A New Day is Dawning on Ohio County Prevention

January 13, 2010 marks the beginning of a new era for the Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Our Drug Free Communities grant award is fueling us with new trainings, information and strategies. We are excited with the new directions and options open to our coalition. Our hard work and dedication over the past 4 plus years have brought us to this point; building on this work is crucial for us to reach higher and progress even further.

A successful community coalition needs committed volunteers from all parts of the community. Your input can help guide us and your volunteer time can bring positive change to our county.

Please come and hear about:

• Social Marketing
• Youth Activities
• Parent Activities
• New Chairperson
• New roles for staff and members
• Name and logo change?
• Prescription Drug Summit in March
• Prescription Drug Take Back Program
• Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol
• By-Laws

ALL community members are welcome to attend. We hope to see you there! If you plan to attend please RSVP to 304-233-2045 ext 305 or mpolinsky@ysswv.com; lunch will be served.

Sticker Shock Waves Felt in Elm Grove

OCSAPC and our Youth in Action Team ( a part of We are The Future) hit 2 Elm Grove off-premise alcohol sales locations. The youth along with Wheeling PD and OCSAPC volunteers placed colorful stickers on alcohol products (with permission from the stores, of course). The sticker, designed by the youth, reminds adults not to purchase alcohol for minors. The impact from the stickers may be felt by area residents throughout the holidays as they may be serving alcohol through the season. 1500 stickers were dispensed!! Thanks you to Doree, Keith, Lindly, James, Cody, Steve, Officers Miller and Braden, Julia, Heather, Grant, and Shane for you help and community spirit.

Parents Promote Prevention

Pictured here are concerned parents and Ohio County SAPC coalition members: Ken Boyle, Terri Garrett, Cheryl Maltese, and Heather Markonich. The most recent meeting was Oct. 28 and there parents discussed future activity options; they also offered much needed support to each other. All concerned parents, grand parents and community members are welcome. The next meeting is slated for January!

Red Ribbon Week- Lock and Count Your Meds!

This year for Red Ribbon Week our coalition decided to kick off our campaign to address prescription drug abuse in Ohio County. We aim our public service announcements on WTOV and billboards around town on bringing attention to a problem which many parents and adult community members do not believe is happening to the extent that it does in our county. We are continually finding new statistics that emphasize that prescription drug misuse is on the rise with our young people.

Prescription drug misuse is reaching an epidemic proportion in West Virginia and Ohio County. In fact, WV had the highest state rate of drug overdoses leading to death for adults under the age of 45 years of age. Of 295 fatal overdoses, prescription pain medication contributed to 93.2%.

At the local level, Ohio County has a higher rate of youth non medical use of pain relievers than several southern counties and the state rate of use (National Survey on Drug Use, 2003). Youth often gain access to prescription drugs from family, friends and directly from the medicine cabinet. Research indicates that teenagers abuse prescription drugs more than heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines, crack or ecstasy; partly because they see prescription drug misuse as “safer” than other drugs (WV Drug Abuse Quit Line, 2008).

We are asking the community to "Lock and Count Your Meds."

Parents Promote Prevention

As a result of our Parent Town Hall meeting, some local parents decided to continue meeting to promote prevention with Ohio County youth. The next meeting is Oct. 28 from 6-8pm at Christ United Methodist Church. All parents or grand parents welcome!

Topics:

• Support & Ideas
• Education of Parents
• Prevention Strategies
• Real Life Solutions
• Partner with schools and churches

Parents Unite in Prevention

Our recent Parent Town Hall style meeting brought together parents with concern for underage drinking. It has prompted them to start meeting on a monthly basis. The next meeting will be Oct. 28 from 6-8pm at Christ United Methodist Church. Share information and explore ideas on substance abuse prevention and early intervention. Parents have said they want to support each other as they deal with substance abuse issues with their teenagers.

Parent Point Of View! It's Crucial!

Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition has spent a good deal of energy addressing youth retail access to alcohol. According to our surveys, social access through parents, relatives, and friends is the main way youth gain access to alcohol. We would like to focus on this area, however we need to know how the community thinks and views this issue. This Town Hall Meeting is an opportunity to allow the community a chance to hear information about underage drinking effects on health and well-being of youth. More importantly it is our chance to hear what to community believes in light o this information. All opinions welcome!

Community Tunes Into Prevention

OCSAPC Hosts Learning Opportunity for Community

County Coalition Project Directors from Region One WV decided they want to host a Substance Abuse Prevention Luncheon. The WV Statewide Prevention System includes all county coalitions, WV Prevention Resource Center and the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being. The Partnership to Promote Comunity Well-Being is composed of members of state government and community agencies with a stake in prevention. Some of our coalition members have a counterpart at the state level representing them as they help with our community work . In order to sustain this prevention system, already in place, county coalitions across WV support codification of the partnership.

OCSAPC has the opportunity to host several WV legislators, Wheeling city officials, coalition directors and the community for a luncheon Sept. 10. We and the other county project directors aim to show off our activities and accomplishments in hopes to show the importance of prevention in WV. Wayne Coombs, Executive Director WV Prevention Resource Center, will address the group on the cost of substance abuse and the importance of state level support to continuing the statewide comprehensive prevention plan. It's very exciting and we will keep you posted on our progress.

$625,000 from Drug Free Communities Grant

Ohio County OCSAPC is among the 161 newly funded county coalitions across the country out of 417 applicants. $625,000 will be awarded over the next five years for prevention and reduction of alcohol, prescription drug and marijuana abuse and misuse. According to Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, "Evidence shows the communities receiving DFC funding have lower instances of youth using tobacco, alcohol and marijuana.

Our work begins anew! We couldn't be happier for Ohio County. Our accomplishments over the last five years havebeen gratifying and we plan to continue that same enthusiasm in the next five years.

Our state is spending so much money on many issues caused by substance abuse from legal to medical; we have the opportunity to get to the root of the problem. Prevent drug abuse and you save loads of money, emotional pain, and loss of young life. We can't afford it any more! We have an opportunity here to bring attention to the problem and offer solutions. Social Change takes time and without community commitment we would be no where. You help and support is the most valuable resource we have! Receiving money to help youth in our community is tremendous and when combined with the commitment and passion our community has for something better for our youth; real change is possible.

Actions speak louder than words

Parent Town Hall Meeting Challenge!

The Parent Town Hall Meeting takes place Sept. 22 at 12:30pm at Christ United Methodist Church 1232 National Rd. The topic will be parents who play host to underage drinking parties. We have speakers lined up to address health and well-being issues surrounding youth consuming alcohol. Many parents who do host parties honestly believe it's safer for their teens. We want parents to explore what safer really means. We hope for honest, open discussion with opposing view points.

The challenge: If you see this posting and you feel strongly about this issue either way, please come to the meeting and BRING A FRIEND. Parents are a very dificult group to get together with work and children, but we could use your input on this issue. Let your community know you care about our youth.

"Life is not a game show, we don't need a host!"

OCSAPC will begin to address parents playing host to parties for underage drinkers. According to interviews with community members last year, most believe that youth gain access to alcohol through family, friends and parents. This September our coalition will hold a Parent Town Hall Meeting in which we will explore why parents supply youth with alcohol. We will consult experts from medicine, law enforcement, treatment, and recovery. A primary focus will be on youth health and well being.

"We Are The Future" youth have supplied us our game show theme which will be utilized for this campaign. We hope this will begin an open, honest dialogue within our community.

OCSAPC Wants Community Leaders! That's You!

Come and join us for our July 8, 2009 Quarterly OCSAPC Meeting! Help us strategize and plan for upcoming events or just find out what is going on in your community! We welcome anyone interested in Substance Abuse Prevention! Together we can come together to make our county a safer, healthier place to live.

Talented Teens Take Town Hall to the Top

Teen Town Hall Meeting: Graduation Celebration was a positive wonderful event. The youth united and pulled together an insiring program. We are proud of their efforts and know that they helped all of those in attendence. Plenty of youth were on hand from area schools, shelters and the neighborhood. Family members, coalition volunteers and community leaders also came out for the event.

A youth created interactive presentation brought attention to issues facing young people about alcohol consumption. Since youth came up with the ideas, we know they deal with these problems everyday. It was great to hear the problem followed by the solutions. The presentation was followed by a preformance from We Are The Future youth group. They use their talents to inspire and bring about positive change!

We hope that in the future we can get more and more youth involved in our activities. If you know any interested youth, please contact us. A youth advisory board with students from different high schools could be a great way to mobilize the talents and energy of young people. Thank you for your interest in us!

Town Hall Meeting "Graduation Celebration"

We are pleased to announce that a wonderful group of young people from various high schools around the valley have come together to plan, organize and conduct a town hall meeting addressing underage alcohol consumption.  It will be themed "Graduation Celebration" and will be open and appropriate for all teens.  The youth, some of them seniors, wanted to remind other kids about the dangers of alcohol consumption during granduation season and upcoming  summer festivities that often include alcohol.  

The young people have put together an interactive presentation, they have asked several adults speakers to address problems caused by alcohol and drug abuse, and We Are The Future will perform.  Free food and drinks!

Date:  May 21, 2009 at 4pm       

Location: Island Community Shelter, Wheeling Island Marina/Boat Ramp

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

April is Alcohol Awareness Month

Just some facts!

Nationally:

• Nearly one fourth of Americans (more than 20 million) abuse alcohol or are alcohol dependent according to a federal survey.


• Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older are current drinkers.


• More than 1/5 of Americans 12 or older participated in binge drinking during the past 30 days.

(Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2007)

In West Virginia:

• Alcohol sales exceed 44 million gallons of alcohol a year. That's 30 gallons per year per West Virginian age 14 and older. (Source: National Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism)


• Nearly 300,000 WV adults report binge drinking within the last month. (Source: National Survey on Drug Use and Health)


• More than 70,000 underage youth in WV drink each year. (Source: Pacific Institute for Research and Develpment)

The Cost: $1.8 Billion to the state of West Virginia!

Fabulous 4th Grade Poster Contest Winners Below

National Alcohol Awareness Month is April! Enjoy these wonderful billboards created by our own Ohio County Students!

In October Ohio County School couselors implemented the prevention education program Keep a Clear Mind with all 4th graders! Along with supplying the program, the coalition sponsored a poster contest in which the students took what they learned and applied it to a drawing. The children were asked to show in their drawing what they choose to do instead of drinking or using drugs.

The poster entries were judged by coalition volunteers. Coalition members commented on how difficult it was to choose the winners since all the entries were so good. A winner was chosen from each school and from these 9 winners the top three were chosen. The top three winning posters will appear on billboards in Ohio County for the month of April commemorating National Alcohol Awareness Month. The top winners are Abigalye Hudrlik, Middle Creek, Jorden Eikey, Woodsdale, and Kyle Wensel, Steenrod.

All nine winners will have their posters placed on banners provided by Wheeling Police Department’s EUDL grant coordinated by Sgt. Duwane Taylor. The banners will be presented to schools by the DARE officers or PRO officers and will hang in the elementary schools of each winner during the month of April. The banner winners are Hannah Warren, Warwood; Brendon Morris, Ritchie; Rachel Meister, Madison; Gwendolyn Mirzoyan, Elm Grove; Coltin Seidler, West Liberty and a student from Bethlehem. These students are congratulated by OCSAPC as role models to other students and workers for change in their community. We are very proud of their efforts and talent.

Ohio County Alcohol Retailers 98.4% Compliant in January

The Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (OCSAPC) in partnership with Wheeling Police Department would like to announce compliance check rates of 31 off-premise alcohol sales locations in Ohio County. Wheeling PD has been implementing one monthly compliance check since February of 2008; at this time the compliance rate was only 60.32%. The collaborative effort has allowed for two monthly compliance checks over the past several months; the monthly compliance rate for January is 98.4% in Ohio County.

We are pleased to acknowledge the area businesses that were in compliance for the month of January by not selling alcohol to those under 21. These businesses should be congratulated and held as examples to the business community. Their business practices show they actively care about the safety and well being of their community. They are:

Convenient Food Mart (Bethany Pike, S. Huron St.,Washington Ave.,Main St., 16th St.)
Exxon (National Rd., Island)
Gumby’s (National Rd., S. Wabash St.)
Rite Aid (Elm Grove)
Elm Grove Carry Out
BFS Foods
Riesbecks
Schmidt Bros. Sunoco
Duggers
7-11 Store
Island Exxon
CVS Pharmacy (National Rd.)
Sheetz (National Rd.)
Exxon (National Rd.)
Warwood Exxon
Rite-Aid Pharmacy (Warwood)
Kroger Store #102 (Warwood)
Smoker Friendly (Warwood)
Corner Connection (Warwood)
BFS Foods (River Rd.)
A & J Corner Market
Smoker Friendly (S. Huron)
Neeley’s Grocery
Kroger Store #562 (Mt. DeChantal Rd.)
Gumby’s Cigarette World (National Rd.)

Kristen Kroflich with OCSAPC believes “the positive January compliance rate shows many clerks are aware of their responsibility to check I.D.’s and not sell to those under 21, which is also beneficial to them as merchants since citations and fines associated with non-compliance are issued directly to the person checking out the alcohol product.” “It’s a great area compliance rate and it exemplifies positive business practice.”

Compliance checks are funded through a collaborative effort between Wheeling Police Department, under the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Grant (EUDL), and the Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (OCSAPC), funded by a Federal SPF SIG Grant and made possible through Purdue Pharma Asset Forfeiture Funds attained by the coalition.

60 Minutes on Drinking Age Debate

For Your Information - 60 Minutes will have a segment on the debate over the drinking age this Sunday evening. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Do you know what your kids are doing?

This video was put together by the Cabell County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition in WV.

OxyContin Lawsuit Funds Used to Shed Light on Business Compliance to Underage Drinking Laws

Youth Services Systems Inc. (YSS) is the acting fiscal agent for $8,000 in funding from the Purdue Pharma Asset Forfeiture funds awarded to the Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (OCSAPC). These funds come from a federal OxyContin lawsuit, under the WV Division of Criminal Justice Services (WVDCJS). According to Governor Joe Manchin, these funds will be utilized for efforts towards a Drug Free West Virginia. The governor states that “participation in this project is a positive step toward achieving that goal.”

Locally, the grant is to be used in compliance checks, which monitor local alcohol retailers to ensure they are checking IDs and are not selling alcohol to those under 21. Wheeling PD has already been facilitating compliance checks at least once a month under the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws (EUDL) grant. However, this new grant award will allow the Police Department to collaborate with the Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (OCSAPC), funded by a Federal SPF-SIG Grant, thereby doubling the number of compliance checks per month on a consistent basis in Ohio County.

John Moses, Executive Director of Youth Services Systems, stated “Youth Services System's success in reaching youth in meaningful ways has been with the support and collaboration of many organizations and interested citizens. When government, social services agencies, educators and businesses join in partnership very good things happen for youth in our communities. Law enforcement and the juvenile justice system have been long time partners with YSS and we look forward to yet another successful venture.”

The main players in compliance checks will be the Wheeling Police Department with Sgt. Duwane Taylor as EUDL Coordinator, OCSAPC, and interested youth. A small portion of the funds are also earmarked for Youth in Action activities like the recent “Sticker Shock” events in which We Are The Future youth placed approximately 4,000 stickers on alcohol products in 5 area businesses so far.

The Ohio County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition will monitor compliance rates each month with the aim of increasing the rate of compliance to the state drinking laws by area businesses. As a result, we hope to publish the names of businesses that are in compliance with the laws as a way to positively reinforce thoughtful and caring businesses that are willing to make public safety a priority. We want to promote any positive proactive steps being taken in our community. On the flip side, citations are given when the businesses are not in compliance and the clerks who do sell to minors will be personally responsible for any citations and fines given as the law requires.