appeared on billboards around Wheeling during the month of April. The winners were Courtney Kekahuna from Elm Grove, Michelle Williams from Middle Creek, and Kierra Mitchell from Madison. There will be an award ceremony tonight at the Ohio County Schools Board of Education Meeting , which I will proudly be attending. Let's hear it for the great kids of Ohio County Schools.

Martha Polinsky, Prevention Educator